A Different Sort of Laksa

The bowl of soup shown above isn’t the prettiest thing in the world, but let me assure you that it is in the running for one of the most nourishing, most comforting foods ever.

This is laksa – at least, this is how laksa is done in the provinces surrounding Laguna de Bai. Unlike its Nonya namesake in Singapore and Malaysia, coconut milk and fat rice noodles do not come into play in this particular dish. Instead, sotanghon – springy-textured mung bean vermicelli – is cooked in a clear broth with shredded banana blossoms [puso ng saging - lit.: banana heart] with ground pork, onions, and garlic.

This can be served as a first course; the broth is mild yet flavorful, just the right thing to whet your appetite. At our house, though, this is considered more of both a main course or a heavy side dish. The pork, noodles, and shredded banana blossom are fab over a good plate of steamed rice.

Haru Maki: Spring Rolls with a Japanese Accent

Haru Maki from Kitaro

Spring rolls are the sort of dish that seems to be intrinsic to the cuisines of several Asian nations.  Chinese traders over the span of centuries took them to their ports of call.  The locals liked them so much that numerous variations have been built on the basic theme of meat and veg wrapped in rice paper.

Vietnam has its goi cuon, those refreshing summer rolls stuffed with chopped bean vermicelli.  A similar dish, albeit deep-fried, is served in neighboring Thailand.  Singapore has its popiah and the Philippines has both lumpiang gulay (a deep-fried roll filled with a savory mix of mung bean sprouts, slivered green beans, and tofu) and lumpiang ubod (similar to popiah but filled with slivered hearts-of-palm), as well as the meat-filled lumpiang Shanghai.

The Japanese, however, do not seem to have jumped onto the spring roll bandwagon.  Indeed, whenever we speak of Japanese maki, we automatically think of the nori-wrapped rice roll stuffed with raw fish.  This is why I was surprised to encounter haru maki over at Kitaro quite recently.

Haru maki – literally spring [haru] roll in Japanese – can be found on Kitaro’s appetizer menu and is actually worth trying though it does seem incongruous on the sampler of goodies.  These rolls are filled with what appears to be a dry-ish sukiyaki mix: wood-ear mushrooms, bits of shiitake and beef, bean vermicelli, carrots, bits of shrimp, and nori. The appearance of the fried rolls may make you think that these will probably taste like an ersatz version of goi cuon, but when the hint of soy and seaweed hits you, you just know you’re in for an unusual treat.

These are great as an appetizer, particularly when dipped in the chili-spiked soy dip that goes on the side.  It’s also good as a main course; just get a bowl of miso soup and another of rice and you’re all set. 

On Binalot: Meals Wrapped for Convenience

Open me up!

Say this about the cuisines of Asia: each nation on the continent has its own way of toting about their lunches.  There are metal tiffin boxes on the Indian subcontinent and Japan has its o-bento.  Southeast Asians – particularly those in the Malayan Peninsula and the Philippines are known to wrap cooked rice and viands in layers of banana leaves so as to make meals conveniently portable long before the Americans introduced the concepts of Tupperware and lunch boxes.

Remove the paper wrap to reveal the banan leaf bundle within

In some parts of the Philippines, specifically the provinces of Laguna and Batangas in Southern Luzon, these bundles of goodness are called minaluto and are usually toted along by families for summer excursions.  In these modern times, they are known simply as binalot – a rather obvious way of saying that the food has been wrapped (Tagalog: binalot).

Here's the food: Pork Sisig on Rice

Numerous food court stalls, stand-alone diners, and neighborhood carinderias have been serving binalot meals for quite some time now as they are popular, being both tasty and cheap.  For as low as P 65.00 (about US$ 1.38), diners can enjoy a variety of foods served on top of freshly-steamed rice.

Pork and chicken adobo served with a salted duck egg and a fresh tomato is a popular choice, as is sisig, that decadent, highly savory mixture of finely chopped porkloin, pigs’ ears, and cheeks.  Binagoongang baboy, chunks of pork stewed with the classic shrimp paste, is another popular meal.  Beef fanciers, of course, are not ignored by binalot makers as both bistek (beef cutlets cooked with soy, onions, and kalamansi juice) and salpicao (beef tenderloin cooked with garlic) are also available.

Whichever bundle you choose, it’s definitely one that you’ll find satisfying.

Weekend Breakfast: Danggit and Longganizang Lucban

The thing about Sunday breakfasts is that they make for lovely memories on Monday morning and even lovelier things to look forward to throughout another week of drudgery.

Yesterday’s breakfast, in particular, was absolutely savory.  Fr. Jeff’s recent trip to Bacolod for the thanks giving Mass of the newest member of the Clergy of Paranaque (Congrats, Fr. Topher!) yielded numerous treats specific to that part of the Visayas.  Among the varied edible delights that came our way was a pack of a delicacy much missed on our dining table: danggit. 

Danggit (rabbitfish, spinefoot, or sleek unicornfish) are small saltwater fish from the Southern provinces that are butterflied, salted, dried, and usually served fried to a crisp.  You eat these crunchy little fishies whole – bones, heads, eyes, and all – dipped in sukang kinurat, rice or cane vinegar where chili peppers, garlic cloves, and peppercorns have been soaked for a long time.

At our house, the rare appearance of danggit does not call for the scrambled eggs or onion frittata that usually accompany such fried dried fish as dilis (anchovies) or espada (needlefish).  Instead, these salty fish go best with the highly spiced, incredibly savory little sausages known as longganizang Lucban.

As the name suggests, these sausages originally came from the town of Lucban in Quezon province, the same place that hosts the glorious Pahiyas Festival year after year.  Longganizang Lucban are classic examples of longganiza de recado or savory sausages, certainly worlds apart from the hamonado – ham-cured or sweet – sausages of either Pampanga or Bulacan in Central Luzon.  In these links, fatty pork is highly spiced with pepper and crushed garlic while a shot of vinegar is thrown into the mix for some extra bite.  Paprika is optional, but when it’s used, the oil exuded by the sausages during frying turns a vivid red.

Vinegar – preferably spiced vinegar – and garlic fried rice are the usual accoutrements for such a meal.  We, however, prefer to savory the dusky saltiness of danggit and the savory flavors of the longganiza against the blandness of plain boiled rice.  Our vinegar is sweet rather than spicy: all the better to temper the garlicky fire and the salt.  Lola Conching’s Vinegar with Wild Honey (available at such shops as Gourdo’s and some major supermarkets) does the trick quite beautifully.

Believe me: it’s the sort of breakfast that makes for weekend bliss.   

Sweet-and-Sour Pork at Home

Homemade Sweet and Sour Pork

Sweet and sour pork has long been a favorite dish at our house, but our version of it is not the vividly orange-colored dish seen at so many Chinese [and faux Chinois] restaurants.  As a matter of fact, sweet and sour pork at our house is brown, but that’s because of the addition of soy sauce, brown sukang Iloko (cane vinegar from the northern provinces), and brown sugar.

The resulting flavors are not as nose-piercingly sharp as those in commercially-prepared dishes.  Instead, the play of sweet and sour is more subtle and palatable.  It definitely goes down a treat with rice, though.