While the price of rice continues to hug the headlines, vegetables have become items of luxury reserved for and served only to the upper class. No longer does one hear the lament “We were so poor all we had for lunch was rice and vegetables.” A few days ago, Divisoria wholesalers were offering...
DELIGHTFUL DURIAN Hong Kong MX introduces its latest mooncake with creamy durian filling The Chinese tradition of offering cakes to lunar gods and goddesses started more than a thousand years ago. During the reign of Tang Dynasty Emperor Xizong (AD 873–888), mooncakes were gifted by the...
One of the most expensive meal starters is escargot, French snails cooked in garlic butter and served in their shells. The snails, raised in grape farms, spend their lives munching on grape leaves, which give them a distinct flavor and tenderness. Kept alive while being fed organically grown...
A wood stove was all we had in grandma’s kitchen. To keep it going, my young cousins and I had to scour the neighborhood for fuel. Grandpa’s shop, which built bus and jeepney bodies, was a gold mine. Buses had wood body frames. Jeepneys sported uphostered wood seats with intricate solihiya...
EXCELLENCE X CONVENIENCE Traditional Italian sauces like Basilico and Arrabbiata in jars save you time and effort without sacrificing authenticity Pasta has become part of the Filipino diet, served and eaten as snacks or meals in place of rice. Every Pinoy household has a spaghetti recipe which,...
FOOD TRIPPING Great memories can be made when visiting the places we source our food from Traveling with five children could be chaotic, stressful, and maddening. Or it could be an experience they would cherish all their lives. My living room wall is covered with blown-up photographs of our five...
PICKLED PLEASURES Pickles are created by immersing fresh fruits or vegetables such as cucumbers in an acidic liquid or saltwater brine Filipinos love pickles , which are at the top of the list when shopping for supplies in preparation for a special meal or feast. The pickles we love are sweet....
Like many of my contemporaries, I was raised in a home shared by three generations. We had no maids. Relatives came to help and were in turn raised like members of the family. They were sent to school along with the children of the household. Such was the case with distant cousin Gloria, who was...
WARTIME HUMBA Visayan braised pork dish that ensured the survival of the Romualdez family during the war One of the rewards of being a journalist is the opportunity to peek into the hearts and minds of famous people and learn aspects of their lives that have not been written about. Take former...
Suman sa ibos Filipinos traveling home or visiting friends and relatives are always loaded with gifts, which we all call “uwi” or “pasalubong.” More often than not, these gifts are edible specialties unique to the place they have just come from—bagnet from Vigan, longanisa from Lucban,...
SMOKEY AND SAVORY PERFECTION Indulge in flavors infused by the billowing smoke that envelops the meat on the grill We are all familiar with braising, steaming, frying, baking, roasting, stewing, cooking en papillote (wrapped in paper), confit-style (slow-cooked in its own fat), and their many...
A SIMPLE MEAL Beggar's Chicken came to be after a beggar used lotus leaves and clay to cook chicken stuffed with rice, pork, mushrooms, and lotus seeds I first heard about Beggar’s Chicken in 1965 from a Chinese couple, whom I interviewed in their home for an article on the textile industry,...
