More on Filipino Food...

[Ray]

I ran across this article and found a lot of truth in it...

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A Matter of Taste
By Matthew Sutherland

"A man seldom thinks with more earnestness of anything than he does of his dinner." - Samuel Johnson

I HAVE NOW BEEN in this country for over six years, and consider myself in most respects well-assimilated. However, there is one key step on the road to full assimilation which I have yet to take, and that's to eat balut. The day any of you sees me eating balut, please call immigration and ask them to issue me a Filipino passport. Because at that point there will be no turning back. Balut, for those still blissfully ignorant non?Pinoys out there, is a fertilized duck egg. It is commonly sold with salt in a piece of newspaper, much like English fish and chips, by street vendors --usually after dark, presumably so you can't see how it is. It's meant to be an aphrodisiac, although I can't imagine anything more likely to dispel sexual desire than crunching on a partially-formed baby duck swimming in noxious fluid. The embryo in the egg comes in varying stages of development, but basically it is not considered macho to eat one without fully discernable feathers, beak, and claws. Some say these crunchy bits are the best. Others prefer just to drink the so-called 'soup', the vile, pungent liquid that surrounds the aforementioned feathery fetus... excuse me, I have to go and throw up now. I'll be back in a minute.

Food dominates the life of the Filipino. People here just love to eat. They eat at least eight times a day. These eight official meals are called, in order: breakfast, snacks, lunch, merienda, pica-pica, pulutan, dinner, and no-one-saw-me-take-that-cookie-from-the-fridge-so-it-doesn't- count. The short gaps in between these mealtimes are spent eating Sky Flakes from the open packet that sits on every desktop. You're never far from food in the Philippines. If you doubt this, next time you're driving home from work, try this game. See how long you can drive without seeing food -- and I don't mean a distant restaurant, or a picture of food. I mean a man on the sidewalk frying fishballs, or a man walking through the traffic selling nuts or candy. I bet it's less than one minute.

Here are some other things I've noticed about food in the Philippines. Firstly, a meal is not a meal without rice - even breakfast. In the UK, I could go a whole year without eating rice. Second, it's impossible to drink without eating. A bottle of San Miguel just isn't the same without gambas or beef tapa. Third, no one ventures more than two paces from their house without baon and a container of something cold to drink. You might as well ask a Filipino to leave home without his pants on. And lastly, where I come from, you eat with a knife and fork. Here, you eat with a spoon and fork. You try eating rice swimming in sauce with a knife.

One really nice thing about Filipino food culture is that people always ask you to share their food. In my office, if you catch anyone attacking their baon, they will always go: "Sir! Kain tayo!" ("Let's eat!"). This confused me, until I realized that they didn't actually expect me to sit down and start munching on their boneless bangus. In fact, the  polite response is something like, "No thanks, I just ate." But the principle is sound -- if you have food on your plate, you are expected to share it, however hungry you are, with those who may be even hungrier. I think that's great. In fact, this is frequently even taken one step further. Many Filipinos use "Have you eaten yet?" ("Kumain ka na?") as a general greeting, irrespective of time of day or location.

Some foreigners think Filipino food is fairly dull compared to other Asian cuisines. Actually lots of it is very good: spicy dishes like Bicol Express (strange, a dish named after a train); anything cooked in coconut milk; anything kinilaw; and anything adobo. And it's hard to beat the sheer wanton, cholesterholic frenzy of a good old-fashioned lechon de leche feast. Dig a pit, light a fire, add 50 pounds of animal fat on a stick, and cook until crisp. Mmm, mmm... you can actually feel your arteries constricting with each successive mouthful. I also share one key Pinoy trait -- a sweet tooth. I am thus the only foreigner I know who does not complain about sweet bread, sweet burgers, sweet spaghetti, sweet banana ketchup, and so on. I am a man who likes to put jam on his pizza. Try it!

It's the weird food you want to avoid. In addition to duck fetus in the half-shell, items to avoid in the Philippines include pig's blood soup (dinuguan); bull's testicle soup (the strangely-named "soup number five" -- I dread to think what numbers one through four are); and the ubiquitous, stinky shrimp paste, bagoong, and its equally stinky sister, patis. Filipinos are so addicted to these latter items that they will even risk arrest or deportation trying to smuggle them into countries like Australia and the USA, which wisely ban the importation of items you can smell from more than 100 paces. Then there's the small matter of the blue ice cream. I have never been able to get my brain around eating blue food; the ubiquitous ube leaves me cold. And lastly on the subject of weird food, beware: that kalderetang kambing could well be kalderetang aso...

The Filipino, of course, has a well-developed sense of food humor. Here's a typical Pinoy food joke: "I'm on a seafood diet." "What's a seafood diet?" " When I see food, I eat it!"

