It’s that time of year when the price of Asparagus is at its lowest. I read somewhere that the season in California starts in February and peaks around April. So when I saw that the price per pound was more than half the usual, I grabbed a bunch and knew exactly what to do with …
Bagoong Alamang (sauteed shrimp paste) is “ulam” by itself. Add some freshly squeezed lemon juice and you have a meal. The downside to this umami-rich condiment is that it’s a magnet for rice. I don’t think I have ever eaten bagoong with just a tiny bit of rice. That’s why, this is also in the …
Fried eggplant is an easy dish that a lot of us eat on a regular basis. It pairs well with fried or grilled fish, meat , Pork Binagoongan or just by itself with a soy sauce-lemon dipping sauce. But there’s one thing that puts me off when eating this, the grease! Eggplant is one of …
To tell you the truth, I was not a fan of Kare-Kare. I actually don’t remember, but maybe the very first dish of this kind that I had tried wasn’t to my liking. It’s like eating pineapple for the very first time and it had that “itchy” feel on the tongue. That latter experience stuck …
Coconuts grow well in the Philippines. Having said that, dishes made with coconut milk are common and every province (some more than others) has their own take on a “Ginataan” (cooked in coconut milk) dish. It can be a savory main dish, a sweet dessert or a snack item that has coconut milk as its …
Did you know that the oldest Chinatown in the world is the one in Binondo, Manila? I didn’t know that. My family has been going there to eat and buy authentic Chinese ingredients for as long as I could remember. When I was little, Chinatown seemed like a labyrinth to me and I was so …
We only buy shrimps once in a while because aside from me, only my hubby likes it. My kids are not a fan and the littlest one even considers it a bug. Haha! So, whenever we “indulge” in the cholesterol that comes with it (especially when it’s head-on), we go all out! What I mean …
Whenever I think of Tinapa (smoked fish), I’m reminded of 2 Catholic churches in Manila – Our Lady of Loreto (Sampaloc, Manila) and Quiapo Church (Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene). These are churches that I frequented when I was still living in the Philippines and street vendors selling tinapa lined up outside its walls …
Arroz ala Cubana sounds so complicated and elegant but this dish actually has humble beginnings. It definitely is Spanish in origin but some countries have their own variations. The identifying ingredients are rice, egg and plantain. That’s how it’s done in South America. Spain adds tomatoes and tomato sauce on theirs while in the Philippines, …
My paternal grandmother was born and raised in Daet, Camarines Norte…. a full-blooded Bicolana! Growing up, I would only see her a few times because she lived very far from where we were and it was mostly when I was still young. But there was this one time when I was in college that she …
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