Burnt Lumpia

Sustainable Seafood

2008-10-07T22:49:21-07:00

I sometimes find myself wondering if I'd be more "ecologically responsible" if Captain Planet had aired during the '80s with the rest of my favorite childhood cartoons (e.g. G.I. Joe, Transformers, and Voltron).

But because Cappy aired during my angry teenage years in the '90s, I always viewed that cartoon as somewhat corny and sissified (heck, I even watched Jem and She-ra during the '80s, and I still liked those better than Captain Planet).

Despite the absence of this green-mulleted, blue-skinned, red underwear-wearing superhero during my formative years, I still try to live and eat as green as possible as an adult. That's not to say that I'm some kind of eco-freak (not that there's anything wrong with that), but I try to do what I can when it comes to how my food choices affect the planet: I eat as locally and organically as I can (though it's not always possible) and I go out of my way to not be wasteful of food.

More recently though, I've started to learn a bit about sustainable seafood and how overfishing certain species of fish can not only lead to the possible extinction of these fish, but can also cause terrible repercussions in the oceans and the rest of the world.

Since October is National Seafood Month, I thought I'd try to shed a little bit of light on this subject by participating in The Leather Disctrict Gourmet's sustainable seafood blog event: Teach a Man to Fish 2008.

Sardines: good for you, good for the planet.

I am by no means an expert when it comes to seafood sustainability, but a slew of information is available at the Monterey Bay Aquarium website. According to the Monterey Bay Aquarium:

"Sustainable seafood is from sources, either fished or farmed, that can maintain or increase production into the long-term without jeopardizing the affected ecosystems."

One such source of sustainable seafood is Sardines, which happen to have healthy and abundant populations. Luckily for me, sardines are also in abundant supply at my local Filipino market. When I purchased my sardines, I saw that they were labeled as wild (rather than farmed) and they were caught in Monterey, California.

Ideally, the fish you buy at the market should be labeled with where the fish came from and whether it was farmed or wild. There is no set answer when it comes to farmed vs. wild fish. Some farmed seafood are considered sustainable (tilapia, oysters, rainbow trout) while other farmed species are not sustainable (salmon, imported shrimp [U.S. farmed shrimp are OK]). Confusing I know. But a helpful guide can be found here.

But in short, just because something is farmed, doesn't mean that it is sustainable (for example, some farmed fish can escape their pens and intermingle and breed with wild fish, possibly resulting in some crazy mutant fish--I'm being very general).

If your fish isn't labeled, don't be afraid to ask your fish monger some questions. And if your fish monger doesn't give you a straight answer, don't buy his fish. Simple, no?

And asking questions about your seafood goes beyond your fish market. When eating out at restaurants, check to see if the menu explains where the seafood comes from. And again, ask the server this information as well.

Also, you can download a regional (U.S. only) pocket seafood guide to help you choose seafood that is ocean-friendly to where you live. I've even printed out the west coast guide (WEST COAST!) and put it in my wallet. For my readers in the Philippines and Asia, there are seafood guides at the World Wildlife Fund website, although they only cover Hong Kong and Indonesia. Sadly, I have no idea whether or not Bangus is a sustainable species.

Guide or no guide, the important thing to remember is to ask questions and be aware of where your seafood comes from and how it was raised/farmed/caught and how these different factors affect the ecosystem. As I mentioned earlier, I'm no expert on sustainable seafood and I'm not meaning for this post to be soapboxy (I watch cartoons, remember?). But I do think it's important for me to seek out information and to try and be more responsible with what I choose to cook and eat.

Here is my submission to The Leather Disctrict Gourmet's sustainable seafood blog event: Teach a Man to Fish 2008:

Bacon-Wrapped Stuffed Sardines

I've discussed my love of sardines before, but I do prefer fresh sardines over the canned variety--especially when they are wrapped in bacon and grilled! I also stuffed my sardines with either Sambal (chili-garlic paste) or with chopped shallots. I prefered the ones with sambal as the chili paste stood out against the bacon and the flavor of the sardines, whereas I couldn't taste the shallots at all. But feel free to stuff the sardines with whatever you like--herbs, ginger, etc.

