The first sisig I cooked was ages ago way back in my mom’s kitchen – I roasted a pig’s head for dinner then chopped the leftover cheeks and ears. I stir in mashed pig’s brain to make it sinfully creamy … Continue reading Crispy Sisig Pork Belly and Beef Tendons
LIGA I was a ‘Makati’ boy. I grew up and studied in a private school where “Conyos†were almost always front and centre. It was probably with their ‘good’ looks or their Spanish style, ‘Rafael Nadal’ charm that made an … Continue reading Sisig QC ala-Erwin
Ever heard of quilo babi? It’s a quick and easy recipe which, I was told, is similar to the older version of Kapampangan’s sisig babi. The typical souring agent is kalamansi but lemon is just as great. Click here to … Continue reading Lasang Pinoy, Sundays: Quilo Babi
The last time I cooked sisig was about 10 Christmases ago. Hindi pa uso ang recipe online. In fact it was my first time. Of course, I am referring to the popular sisig nowadays, the kind that is synonymous with … Continue reading Sisig but ain’t Sizzling
One dinner we had leftover dinuguan and A fry it dry the next morning. I love it! So I got into the habit of cooking bigger portions than usual of this hearty blood stew of fatty pork meat, liver and intestine so I can fry ‘em dry the next day. Eventually I cook it dry right away.
I had the cravings and I couldn’t help it. So make way for the ultimate sinful but delightful treat chicharong bulaklak (crispy chitterlings)! Ingredients: Chitterlings Salt and pepper Add the chitterlings in a pot of boiling water and boil for … Continue reading Crispy Chitterlings
I know I just had offal overload last month with LP9 but this maybe a reason for us to celebrate as it is the first time I cooked dinuguan (pork blood stew) in Beijing. Why, it’s the first time I saw it available in the supermarket! Oh well I found dugo ng baboy damo (black pig’s blood) last week but I don’t think I would like to use that. I am sure a lot of things are available here we just don’t have the time to actually go out to find where. I received a tip from a reader who also resides in Beijing (many thanks to you!), about a wet market here frequented by expats. We haven’t checked it out yet so my stock is still limited to what I find in our favorite supermarkets. Actually it’s not that bad to buy from these supermarkets. Maybe a little bit expensive but most of the time the meat and produce are always fresh and in good quality.
I have few childhood memories of dinuguan. It is also a famous carinderia dish that I learned from my dad. It is exotic and may be unacceptable to some westerners. I still don’t know how the locals cook it but I am sure they have their own special way of doing so. How was I able to find it here if they don’t eat it, right? So I accidentally saw this small slab of pork blood, looked at it and saw it is clean and nice and bought it right away. Back home, we usually buy blood from newly-slaughtered pig that all you need is mash it with your own hands in prep before cooking. Here I mashed half of it with a fork and the other half I cut into cubes. Also, I wasn’t quite sure if I could do this the right way as it’s been a long while since the last time I cooked dinuguan. Luckily, it turned out quite well.
Before my son’s babysitter left I used to travel a lot to a project site in Shi Jia Zhuang, the capital of Hebei province, southwest of Beijing. 2 hours and 45 minutes by fast train, one way. A trip that long you need something to maintain sanity so we either watch a movie or read a book. Of course, before all that, read the morning news and mobile versions of our favorite websites on PDA. Here is where I found this Kapampangan recipe called quil?? (pronounced ki-loh).
Eventually this traditional meat recipe from Pampanga became one of my favorites as it is easy and fast to cook. (I didn’t time it but everything should be ready in about 20 minutes.) A working mom with a deadline and quil?? saves the day, be it minced pork or shredded chicken. You may find the original recipe here sizzling hot so good for LP6. Mine has no chili as Cean wouldn’t like it hot and spicy. An overview of quil?? is here.
My chosen field is said to be a man’s world. Back in college where one interacts with more males and t-squares than females, important and close friendships between opposite sexes is as natural as breathing. And after each semester of hard work and sleepless nights, breaks and summer vacations were celebrated with parties full of booze. (Parents, no need to worry. As long as you know who your kids’ friends are there is no reason to panic.)
The 1st time we had a drinking spree at home was my 19th birthday and that day marked the beginning of a series of inuman either with friends and relatives. My parents were always there enjoying every bit – mom drinking liters of cola while dad with just half a bottle of beer that’s consumable for the whole night.Social drinking eventually played a huge part in my kind of work for a lot of reasons. Dealing with colleagues, clients, consultants, suppliers, contractors, even laborers. Also like Ting said, drinking is a way of unwinding. It’s a person’s way of de-stressing from a hard day’s knock although now it’s been quite a while since I went into such a pinoy-style gathering and my tolerance to alcohol has diminished considerably.
Pulutan is a kind of food that is served as accompaniment to a drink. It comes in different kinds like meat, fish, nuts, chips. It’s prepared in different ways… fried, steamed. Basically, it is anything that makes drinking enjoyable.
Too bad I forgot what Dad & Mom normally prepared for pulutan. My guess, menudo or inihaw na tilapia (broiled tilapia over live charcoal). With my friends, I do remember that isaw has always been a favorite. It could be IUD (chicken intestines) from a street vendor (IUD photo is courtesy of GUTS. GRIT. GUMPTION.) or crispy chitterlings as prepared by my friend’s mom. Here in Beijing we occasionally go to this English bar with Pinoy musicians, an equally Pinoy chef, and among our favorites are sisig (a sizzling dish of spicy chopped pork head & liver) and chicharong baboy (pork rinds).
However, when it comes to pulutan it’s the other way around over here as it is alcohol that accompanies food. The Chinese traditionally drink while eating so you can imagine the scenario as it’s considered improper to say no to the host especially if he’s our Client. Gan Bei! ( Pronounced ‘gam bay’, meaning ‘dry cup’) You are expected to empty the glass. The good thing is that drinking with food decreases the rate of alcohol absorption and may also reduce the amount consumed.
For LP6, here is the recipe of our carinderia adobong isaw ng baboy (stewed chitterlings, chit’lins or pork intestines, whatever) as I remember it from my Dad. It’s not standard turo turo (eatery) food but a delicacy especially popular with the common masses served as pulutan. Oh was I glad to find that the chitlins being sold here in supermarkets are really clean.