My dad loved eggplants grilled whole with their charred skin stripped, and then fried with pork into omelets.
As I inched my way to meet my family waiting outside, thoughts of Christmases past lingered in my mind. Simbang Gabi and Noche Buena. Jamón and queso de bola.
The kind that’s measured by the glass and wrapped in brown paper bags. For a fiddling sum of money, you can buy happiness. Salty, greasy, and garlicky happiness.
My mind drifted to our butcher back home. I dreamed about the stubby links of longganisa hanging handsomely under bright incandescent bulbs.
I’ve been picturing him sitting with his right leg folded and his knee drawn up toward his chest. I’ve been picturing him eating with his bare hands.
I took a deep whiff of the jackfruit simmering in the pot. Memories of home instantly flooded my mind.
Witnessing how hens are slaughtered at a very young age taught me invaluable lessons about food.
Eaten with bare hands, fried fish dinners accompanied with tomatoes and salted eggs mashed together by hand are so simple yet so satisfying.
Jun Belen is a Philippine-born San Francisco-based professional food and cookbook photographer. Jun-Blog is his mouthwatering Saveur-nominated collection of Filipino 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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