8 fresh sardines, cleaned and gutted
1/2 cup kalamansi juice (or lime juice)
Stuffing of choice (chili paste, shallots, etc.)
8 strips of bacon

Butterfly the sardines by cutting off their heads, and then removing their backbones with a boning knife:

Gently slide a boning knife between the bones and the flesh.

Pull the backbone away from the flesh and then snip with kitchen shears.

Pour the kalamansi juice into a shallow dish large enough to hold all of the sardines. Place the sardines, flesh side down, into the kalamansi juice and allow to marinate for 10 minutes. Remove sardines from kalamansi juice and place on a work surface flesh side up.

I preferred the sambal sardines.

Stuff the sardines with shallots, chili paste, plain 'ol black pepper, or whatever else you'd like. Close the butterflied sardines and wrap each sardine in a strip of bacon. Grill the sardines over medium-high heat, turning every few minutes, until bacon is cooked and crisp--about 5-8 minutes total.

Pandora

2008-09-29T20:51:09-07:00

The wife and I keep a fairly organized pantry. Most everything is easy to find and within reach because the items on our shelves are clearly labeled, or are in clear canisters, or both.

But there are always three wildcards in the pantry for us. Three tins that previously contained things like candy, gingerbread mix, and cookies (they were all gifts) are now recycled and employed to house other flotsam and jetsam.

Problem is, I can never remember the booty currently contained in each tin because I don't label them, and my X-ray vision only works on rayon, silk, and maybe even denim (not that I'm complaining).

So every now and then I have to pop open each tin to figure out what the heck lay (or lie? I be not good at grammar) beneath their lids.

For example, I just (re)discovered that the green tin stashes away my heroin brown sugar (keeps it moist):

The gingerbread tin hides my weed oregano (keeps the whole cupboard from stinking of oregano [I buy in bulk, so a small little jar is not sufficient]):

And so that leaves the round cookie tin. For the life of me, I can never remember what I hide in that one (my memory must be shot from all the oregano I consume)...

Oh yeah, that's where my dried shrooms shrimp are!

After opening my round cookie tin, a whiff of pungent funk punched me right in my face. It's been a few months since I brought these tiny shrimp back from the Philippines, and they've been pretty much out of sight and out of mind for me.

So after me and my tiny shrimp became reacquainted with each other (hugs and hand-pounds all around), I knew I had to make something with them otherwise they would again be forgotten for another few months.

The first dish I made with the little dried buggers was Ukoy. For those not in the know, Ukoy are fried Filipino fritters comprised of a myriad of veggies (like carrots, onions, green papaya, and sweet potatoes) and studded with shrimp (dried or fresh). In layman's terms, Ukoy are like shrimpy hash browns.

My first attempt at Ukoy, although quite tasty, did not resemble any other Ukoy I have had in the past:

To the best of my knowledge, Ukoy are supposed to be fairly flat fritters (at least that's how my mom and grandma both make them). But when I threw together my Ukoy batter for my first go around, I combined some AP flour, rice flour, beer (of course), onions, some of the dried shrimp, a couple eggs, some baking soda, and some baking powder. But I'm sure the eggs, baking soda, and baking powder all contributed to the fluffy shrimp cakes that came out of my frying pan:

The shrimp cakes were actually pretty good, and had a very pronounced shrimp flavor. I'd make them again for sure, I just wouldn't call them Ukoy.

For my second try at Ukoy, I eliminated the eggs and leaveners altogether, and also threw in some julienned (courtesy of my trusty mandoline) carrots and sweet potatoes. This attempt was definitely a more familiar fritter to me:

My Ukoy are delicious on their own, but it's still almost impossible to eat Ukoy without the customary dip in a sauce of vinegar, garlic and black pepper.

Even after two rounds of Ukoy, I still had a good amount of potent dried shrimp left. Looking for more inspiration in my pantry, I came across a bag of Carnaroli rice we still had from our trip to Italy two years ago (even in a clear bag, the rice still managed to go unnoticed all this time). So to finish off my supply of shrimp, I made a shrimp stock out of them and then used the shrimp stock to make a simple shrimp risotto:

My risotto actually turned out much creamier than pictured, but it had dried out by the time I got it into a bowl, garnished it, and got a decent shot of it. Risotto is terribly un-photogenic.

