Filipino Dining Tutorial by Mikey Bustos

Pochero. Comfort Food

picture taken from

http://365stories.pinoybizonline.com/2010/03/03/moms-pochero-my-style/

Pochero. Comfort Food.
Comfort food is Pochero.

Was the name Pochero derived from a Spanish word? Does it sound like Cocido? I just do not know how to pronounce Cocido, but Pochero? Pochero by any other name, or pronounciation, taste just the same. Grand.

Pochero is very versatile with the possible different combination and ingredients one can think of and can still be called Pochero. It somehow remind me of Irish stew with or without tomato sauce. Its all in the boiling, so they say. The longer it boils, the more tasty and whole it becomes. I've tried cooking it a couple of times before arriving at perfection. Perfection, yes. Ive achieved perfection in cooking Pochero. Not like a perfection of reaching buddhahood but more of a satori experience perfection. A short glimpse of enlightenment whenever people say that the Pochero do taste good. it is so simple to prepare and meat can be pork or beef. What matters is the boiling time and the meticulous mixture of liquid and seasoning to arrive at what I call Pochero perfection. It is slow food cooking.

Some do and some dont saute. I do. I put a perfectly measured cooking oil then start with the onions, then garlic, Bananas, and tomatoes. I put some magic powder (ala Wok with Yan) then the meat. Then when I feel that it is enough (yes, to feel what one is cooking is important. It is called oneness), I put in water then boil it until the meat softens up with the potatoes and carrots. After that delicate process, I enter the most important part of balancing the taste. I add some fish sauce, more magic powder (if and when required), sugar, and tomato sauce. It is a balancing act as I mix the sweet and salty in portions to reach what philosophers call deliciousness. Then I put in the green leafy chinese cabbage. Then it is done. Pochero perfection.

Pochero Perfection

Ingredients

1 kilo Beef or Pork
2 heads Onion
1 whole Garlic
2 Tomatoes
2 plantaine Bananas (Saging na Saba)
5 cups water
Potatoes (Kahit gaano kadami)
2 medium Carrots
2 ropes Chinese Cabbage (2 Tali ng Pechay)
Fish sauce
Sugar
Magic Powder
Tomato Sauce


Corn Cob (optional)
Garbanzos (optional)
string beans (optional)

and the list of optional ingredients can go on and on and on and on......

Korean Flow

We stayed at A.Venue Residences along Makati Avenue last weekend and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere it offered our weary petty bourgeois souls. The children enjoyed the 24 hour airconditioned room and swam in the cold infinity pool overlooking the Makati skyline. I enjoyed everything Korean that I ate on that 24 hour vacation cycle.

For our afternoon snack we went to a Korean Mart located in the former Makati Mart in front of the former International School in Kalayaan Avenue. We checked out the grocery alleys full of korean goodies and we opted for a homemade kimchi, instant Korean noodles, and those green chili peppers that are not so spicy and can be eaten raw. The Kimchi is just so good to the palate and mixed well with the Korean instant noodles and green chili peppers.

For dinner, we walked along Makati Avenue and enjoyed the night breeze in a surprisingly not so traffic snarled saturday night. We found a couple of Korean restaurants and settled in a Korean hotel and restaurant joint called Ingwasan. The restaurant looks seedy and dated with menu in Korean characters plastered on the walls. It felt like working class Korea and that gave the place that needed flavor. We ordered bbq pork and beef stew and believe me, it was the most simple preparation I've seen in the history of my Korean food escapade but it actually made my palate quiver. The pork bbq cut in bacon like strips was served in a sizzling plate with sesame seed oil mixed with salt and pepper on the side as dip. The usual Korean side dishes are arranged in a row while the piping hot beef stew filled with beef strips and glass noodles played its role as soul food provider. Satisfied with that night's food adventure, we walked happily to our hotel.

Lunch the following day brought us to Korean Village in Nakpil St., Malate,Manila. This place is the basis of all our Korean food experience, the gauge if the other Korean restaurants do offer good food. It used to be near the Remedios Circle but its transfer never altered the recipes, the taste, the food, and the people. We've been going to this restaurant for almost 15 freaking years and it never changed. The assorted bbq is still Korean heaven. The beef stew is to die for, and everything else still just falls into its proper place in that Korean Village Restaurant we so dearly love.

Before going home, we bought some pork sliced thinly and some korean sauce for marinate. Its going to be another Korean dinner tonight.

Porstik for a bad day

My hangover from last Friday's killer spree spilling over to Tuesday, was it David Pewter singing "Bad Day" running in my head?



Waking up drowsily at 4:30 a.m with no recipe in mind, I thought of an easy preparation that will entice Andres to wake up and savor his breakfast. What could be easier than a Pork Steak Tagalog or Visaya or whatever regional bias one has, swimming in soy sauce and packed with onions. Its a less expensive version of Bistek (beefsteak) and can be prepared in a snap. There are however certain mixes needed to reach the desired taste. One should balance the chi between the soy sauce and calamansi to get that perfect pork steak sauce. Good thing we live near the market, so we rushed to get lean good fresh pork while preparing the ingredients. Cutting up the garlic, onions, and calamansi at 5:00 in the morning somehow uplifted my sagging spirit knowing that there is a delicious pork steak with steaming hot rice waiting at the end of the crying game. Just put everything in the pot, let it simmer, and everything will fall into place. Tenderizing the pork is fast and that pinch of sugar, some milk, and tons of onion will assure you that complete pork steak goodness.

A good pork steak Tagalog on a bad day is not bad.