Deep frying pork belly is not for the timid, in my opinion. It calls for boldness. The pork pops and crackles violently in the seething pool of oil. Even if one compulsively pats the pork belly dry, the very hot oil still spatters in all directions. The menacing hot grease lands everywhere. On one’s fingers, [...]
I’ve been staring at a blank screen for the past few days, trying to compose in my mind what to write for this post. I thought I had it all figured out: a tribute to my mother and her favorite buko pandan. A tribute to the strikingly green gulaman. The long, thin strips of young [...]
I felt so defeated as I skimmed through my to-do-list. How could I possibly do what I had planned to do with very little time? I quickly scribbled “Check emails” so I could cross it out and feel better about myself. I turned to the clutter at my desk and felt even more stumped. The [...]
“Where do you keep your ironing board?” My mom asked. It was the morning after she flew in from Manila on a long, wearing flight made even more wearing by an unwelcome delay that lasted hours.
“You’re on vacation, Ma!” I reminded her, stopping short of scolding my seventy-five year old mother. “Get some rest [...]
There’s cake in the kitchen, cooling on a rack on the blue-tiled counter next to a pot of brewed Barako. Cassava with strips of sweet macapuno topped with caramelized coconut milk, baked in fragrant banana leaves.
There’s cake because we’re celebrating. That’s how things are around here, in case you haven’t noticed. Jun-blog [...]
The sun must have felt really good. Neither the rustling of spoons and bowls nor the scent of scones baking in the oven made him budge. Not even an inch. Stanford remained glued to his spot in the kitchen flooded with morning light. He looked content. Peaceful. He held his handsome face high and closed [...]
I knew what I was getting into but I did it anyway. I rushed, took a big bite and my head got pounded instantly.
You really couldn’t blame me. The heat of the blistering April day swam around and sapped the life out of me. It lingered throughout the house. On the walls and on [...]
I am so thrilled to let you know that Jun-blog is up for a People’s Choice for Best Culinary Blog, an accolade given by the prestigious International Association of Culinary Professionals. This very good piece of news was a total surprise. It came unexpectedly, which makes the recognition so much sweeter. Thank you, [...]
“Do you think Rose is still breathing?” I nervously blurted out. One minute the yellow fuzzball’s frolicking around with her sisters and the next she’s eerily motionless.
“She is, Jun,” Dennis reassured me. “She’s just sleeping.”
Of course, she was. What was I thinking? But I gently poked her with my finger and [...]
Queso [keh-soh] is cheese in Spanish. It’s the same word in Filipino but spelled phonetically. Keso is one of many Filipino words derived from Spanish like lamesa for table and plato for dish. The Filipino word for fork is tinidor from the Spanish tenedor, and for spoon, it’s kutsara from cuchara. I still tell time in Spanish every [...]
The soft, sticky dumpling plunged into the pot of fiercely boiling water. I heard a dull plop. A small splash. I dropped another. And a third. Then I waited. I waited with bated breath.
I waited for the dumplings to rise to the top, which meant they were done. In Filipino, litaw [lee-tou] means [...]
Why am I enamored of this green mango salad?
Is it the medley of colors that makes me swoon? A motley mix of yellow and red. White tinged with deep purple and specks of lush green strewn here and there.
Or is it the tartness that makes me pucker with incomparable delight? Sour mangoes purposely [...]
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Jun Belen is the voice behind Jun-blog, a mouthwatering collection of easy-to-follow recipes, stunning photographs, and heartwarming narratives about cooking Filipino and being Filipino away from home. Subscribe to Jun-Blog and receive new posts by email.
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