And although these dried shrimp are small in size, don't let their daintiness fool you: they pack a lot of shrimp flavor.

I only needed half a cup of the shrimp to produce enough stock for the risotto. I also didn't strain the shrimp out of the stock and ladled some of them into the rice so that the finished risotto would be studded with the tiny shellfish:

After making the Ukoy and the Shrimp Risotto, my cookie tin is now empty and waiting to hide some other contraband. Hopefully whatever it is I put into the tin will be able to overtake the smell of chocolate chips and shrimp.

Ukoy (Shrimp Fritters)

Makes about 10-12 fritters

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup rice flour
Ground black pepper, to taste
12 ounces cold beer
1 tsp patis
1 small red onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and julienned
1 sweet potato, peeled and julienned
1 cups small dried shrimp (can be found at the Asian market, make sure they are not salted. If small dried shrimp can't be found, regular fresh shrimp can be used--just push one to two shrimp into each fritter)
Oil for frying

In a large bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, rice flour, and black pepper and stir to mix well. Add the beer and patis and stir to combine and form a batter. Add the vegetables and the shrimp and mix well.

The batter shouldn't be overly thick, but it shouldn't be runny either. You should be able to scoop the batter with a spoon:

Add enough oil to a large skillet or pan until the level of the oil is about 1/2-inch high. Heat the oil over medium-high heat.

When the oil is hot, drop a large spoonful of batter into the pan, flattening the batter with the spoon. Fry the fritter on both sides until golden brown. About 3-4 minutes per side.

Drain the fritters on paper towels and serve immediately.

Dried Shrimp Stock

Makes about 4 cups

1/2 cup dried shrimp
1 onion, peeled and quartered
1 lemon, halved and seeded
1 bay leaf
4 cups water

In a large pot, combine all of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove and discard the onions and lemons. Use the stock in dried shrimp risotto (recipe below).

Dried Shrimp Risotto

Makes 2-4 servings

4 cups shrimp stock (recipe above)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pinch saffron
1 cup Risotto rice (such as Arborio or Carnaroli)
1/2 cup white wine
salt, or fish sauce, to taste
ground black pepper, to taste
zest of one lemon
chopped parsley, for garnish

Preheat the shrimp stock in a separate pot just until boiling. Reduce heat to low and keep the shrimp stock warm and ready to use on the stove.

In a separate large skillet or saucier, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the onion to the pan and sweat until translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and saffron and cook for another minute.

Add the rice to the pan and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to coat the rice in the oil, reduce heat to medium-low. Continue to cook the rice until each kernel is toasted, about 7-8 minutes. Add the 1/2 cup of wine to the pan, being sure to scrape the bottom of the pan with your spoon. Cook for another minute or so until the wine is absorbed.

After the rice has absorbed the wine, add one cup of the warm shrimp stock to the pan and stir. Continue to cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp stock has been absorbed into the rice and you are able to see the bottom of the pan:

Continue to add the shrimp stock, one cup at a time, until all the shrimp stock has been absorbed. But be sure not to add any stock until the previous addition has been absorbed. With occassional stirring, it will take anywhere from 20-45 minutes for all the stock to be absorbed. Also ladle in as much or as little of the small shrimp from the stock as you'd like--discard any shrimp you do not use.

If all of the stock has been absorbed, and the rice is still hard and not cooked through, continue to add 1-cup installments of water until the rice is done to your liking.

Taste the risotto for seasoning and add salt and/or fish sauce, and black pepper to taste. Garnish with lemon zest and chopped parsley and serve immediately.

Stuffed to the Gills

2008-09-17T20:37:12-07:00

Whenever my dad gets a little hot under the collar and has to work off some steam, my mother usually hangs a whole Bangus (milkfish) from a meathook in her kitchen. Then, she goes to her mint-condition 1980s-era Sony boombox and blasts "Eye of the Tiger" from its speakers. Then, as if on cue, my dad bounds into the kitchen and proceeds to go to town on the poor hanging Bangus--Rocky Balboa style--working his jab-jab-cross combinations to rightly tenderize the flesh of the fish. After absorbing enough furious blows from my father's menacing knuckles, the fish meat relents and finally yields as it falls through the fish's mouth and gills and into a bowl waiting on the floor. Left hanging from the meathook is only a limp, empty sock of fish skin, and on the kitchen floor lay a bowl full of tender fish meat. And thus begins the recipe for Rellenong Bangus--Stuffed Milkfish.

