Serve the Kaluto

I freak out when I see books dealing with cooking and food and anything related to it. Just yesterday, I bought a book Serve the People: a Stir-fried journey through China by Jen Lin-Liu. She has a journalism degree in the United States but went on to become a chef or a restaurant owner in China, i think. I have not fully devoured the book but it is very interesting and funny. She is very witty.

What I am looking for is the book Kasaysayan ng Kalutong Bayan written by Milagros Enriquez. I came across her book in the internet when I was looking for old recipes and the food served during historic occasions in the Philippines. In the internet, the last post selling reprint copies of this book was a 2009 multiply account. I checked some libraries but the book is not available. I am still hopeful that I can find a copy.

Paco and the Tilapia Tail

Paco loves the crunchiness of fried tilapia tail and has his own style of enjoying it.

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.

Feeling Grilled Tuna Steak

Its definitely the timed grill. The original butter and not those trying to be “butter” butter. And the calamansi, that clinched the great grilled tuna steak. We were able to buy three mouth watering pieces of tuna steak at a very reasonable price and rushed home to preserve the freshness of the fish by cooking it right away. I just marinated it with liquid seasoning and calamansi and a pinch of salt then heated the pan grill then the butter then at the precise time that I felt it should hit the pan, I placed it gently and counted, through my gut hungry feeling, the exact time when I should sprinkle the ground black pepper, then the removal from the grill. I heated the excess marinade with the butter and poured it over the grilled tuna.

Andres and Ponso loved it and requested for seconds. There was none left so they slept with that hanging hunger for more great grilled tuna steak.  Well, that’s life. They just have to learn to live with it.

Afritadang Manok

Afritada in my young years evoked carinderia cooking as I remember the smell of Tita Sylvia’s simple Afritada in her mini turo-turo that attracted hordes of Balic-balic-Quiapo drivers during lunch time. It was a simple mix of chicken with fresh tomato sauce that others might taste as “malansa”. I do not recall ginger as part of her recipe but that simple preparation is more than enough for my 10 year-old taste at that time. It must have been the spirit of the times. It was the late 70s and everything was simple then, I guess.


Then my Pakil, Laguna summers in my high school years raised the ante of my Afritada appreciation when I tasted their version cooked in wood fire giving it that smoky tang. As time passed, my Afritada cooking bordered on the simple and never learned how to execute the Pakil version. It was only when I checked on some Food Magazine recipe on Chicken Afritada ala Laguna. I never thought that simply adding vinegar will turn the tables around making it almost closer but not quite that Laguna-style that I’ve been longing to duplicate. It must be the wood-fire.

mindful breakfast take

With the entry of summer 2012, I have decided to go back and again pursue that one passion that has eluded me for sometime: cooking. I have not seriously worked myself in the kitchen these past year and just ate whatever comes my way more for utilitarian reasons. Grocery became more of a duty to fill the pantry and refrigerator of edible stuff and not as an exciting exploration of what the food aisles has to offer. With summer, I have more time at home to again prepare menu line-ups and can try to be more discriminating in choosing what to cook.


I learned a simple breakfast preparation from my sister using eggs and cheese that raised the ante of eggs to new heights in our home. My relatives would normally send cheese from the United States and we’d melt it then mix it with scrambled eggs. It partners well with bread and juice.

There are different hotdog brands in the market and there are promising brands like Victoria Hotdogs that can give Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs a run for their money. We used to visit Treffunkt Jederman in the corner of EDSA and Boni Serrano in Cubao before the turn of the century for their juicy veal bratwurst until the reality of our middle class life dictated that it is too much to pay 350 for a kilo of hotdog. The White King pancake mix is somewhat becoming too sweet for my taste and am looking for a less sweet instant pancake that might come near to that perfect breakfast.