Filipinos also eat strange bits of animals -- the feet, the head, the guts, etc., usually barbecued on a stick. These have been given witty names, like "Adidas" (chickens' feet); "kurbata" (either just chicken's neck, or "neck and thigh" as in "neck-tie"); "Walkman" (pigs ears); "PAL" (chicken wings); "helmet" (chicken heads); "IUD" (chicken intestines), and "Betamax" (video-cassette--like blocks of animal blood). Yum, yum.

Bon appetit.
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[Willy]

... in response to More on Filipino Food..., posted by Ray on Feb 6, 2002

I was in the back of a jeepney late at night and my wife and bayaw got the driver to stop and they ran to a stand and bought some eggs and gave me one. I had read about this being a bit ritualistic, almost akin to a rite of passage and acceptance, so thot I would give it a go. I knew that I should crack the top and drink the juice/broth from the top, and let me tell you, that was the best part of it all. That broth was excellent....now the rest, well, I can live without it. If I were ever entertained by people there and they served balut, I would not offend them and refuse it, but I will never go out of my way to get balut again. haha
Not that it was horrible or sickening, just not that palatable. Now to watch my wife and brothers, you would think they were eating manna from heaven. Well, since it was my first visit, and I had just met my bayaws and tatay, suffice it to say I impressed them by not batting an eye at the balut.....but it was dark that night, haha....as for the rest of the foods the only thing I got sick on was pusit and that was because it had not been refrigerated. I got a little fever and that was all. I loved pretty much everything else..
Later

Willy

[BrianN]

... in response to About balut.., posted by Willy on Feb 8, 2002

I got one word for this:  G R O S S !!!!!

1.  Never, EVER, look at it. (Good thing it was dark!)
2.  Be plastered when you do it.
3.  Close off your nostrils (just breathe through the mouth), to prevent sudden urges of stomach ecstacy.
4.  Don't show your friends the "half-eaten" part, it may be a manly thing, but you'll regret it later.
5.  If your mouth's as big as mine, just try to swallow the dam thing without chewing.  But NOT when you're plastered!
6.  Get some therapy afterwards.

haha!

[humabdos]

... in response to More on Filipino Food..., posted by Ray on Feb 6, 2002

In this trip,i have enjoyed eating sashimi,blue marlin,malasugi,pork barbeque,pickled papaya,kinilaw,garlic rice,cassava cake,mango shake,pansit canton,chopsuey, &chiken barbeque.
Things i still won't eat are:fish eyes,or heads,plain rice,chicken intestines,kare-kare,balots,dried fish,dinuguan,aso adobo,bagoong.

Humabdos

[BrianN]

... in response to Re: My favorite foods, posted by humabdos on Feb 7, 2002

you haven't mastered the art of sucking the eyeballs out of the heads yet?  Shame on YOU!

Sorry Hum, couldn't resist.  I only knew one elder filipina wife in my time that would do this standing right in her kitchen in s/texas.  I still have the audio from this permanently imbedded in my mind...  I'll send you a copy if it helps...

lol!

[Ray]

... in response to Re: My favorite foods, posted by humabdos on Feb 7, 2002

Hum,

You really won’t eat plain rice? There are some things that I can’t imagine eating without steamed rice, like adobo and mongo, for example.  Garlic rice is good for breakfast and fried rice is the best thing since sliced bread. But I was curious what you eat with your chop suey, poatatoes?

Kinilaw I would be very careful with. I’ve seen some people get really sick if their stomach isn’t accustomed to it. And I don’t think you need to worry about the adobong aso (dog) because you would have to look really hard to find some :-)

I thought malasugi and blue marlin were the same thing. And speaking of dried fish, have you ever tried the dried dilis (litlle tiny anchovy minnows)? They’re great as pulutan, fried crispy and served with San Miguel beer. And you can eat them whole, heads, eyeballs and all. Try some sometime, dipped in vinegar with hot peppers.

My wife is in the kitchen cooking fried barracuda for lunch. I’ll think I’ll pass on the barracuda and have a burrito :-)

Ray

[humabdos]

... in response to Re: Re: My favorite foods, posted by Ray on Feb 8, 2002

I'll eat plain rice if i can put some kind of sauce on top of it.I don't eat rice for breakfast.I eat garlic rice with chop suey.No problem with kinilaw cause i eat it everyday and haven't got sick same with sachimi.Malasugi is a grouper.So far,nothing has made me sick here.(Knock on wood).