Aside from the preceding paragraph being unnecessarily laden with adjectives, it's also not entirely true. One, my mom wouldn't know how to work a boombox; and two, my dad only punches live animals (it's been a while since I've zinged my old man in this space: ZING!). So aside from poking fun at my parents for my own personal pleasure, I did want to paint a picture of how difficult it is to prepare Rellenong Bangus (stuffed milkfish).

All joking aside, Rellenong Bangus is perhaps one of the most time and labor-intensive Filipino recipes to attempt--its preparation involves the tenderizing and removing of the fish flesh through only a small opening in the fish's skin using only a spoon and a lot of scraping and squeezing. For Stuffed Bangus, the whole idea is to remove the meat from the fish while still keeping its skin intact--this is done by inserting the spoon through the gills of the fish, although my mom sometimes cheats by cutting the fish open, scraping the meat out, and then sewing the skin back together.

After the meat is removed from the fish, it is seasoned and cooked, flaked, picked over for bones, and then mixed with chopped veggies. Meanwhile, the empty fish skin is marinated in a mixture of soy and kalamansi. The fish meat and veggies are then stuffed back into the fish's body until the deflated balloon of fish skin resembles a whole fish again (It's kinda like squeezing all the toothpaste out of a tube, and then stuffing the paste back into the tube again--only much tastier). After the fish is stuffed, the whole shebang is grilled or baked or fried or what have you.

The entire ordeal (and it is an ordeal) of removing and deboning the meat from a whole Bangus is easier said than done--which is why Stuffed Bangus is only made every once in a while for parties and special occasions (or on occasions when my father has to punch something--actually, that's not true, otherwise we'd have stuffed bangus every day).

Anyways, because Stuffed Bangus is beyond my skill (and patience) level, there are shortcuts to be had. Which is why I particularly enjoy this recipe from Eating Asia.

Instead of scraping the meat out of the fish, you could just have your fish monger butterfly and debone the Bangus for you (I got this done at my Asian market). Although you can get the main backbone removed, Bangus is still a notoriously bony fish--so be aware that your fish monger will not be able to remove every single bone from the fish.

Then, as Robyn from Eating Asia suggests, just stuff the cavity of the fish with a mixture of chopped tomatoes, onions, and chilies and then grill the fish whole. Although Robyn wrapped her fish in a banana leaf and tin foil before throwing on the grill, I prefer the fish to pick up a bit more char and smoke. So I just tied my fish with some kitchen twine, oiled it, and then put it on a very hot grill (a trick I learned from Todd and Diane).

Ah, now that's my kind of Stuffed Bangus: it's quick, it's easy, and it leaves my knuckles free of fish scales.

Stuffed and Grilled Bangus

Adapted from this recipe at Eating Asia

Serves 2-4

1 whole Bangus (about 1.5--2 lbs.), cleaned, butterflied, and deboned
Salt
2 kalamansi, (or half of 1 lime)
1 large tomato, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2-inch piece of ginger, minced
1 jalapeno or serrano chili pepper, minced
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
3 Tablespoons kalamansi juice (or lime juice)
Ground black pepper, to taste
Olive oil

Prepare and preheat your grill (I heated my gas grill to medium-high, about 350-400 degrees)

Sprinkle the inside of the fish with salt and the juice of the 2 kalamansi, set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the tomato, onion, garlic, ginger, chili pepper, soy, remaining kalamansi juice, and black pepper.

Spoon as much of the tomato mixture as possible into the cavity of the fish, reserving and setting aside the leftover tomato mixture. Close the fish around the stuffing, and tie the fish closed with kitchen twine. Brush the outside of the fish liberally with olive oil.

Place the fish over direct, medium-high heat and grill for 15-20 minutes (about 7-10 minutes per side). Serve the fish with rice and the reserved tomato mixture, or with fish sauce and more kalamansi.

