Si Pansit at ang Lumpiang Shanghai Recipe

Gusto ko magluto ng lumpiang shanghai pero pinagdadamutan ako ni Pansit ng recipe niya. Tangina tatlong araw ko inantay text niya para sa supposed to be ay original na lumpiang shanghai na lutong bulakan pero di naman nag text. Nung ti-next yung recipe, tanginang yan di -nownload lang sa internet! Di man lang nag-effort na magtanong sa mga dakilang matatanda na kapitbahay niya sa Paombong kung ano ang sekreto ng malulupit na lumpiang shanghai. Sabi niya di niya nagawa dahil kailangan niyang mag-ayos at anniversary ng in-laws niya. May business transaction siya na kailangan ng overtime work. Busy siya sa paghahatid sundo sa Kumon class ng daughter niya. Siya naglalaba ng mga damit nila. Yun lang pala eh tapos di pa mapadala sa akin recipe. Wasak talaga. Ako nga nakatanga lang sa bahay at nag-aantay nung recipe eh. Mahirap gawing tumanga at mag-intay. Na hassle ako mag-intay. Whew.

Ayoko ng may pasas. Natatamisan ako. Gusto ko yung swabe, yung tamang panghandaan na matipid pero masarap naman. Pero pinagdadamutan ako. Mayaman kasi si Pansit kaya mahirap maintindihan. Lumpiang shanghai recipe lang eh pinagdamutan pa ako. Buti nakakuha ako ng recipe sa Food Magazine. Tangina, giniling na baboy at hipong tinadtad lang pala ang tungtungan ng lumpiang shanghai. I kilong giniling na baboy at ½ kilong hipong tinadtad. Malamang yung maliit na hipon ito na parang bilog. Tapos singkamas at kerots para extenders kung talagang tipiran ang kamada.

Pero di ko pa rin naluto. Bad trip etong si Pansit eh. Payabang pa yan at masarap daw siyang mag Pata Tim. Mag pa pata tim siya dapat para good trip na siya.

Globe Lumpia House

Globe Lumpia House brags the fact that they have no other branch in the whole world except the one in Raon (less known as Gonzalo Puyat St.). Alongside the electronic gadgets and fullblasting videoke machines for sale is a small eatery that only sell three items: Fresh Lumpia, Empanada, and softdrinks. No more, no less.

People flock the place (it is near the corner of Raon and Quezon Blvd.) like Quiapo devotees praying for a miracle only that they receive their miracles immediately once they take a bite on the precious, heavenly lumpia. Its like purgatory inside the sauna-like store as you patiently wait for your turn to be served but everything turns out heavenly once you greedily bite your lumpia oozing with peanut sauce or hide it inside your bag to take home. I saw how the Lumpia master prepare his opus and I timed it at 1 seconds. It has been this way since 1952.

Globe Lumpia preparation

Viet Spring Roll

Watching Anthony Bourdain on a Sunday morning tour around Vietnam eating whatever comes his way just triggered my mint button that left me craving for Vietnamese food. I always remember Vietnam food with that minty aftertaste and a feel good guilt free feeling knowing it is prepared in a healthy way. I bet Ho Chi Minh would not live that long to defeat U.S imperialism if he did not indulge in healthy Vietnamese foods.

So Sunday evening dinner was Vietnamese food craving day. Thelma discovered the greatest Rice paper used for spring roll and just followed the instructions printed on the package and voila! a fucking great Vietnamese Spring Roll with all the works on the sides for that authentic feel bringing you in unity with the great Vietnamese people who fought for freedom and democracy but is now reverting back to their old semi-colonial and semi-feudal set-up, no thanks to the revisionists in the communist party. But let me get back to the spring roll track.

Viet Spring roll ingredients include Lettuce, boiled pork, boiled small shrimps, and vermicelli. You just dampen the rice paper then put everything inside then roll it like a big ganja ready for a light.  For the sauce, I forgot the complete mixture but its got real yellow lemon and crushed garlic and some magic sauce that I would rather keep secret because I forgot. Anyway, everything you need to do is printed on the package. The Spring Roll in itself, however, cannot stand alone and must be in tandem with the magic sauce. But once the jumbo spring roll is dipped on the sauce, then all hell breaks loose inside your mouth as the wonderful Vietnamese Spring Roll gives out its magic taste that linger on until the next Vietnamese food craving.