This post is for the Food Blogging Event: LASANG PINOY 2 – Cooking Up a Storm, food you associate with typhoons, hurricanes, or storms. I guess it is also noteworthy to mention here my very successful invitation to Mike of La Fang to join Lasang Pinoy 2. All I did was just show him the link to Lasang Pinoy 1 (hosted remarkably by Karen & Stef) and voila! He’s in! It’s also quite a feat to influence that busy guy to even start food-blogging by showing him my own amateurish blog. For a minute I really thought I must have been a successful salesperson in another life.

Would it be easy to remember those rainy days back home? Though much has been said about China’s rainy season for the past months which has led to serious flooding in the north-east and south of the country that I have been asked several times if we are ok here in Beijing, it’s interesting to point out that a typical rainy day here is way too tame compared to one back home. Still, I remember lots of food that I could associate w/ stormy weather but quite impossible for me to cook/prepare in Beijing. These are the following:

1. tuyo or dried fish combined with salted tomatoes – tuyo not being available here.
2. fried galunggong (mackerel scad) & monggo (mung bean) – galunggong not available here & w/ monggo… mike you beat me to the punch!
3. fried daing na bangus (milkfish cut lengthwise along the back but not breaking the skin) – aside from the fact that I am still looking for that fish here, it was already an entry last month
4. unripe (and sour) mango w/ [i]bagoong[/i] (shrimp paste or fermented salted shrimps) – mangoes oh how I miss my tropical homeland
5. hot chocolate made of tablea (chocolate tablets made from cacao beans) or kapeng barako (brewed coffee made of liberica bean variety) from Batangas (my mom’s hometown) – the closest here would be starbucks

Continue reading “Lasang Pinoy 2: Pritong Tilapia & Talong con Kamatis at Bagoong”