Tidbits

2008-09-11T23:01:20-07:00

Vegetative State

Ugh.

Sorry for my absence in this space last week. On top of being busy at the office, things have also been hectic here at the Burnt Lumpia World Wide Headquarters as I was struggling with a side project for a few days (and by "busy at the office" I mean surfing the internet, and by "side project" I mean laziness, boredom, and a case of poo-poo brain).

Not that this post marks the end of my "busy side project-ness"--I still haven't spent much time in the kitchen as of late [for whatever reason I can't seem to shake my current state of blah]--but I have at least been out and about...

FPAC

This past weekend, I got to check out the Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture in San Pedro. I spent a only a few hours at the festival on Sunday, but I was still able to enjoy a lot of the activities there. There was some beautiful artwork on display, as well as many musical acts and dance numbers going on simultaneously at different stages within the festival.

One of the many dance crews from the weekend

Escrima demonstration

Balut Eating Contest

Giant Upo. Oh my gulay!

Although I missed out on Christine Gambito's comedy act the previous day, she served as emcee on the main stage on Sunday.

Happy Slip on the left, Giant Veggies on the right

Aside from the giant veggies on display at the festival there was also some Filipino food on offer. Problem was, there was only one Filipino food vendor in the entire place. One. ONE! O-N-E!!!!

Sure there were a few other food stands that served Chinese, Thai, snow cones, funnel cakes, and Boba. But did I mention there was only a single stand serving Filipino food? And it was the busiest of all the food stands! And I'm sure I wasn't the only person upset by this as there were murmers from many of the people in the long line waiting for a plate that would hold a small combination of pancit, BBQ skewers, fried rice, ukoy, and/or lumpia.

My spot in line. It was a long wait for Filipino food.

Don't get me wrong, we had a great time at the festival, and it was great to see such a huge gathering of Fil-Ams of all generations in one place enjoying themselves. But I was a bit miffed at the huge lack of food here as I was initially under the impression that there would be a wide selection of Pinoy goodies. Next year, hopefully.

The Return of the Purple Jar

Also last week, my wife and I met up with Mila, who is visiting the states from the Philippines for a few weeks. You remember Mila, don't you? Well, Mila was only going to be in SoCal for a few days before hopping on a train to begin a cross-country adventure (of which I'm very jealous), so we wanted to meet up with her before she left. And sweet girl that she is, Mila brought us a jar of Good Shepherd Ube Jam all the way from the Philippines!

As some of you may remember, I had the chance to procure a jar of sweet purple yam jam a few months ago, but I was afraid of spoilage and funkage. But the jar of Ube that Mila brought us was Uber fresh:

I've got almost a month to consume 24 ounces of purple!

First a cookbook, now ube in a jar--Mila is officially the awesomest person in the universe. To return the favor, we took Mila to The Oinkster because she had been fiendin' for a taste of their Ube Milkshake. While at the Oinkster, we learned a little bit more about Mila as we all dined on pork and slurped our purple beverages. And although we agreed that the famous purple shake tasted more coconutty than ube-y, I still say it is my most favorite shake in all the land. We hope to see you again soon, Mila!

It's Just Like Honey

In addition to the Ube Jam, Mila also brought me the August 2008 issue of Rogue Magazine--from what I hear, a popular read published in the Philippines. And no, she didn't bring it to me because of the awesome cover (although I still would have been quite appreciative), but there happens to be a small mention of a particular food blogger within the pages of Rogue:

Pretty neat, eh? Here's a look at the entire page:

That's me in the lower left corner. I guess that makes me Cindy Brady...

Thanks to Wysgal of Rants and Raves, who did the write-up for Rogue and mentioned me among some of her other favorite food bloggers. I took great honor in sharing a page with Marketman of Market Manila, Joey of 80 Breakfasts, Manggy of No Special Effects, as well as Table for Three, Please and Southbound.ph.

In Our Element

2008-08-29T11:43:19-07:00

I've written in this space before about my usual apprehension when it comes to meeting persons unfamiliar to me.

