Junblog

June 30, 2011

Sour Cherries, Manila Mangoes, and Childhood Summers

I tiptoed precariously to reach the bright red cherries at the top of the tree. I glanced around and saw Dennis picking cherries effortlessly. “It pays to be tall, doesn’t it?” He teased and flashed an impish smile at me. “Sure, it does. But only when picking cherries.” I rebutted. It was a glorious Sunday. Hot…

June 22, 2011

How to Make Binatog (Boiled White Corn with Coconut and Sugar)

I watched the clock above the yellow china cabinet like a hawk. It was two in the afternoon on another blistering summer day, very much like the day before. I was a bored eleven year old with nothing else to do. The heat left me at a loss for ideas to relieve my tenacious…

June 15, 2011

How to Make Fish Pinangat (Fish Soured in Calamansi and Tomatoes)

I latched both my arms around her. I watched my every step as I carried her up the onerous Bernal Heights hill. Parking spots were far and few that balmy morning in the market and the only spot I could find was at the very top of a steep hill. She was a little over…

June 8, 2011

C is for Camarón and How to Make Camarón Rebozado

Camarón rebozado. Pescado en salsa agrio-dulce. Morisqueta tostada. You would most likely find these dishes on the menu in the first restaurants in Manila, which debuted back in Spanish colonial times. Camarón rebozado is batter-fried shrimp. Pescado en salsa agrio-dulce is fish in sweet and sour sauce. Morisqueta tostada is fried rice. The food was…

June 1, 2011

B is for Barako Coffee and How to Make Banana Cake

Nonstick skillet. Can opener. Rubber spatula and wooden spoons. Blue plates with matching blue bowls. Paper towels. Oreo mint cookies. Cans of diet soda. And the shiny, black 6-cup Braun coffeemaker that sat handsomely on the counter next to my hand-me-down rice cooker. It was my loot from my very first trip to Target many…

May 24, 2011

How to Make Grilled Chicken Inasal

I am torn. I cannot quite figure out why I fancy this piece of grilled chicken so much. Mind you, it isn’t just any grilled chicken. It is chicken inasal [ih-nah-sal], Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan’s version of the iconic Ilonggo dish from the islands of the Visayas. Inasal is skewered chicken — breast with…

May 17, 2011

A is for Achuete and How to Make Achuete Oil

The tiny seeds, wrinkled and stripped off any trace of moisture, bled beautifully into the thick pool of oil. The color isn’t red. It’s orange. It’s deep, very deep, bloody orange. It’s quite remarkable how the seeds from a fruit that looks so otherworldly because of the stiff hairs that completely cover its skin can…

May 10, 2011

How to Make Chicken Afritada

I was getting worried we hadn’t spotted my mom. The plane landed over an hour ago and the crowd of well wishers waiting at the gate had started to slip away. It was my mom’s first transpacific flight all by herself and I was nervous that she would get lost or she would have a…

May 5, 2011

Vanilla Ice Cream with Coconut Jam and Toasted Coconut Milk Crumbs

My mom swears that you can find the best matamis na bao — coconut jam — in Antipolo. The town is not too far from Manila, where I grew up. An hour or an hour and a half trip, if I remember correctly. It sits on the slopes of a long mountain range so…

May 3, 2011

How to Make Sotanghon Guisado (Fried Mung Bean Noodles)

“Something came in the mail this morning.” My mom greeted me with the news as she handed me a letter. I could still remember that day, thirteen years ago. “It’s from Stanford University,” my dad who was waiting next to her said excitedly. My heart suddenly skipped a beat. The return label read Graduate Admissions…

April 26, 2011

How to Make Coconut Jam and Buttermilk Biscuits

The sky had cleared at last and the showers had passed. It was a lovely evening perfect for a leisurely stroll or a night out with friends but I didn’t have an ounce of desire to leave the comforts of home. It was one of those rare Friday evenings when I had the loft all…

April 12, 2011

How to Make Chocolate Covered Pocky Sticks

Dennis was right, his nephew was charming. He was three when I first met him a few years back on a visit to Ohio for the holidays. “It’s your nephew’s Filipino genes that make him handsomely charming,” I’ve always teased him ever since I learned about his Filipino sister-in-law. Knowing I won’t be the lone…

April 6, 2011

How to Make Monggo Guisado (Mung Bean Stew) and Fried Dried Salted Fish

The church’s hallowed square was filled to the brim with the faithful. I held my mom’s hand as steadfastly as I could like my life depended on it. I was afraid that if I let go I would get lost in the swelling sea of people. I stayed close and followed her every step with…

April 1, 2011

How to Make Pork Tocino Sandwiches and Pickled Carrots

Remember sandwich spreads? For those of you who don’t or, better yet, for those of you who don’t have the slightest idea what I’m talking about, sandwich spread is mayonnaise whipped with tangy pickle relish. It’s a Filipino favorite that can jazz up any mundane sandwich and give it the oomph it so rightfully deserves.…

March 29, 2011

How to Make Pork Tocino (Sweet Cured Pork)

The train’s thunderous horn broke the silence of our early morning walk. Stanford’s ears suddenly perked up to acknowledge the train that was rattling along its tracks a few blocks away. It must have been the 6:16 train, the old double-decker that used to ferry me to work everyday. I remembered taking the train down…

March 23, 2011

How to Make Beef Caldereta (Beef Stewed in Tomato Sauce) and Drop Biscuits

I told him to sit and stay while I scurried upstairs to grab a clean towel from the linen closet. I hurriedly ran down the steps and was surprised to find him still sitting next to the door where I left him. Stanford usually gallops straight to the kitchen to get his treat as soon…