Hum

[Matthew]

... in response to Re: Re: My favorite foods, posted by Ray on Feb 8, 2002

Hey Ray,

Went out to dinner tonight with Mrs tito. We went to a seafood place and after the food was served she pulls out
the Maggi liquid seasoning from her purse.Calamansi flavor.I cracked up.Reminded me of you with the tobasco sauce in the RP.She says it makes the food taste "eddiebull".The waiter gave us strange looks but,hey, thats my girl!!

tito Matt

[Ray]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: My favorite foods, posted by Matthew on Feb 9, 2002

That’s hilarious Matt! She actually carries a bottle in her purse?

Yep, that sounds like me with my bottle of Tabasco. That stuff saved my life in the Phils several times. You’d be surprised what a few squirts of Tabasco can do for a plate of squid adobo or a bowl of dinuguan. It might even make a balut quite tasty, but I didn’t try that. The problem was, a lot of the family liked the stuff and my 2 little bottles didn’t last long. Now I have to include a half-dozen bottles in the balikbayan box we send to the family at Christmas time.

It wasn’t available in Surigao but I saw it in Cebu at SM supermarket for around $8.50 for a large bottle. They didn’t have the pocket size. When I was staying at the Gateway Hotel in Surigao, I asked the waiter for Tabasco sauce and he’d never heard of it. He offered me a bottle of “Mama’s Best-The World’s Hottest Sauce” (ROFL!). I told him that Tabasco was the best there is and Mama’s was “sissy sauce”.

When I returned there after the honeymoon, the waiter brought over a big bottle of Tabasco that he picked up while he was in Cebu. Sure made them omelets and fried lapulapu taste better and soon half the guests in the restaurant were all sharing that one bottle. Then one morning there was a big crisis because nobody could find the Tabasco. They figured someone swiped it. Three days later I accidentally found it in one of the cleaning stations upstairs. Seems that room service sent it up to a room one night with an order and it never made it back to the restaurant.

I think your story was a good reminder that us guys aren’t the only ones experiencing food shock in a foreign land. I’m still working on getting the wife to eat Mexican food and she’s actually making pretty good progress. She now likes refried beans, fish tacos, taquitos and Costco chicken enchiladas. But she still prefers banana sauce on her fries :-)

Ray

[Dave H]

... in response to Funny!, posted by Ray on Feb 9, 2002

Hi Ray,

I need some advice. After a couple of mild chicken tacos, minus lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, onions, and sauce, my wife has vowed to never to eat Mexican food again. ( It seems that the chicken was a bit too spicy for her Filipina GI tract. ;o))) I have to build up her tolerence quick. I'm in the mood for some Mexican food tonight!

Dave H.

[Ray]

... in response to How did you do it?, posted by Dave H on Feb 9, 2002

Dave,

I think I know how you feel. Going through Mexican food withdrawal can be very painful. I used to get a craving for authentic Mexican food during those long deployments in the Navy. But I usually managed to find at least one place in most ports where you could get some half-way decent Mexican. I found Mexican restaurants in Manila, Olongapo, Singapore, Perth, and even in Pataya Beach, Thailand. But no Mexican in Surigao or Butuan. We did find a little place in Cagayan at the Limketkai Mall that had tacos, but the wife didn’t enjoy her first experience with Mexican food at all.

After she arrived here, I tried making very mild beef tacos, chicken tacos, various burritos, Spanish rice, enchiladas, etc., but she just said “ngek!”. I tried to trick her by changing the names to things like “Mexican lumpia wrappers” for flour tortillas, but it’s real hard to fool her. So I tried to break her in on fish tacos and it worked pretty well so far. She liked the fish tacos from Rubio’s, a famous San Diego fast food chain specializing in fish tacos. So I cooked some marinated salmon steaks on the grill and then shredded the meat off the bones. I soft-fried some corn tortillas and put out chopped tomatoes, chopped onion, shredded lettuce, shredded cheddar & Monterey Jack cheese. I let her fix her own and she 4 of them. Now we have them at least once a month. It’s really hard for a Surigaonon lady to turn down anything with fish in it. You could also use canned boneless salmon, or tuna if you like. I figure I can probably work her into beef and chicken tacos over the next 10 years or so, then start working on the burritos. These things take time and you really have to be patient!

The key is to make this stuff really bland at first. ‘Very mild’ isn’t going to hack it. Just put all the krap on the table and let her fix her own. Don’t put anything spicy in the fish or meat when you cook it-you’ll have to spice up your own when you eat them. Remember to put out every kind of sauce that you have, so she can experiment with the taste to suit herself. I put out tabasco, hot taco sauce, mild taco sauce, catchup, banana sauce, sweet chili sauce, picante sauce, soy sauce, lemon juice, A-1, patis, you name it, whatever it takes to make it "eddiebull"…(no Matt, I didn’t have Maggi sauce :-) ).