So for me, it's a rare occasion in which I get to meet someone for the first time and then immediately feel at complete and total ease with that person. Rarer still are the times when I come across an entire group of strangers and feel a strong sense of camaraderie with them after only a few hours.

But such was the case last weekend, when my wife and I were lucky enough to attend a Food Blogger Party at the home of Todd and Diane of White on Rice Couple. Not only were we treated to a seemingly endless array of great food, but we were also lucky enough to have met a group of truly wonderful people.

Todd and Diane's shindig started off innocently enough. After all of their guests had arrived, Todd led everyone on a tour of the world famous White on Rice Couple Garden. While everyone's mouth was agape from the awesomeness that is Todd and Diane's backyard, the hosts seized upon this moment of vulnerability among their guests--Diane quickly assigned each of us to go through this amazing garden and pick out various herbs that she'd be using for our dinner.

Despite this seemingly sly move by our hosts to get us all "working" at their dinner party, none of us minded helping them out one bit. Although we were all guests in the home of strangers, none of us shirked at our newly given responsibilities as herb foragers. As lovers of food, we reveled in these duties. And I was very content to count myself among these guests that night...

After Todd led his group of eager guests on a tour of his garden, I shared in a moment of amazement with Matt of Matt Bites, and his partner Adam. We all seemed to marvel at how a few tufts of swiss chard managed to protrude from the small opening of what seemed to be a giant urn-shaped ornamental pot that probably had no business containing much of anything, let alone swiss chard!

When Brooke from Food Woolf first arrived to the party, there was something oddly familiar about her. As my wife and I would find out later that night, Brooke works at one of our favorite Los Angeles restaurants. So we had actually seen Brooke a couple weeks before--unknowingly then, but hazily familiar now--while we were at said restaurant for our anniversary dinner.

I also became acquainted with Allison of Sushi Day and her boyfriend, Son, as my wife and I formed small rounds of flatbread dough with the young couple before dinner started. Turns out that some new stomping grounds for my wife and I are old stomping grounds for Son--the four of us may all share a sushi meal together at these common grounds soon.

Matt of Wrightfood was also a guest and I found out that one of Matt's small missions in life is to make everyone in the world aware of the English Flag. I figured that perhaps I should do the same with the flag of the Philippines.

I was also pleasantly surprised by Sarah of The Delicious Life and Tastespotting fame. After telling her my blog name, Sarah actually remembered the last photo I submitted to Tastespotting--an amazing feat considering the fact that she scours through thousands of food photos a day.

And speaking of food photos, I finally got to meet Wandering Chopsticks--one of my oldest companions in commenting (in her blog and in mine). After I realized my camera was sans memory card (what kind of a food nerd am I?!!), WC was nice enough to lend me her camera and also offered to email me some of her pictures as well. As such, ALL of the photos in this post are courtesy of good ol' Wandering Chopsticks.

Wandering Chopsticks giving the business to some springrolls.

My wife and I and flatbread dough

While I got a few quizzical looks at my t-shirt that night, Julie from JuliesKitchen immediately recognized it as an homage to offal. Not only is Julie hip to not-so-choice cuts, but I discovered she's got good taste in beer as well.

I was also happy to meet Leah of SpicySaltySweet, who not only showcased her knowledge of wine that night, but also her keen use of dish soap and a sponge as she volunteered to wash dishes for Todd and Diane after we had all finished dinner. I was so inspired by this inexplicable act of kindness that I ended up drying dishes for Leah (and no one was pointing a gun to my head).

Perhaps noticing the dish-drying-grimace on my face, Toni from Daily Bread Journal picked up a kitchen towel and helped relieve the wet onslaught of giant platters that were steadily coming my way.

As it turns out after all, there was much more to be done to help out our gracious hosts than just herb foraging. We all picked things from the garden, helped out in the kitchen, doled out wine, cleared dishes, and took turns answering the front door for the cops. OK, I made that last one up, but if needed be we would've deftly dodged the fuzz to keep our hosts safe, I'm sure.

Soon enough, Todd and Diane's home was buzzing with activity as wine was poured and stories exchanged. We were like an army of line cooks, comrades-in-arms proud to be working in a great restaurant--Chez W.O.R.C.--that was run by two great chefs: Todd and Diane.

