Junblog

March 15, 2011

How to Make Condensed Milk Pound Cake with Condensed Milk Chantilly and Macerated Strawberries

With my short, stubby spatula I tried to scrape the last few ounces of the thick, sweet milk off the can. It proved too cumbersome and when I used a butter knife instead it got all the more frustrating. I didn’t mean to overly scrimp although I actually do pinch pennies when it comes to…

March 10, 2011

How to Make Biko (Sticky Rice Cake with Caramelized Coconut Milk Topping)

The smell of toasted coconut wafted through my nose as I opened my jar of homemade latik. It instantly whetted my appetite for the freshly baked biko [bee-koh] sitting on my kitchen counter. I had been waiting for the rice cake to cool and I couldn’t wait any longer. While coffee dripped down my hour-glass-shaped coffee…

March 8, 2011

How to Make Latik (Toasted Coconut Milk Crumbs)

If you simmered coconut milk slowly over low heat, the milk would reduce to a thick cream and if you heat it further, it would ultimately separate into fragrant coconut oil and caramel brown crumbs called latik [lah-tik]. The coarse coconut milk crumbs add a rich toasted coconut flavor and a delightful crunch to Filipino…

March 1, 2011

How to Make Filipino-Style Spaghetti and Pan de Sal Pizza

“Why is it sweet?” Dennis asked with a puzzled look in his eyes. “And why is there hot dog in the sauce?” It was his first plate of Filipino-style spaghetti and I couldn’t tell right off the bat if he liked it or not. He didn’t give a look of curious fascination nor a look…

February 23, 2011

How to Make Pesa (Boiled Fish and Vegetables in Ginger Broth)

I’ll be a granduncle soon. Yes, you heard right. I’ll be a very young granduncle soon. The news actually didn’t make me feel old. Okay, maybe it did. Just a little. But it certainly felt strange to acknowledge the fact that time has slipped by so quickly. It seemed like only yesterday when everyone in…

February 17, 2011

Rediscovering Guyabanos, Rambutans, and Papayas at the Hilo Farmers’ Market

With a plastic fork I salvaged from breakfast, I scooped the guyabano’s soft pulp gingerly from its delicate skin. Each bite brought back memories of sweat-soaked summers of long ago. I remembered how its sweet juice dribbles down my chin. I remembered how its white flesh flakes off into countless thin wedges with its hard,…

February 15, 2011

Hiking Kilauea and How to Make Loco Moco

I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was standing twenty feet from red molten rock flowing quietly into the sea. As the waves crashed against the fresh lava bench, the water flashed violently into a plume of gases. The stench of sulfur filled the air. It was terrifying, to say the least, and yet I was…

February 1, 2011

Driving the Road to Hana and How to Make Spam Musubi

The colors were incredibly vivid. Lush green foliage. Volcanic black rocks. Water cascading through a series of pools, flowing into the seemingly boundless deep blue sea. The view of the gulch from the old, moss-covered bridge along Highway 31, was absolutely stunning. I managed to filter out the cackle of tourists and drift dreamily with…

January 25, 2011

How to Make Choc-Nut Chocolate Crackle Cookies

As you peel off its red pinstriped wrapper, Choc-Nut almost always crumbles. The fragile milk chocolate confection has a subtly grainy texture and has a delightful nutty taste. It is cocoa powder, milk powder, ground roasted peanuts and sugar mixed and molded into thumb-sized, ridged candy bars. The Filipino chocolate bar is truly iconic. Ask…

January 21, 2011

How to Make Blueberry Birthday Pupcakes for Dogs

My heart sank as soon as Dr. Liz mentioned Stanford’s cataracts. She was examining him before his routine rabies shots when she noticed the cloudiness in his otherwise cheerful eyes. It was the first time anyone had mentioned anything about cataracts. “Is it something serious? Something we need to be concerned about?” I worriedly asked.…

January 18, 2011

How to Make Champorado (Chocolate Rice Porridge)

My head was stuck in indecision. I straddled the fence as I melted the drops of dark chocolate in the hot metal bowl. Should I ladle the hot chocolate rice porridge into bowls as soon as the rice is done? Or should I wait and let the porridge chill in the fridge until it gels…

January 11, 2011

How to Make Coconut Pandan Cake

The sweet smell of pandan leaves steeping in a pot of simmering rice is, perhaps, one of my earliest and fondest recollections of food as a child. My mom would tie the long, narrow, bladelike leaves into a simple knot and add them to steaming rice. Pandan adds a subtle fragrance and flavor that I…

January 4, 2011

How to Make Embutido (Filipino-Style Meatloaf)

In the early morning of the first day of the year, I remember waking up to a thick blanket of white smoke that lingered outside. Everything reeked of firecrackers. The remains of the revelry of the night before cluttered the streets. It has always been a Filipino tradition to welcome the New Year with a…

December 24, 2010

Corgi Neckties and Hot Cocoa with Marshmallows

The tree is lit. A new jigsaw puzzle is brewing on the table. In the kitchen, the turkey is roasting. Bibingka is baking. Hot cocoa is simmering. And Stanford is dressed to the nines. Charming as ever. This Christmas, we hope you surround yourself with food, family and friends. As this year draws to a…

December 20, 2010

Feeling Sentimental and How to Make Bibingka (Christmas Rice Cakes)

Having spent so many Christmases away from home, I should no longer be vulnerable to fits of nostalgia by now. But, alas, I just cannot help but miss home whenever Christmas comes. I am a sentimental kind of guy and my sappiness just gets multiplied a thousandfold during the holidays. I must say though that…

December 15, 2010

How to Make Peppermint Marshmallows

As the mixer fiercely whipped the hot sugar syrup, a plume of mist roared out of the bowl. The transformation from clear and gooey to white and pillowy was simply incredible. It took 12 minutes. Nothing more, nothing less. Then there was sticky marshmallow everywhere. It stayed glued to the walls of the bowl after…