Now since you mentioned that she swore never to eat Mexican food again, you’ll have to be creative with what you call this stuff. DON’T use the words “Mexican” or “tacos” or you’ll scare her off right from the start. You need to trick her! Come up with something creative like “corn fishies” or “Southwestern seafood salad” for those fish tacos. Maybe Jimbo can help out with some names?

Let us know how it works out. Bon Appetit!

Ray

[Dave H]

... in response to Tacos Tonight, posted by Ray on Feb 9, 2002

Thanks Ray!

ROFLMAOCUML!!! That is a good one. I was surprised that my wife didn't know what a taco was. After all, the Philippines was administered through Mexico City during the Spanish period. There are many other Spanish foods eaten in the Philippines. I guess the hot stuff didn't go over very well. Most Cubans I know never cared much for the hot stuff either. You have given some very good advice! I will take it real slow and change the names. I think I will try white rice and chicken or fish tacos or fajitas on her. I will call the taco some sort of "wrapper." Fortunately, she lets me indulge in my Mexican craving...I just would like to see her enjoy it too. I usually eat Mexican when she is working. I have most of the sauces already, even Maggi.

Dave H.

[SteveB]

... in response to “Mexican lumpia wrappers”, posted by Dave H on Feb 10, 2002

Hey DaveH,  I'm looking for a good chimmachurri recipe?  I love this hot sause on Impanada's(misspelled)Any Help?

Steveb

[Dave H]

... in response to Re: “Mexican lumpia wrappers”, posted by SteveB on Feb 10, 2002

Hi Steve,

I have had chimmichurri sauce many times, but I have never made it. My son's best friend is from Argentina. I will ask his parents for their chimmichurri recipe. For now, here are a few I found on the net:

#1. Chimmichurri:
1/2 teaspoon seeded jalapeno
2 cloves garlic
2 tbls minced onion
1/2 cups parsley, coarsely chopped
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
a twist of your pepper mill
1 tbls cilantro
2 ounces sherry vinegar
2 ounces lemon juice
1 bay leave, finely crumbled
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 cup safflower, grapeseed or soybean oil
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Grind everything medium fine except the oil in a food processor. Add the oil in a steady steam to emulsify. Store covered at room temperature for 2-3 days or refrigerated for two weeks. Stir or shake to re-emulsify before use.

#2. Chimmichurri Sauce:
1 cup parsley
1/4 cup rosemary
4 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
1 tsp. garlic
Pinch of kosher salt
1 cup olive oil
Pinch of sugar

In a blender, mix parsley, rosemary, white wine vinegar, and garlic, kosher salt and sugar. Process until finely ground. While blending, slowly add olive oil until mixture reaches a smooth consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.

#3. Chimmichurri Marinade:
1/2 cup sherry wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, plus 2 tablespoons for garnish
2 teaspoons dried oregano
6 large garlic cloves, minced
3/4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. Place meat in a single layer in a glass or ceramic dish. Add marinade, turning food to coat. Cover and refrigerate, turning occasionally, 1 to 3 hours for lamb chops and 2 to 4 hours for beefsteak.

Good Luck!

Dave H.

[The Mog returns]

... in response to Re: Re: My favorite foods, posted by Ray on Feb 8, 2002

Wow, its funny what years will do to a guys taste buds huh? As I was growing up I had never eaten a bite of fish, not even a McDonalds fish sandwich until finally at work one day several years ago a persistant co-worker darn near forced me into trying some breaded walleye he had caught. (we live in Minnesta y'know)...mmmm, twas delicicoso!
since then I have become a veritable shrimpaholic, and yes, I tried some grilled blue marlin from a little food court stand at Robinsons place in Ermita that was heavenly! Also tried tanique(sp?) (mackeral) at Bohol Beach Club (those chefs there ROCK) and I love Max's Restaurants Lapu-Lapu dishes with that yummy sweet/sour sauce, Bangus (milkfish) is pretty good but quite labor intensive due to all D little bones lol. I tried those little Dilis that Ray mentioned, they kind of served them as an appetizer sort of affair to go with the Beer Na Beers and Tanduay rum...not bad, not my fav...lol..I did like a fish they called karpa? ..well, I guess it was a sort of small/medium size fish a Philippine carp? haha..nothing like the Big stinky carps we have screwing up all our lakes here in Minnesota, heck its illegal to even throw those darn things back in if you catch one of those...!!! Salmon is aww Ight but nuttin special to me, I want to try some Chilean sea bass maybe...well enough seafood talk, Im getting hungry and my vwallet is empty, all these trips to the Phil's and INS processing fees are killing me here!