Although every one of the guests helped out in some way that night, the delicious food was ALL Todd and Diane's doing--their dinner was flawless! Some of my favorites that night were the Vietnamese Pork Sliders, and the grilled flatbread pizzas, but perhaps my most favorite was Todd's grilled herb-stuffed whole fish.

Special of the night

There was so much more food and fun from Todd and Diane's party that night, like their wonderful pairing of tropical fruits with cheese (mangosteens, longans, and jackfruit with stinky blue cheese and smoked goudas), and Todd's awesome cocktail creations. So for a better run-down of the food from that night and for more pictures, check out this post-party write-up from the hosts with the most: White on Rice Couple.

Thanks again for all the fun and food, Todd and Diane! What began as a meeting of complete strangers ended up being a family gathering of food nerds deliriously happy to be in the company of other food nerds. All of us that night--Todd and Diane and their very lucky guests--were comfortable and at ease in our element: like-minded and similarly passioned folk who would like nothing more than to spend a Saturday evening helping to prepare a feast amongst friends.

I just hope these kinds of events become less and less rare for me.

Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture

2008-08-25T22:42:09-07:00

In case anyone that happens to read this blog will happen to be in SoCal from September 6-7...

The 17th Annual Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture (FPAC) will be going down in San Pedro, CA from September 6-7, 2008. As the name suggests, this two-day extravaganza will showcase a multitude of Pinoy arts and culture through this year's theme of:

Katutubong landas tungo masaganang bukas – “Native ways toward a prosperous future.”

According to the FPAC website: FPAC is Southern California’s largest and longest running Filipino tradition. FPAC is made possible by over 250 participating artists, 400 volunteers and 25,000 attendees over the weekend. Set in the breathtaking seaside park of Point Fermin, FPAC has something for the whole family to enjoy.

And from what I've been told so far, FPAC indeed has a lil' something for everyone this year. Headlining FPAC will be Latin R&B Singer Joe Bataan (I'm already shakin' my hips in anticipation, unless that's not cool for a guy to say. In that case, I'm tapping my toes.)

In addition to Joe Bataan, Christine Gambito of Happy Slip fame will also be headlining at FPAC and performing her debut comedy set (this I definitely have to check out as I am a HUGE Happy Slip fan).

Aside from the headliners at FPAC, there will also be live art and painting at the Pilipino Artist Network (PAN), as well as a number of other performances including traditional and contemporary Filipino music and dance. In fact, my own dance crew, Marvin and the Patis Patrol, will engage in a dance-off with Kaba Modern. Ooohhh, you got served!

(I'm joking, of course. Although Kaba Modern will actually be performing at FPAC, I will definitely not be competing in a dance-off. I've just always wanted to write Ooohhh, you got served! I feel complete.)

Although I will not be cabbage-patching (it's a lost art), I will definitely be in attendance at the Festival on at least one of the days checking out the multitude of food vendors and stuffing my face with Filipino food. In addition to the good eats that will be on offer, I've also been told that there will be a Balut-eating contest and a Giant Vegetable Competition in the Seniors Village (who's got the biggest ampalaya, perhaps?).

So if you're interested in learning about Filipino culture, or if you want to peruse some great art from Pinoy artists, or if you just want to eat some great food, then I strongly suggest you check out the Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture. And no, silly, you don't have to be Filipino to attend. Tell a friend, homey.

What: The 17th Annual Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture

When: September 6-7, 2008. 10am-6pm for both days.

Where: Point Fermin Park, 807 Paseo Del mar, San Pedro, CA 90731

For more info, visit www.filamarts.org

Gin and Juice

2008-08-19T20:46:10-07:00

I know I've lamented in the past about the poor fruit production of my Kalamansi tree, Kal. But for all intents and purposes, Kal has had a pretty decent and citrusy summer so far by yielding a fairly sizeable crop for me. Albeit that the kalmansi I pick every now and then are still quite small and haven't grown to the size I would like (ideally, they should be about an inch around), they are still bursting with juice. And these small tart-tinged orbs are indeed a step up from my slim pickins of yesteryear that all but died as soon as they reached the size of a grain of rice.

But Kal's meager offerings aren't entirely his fault. He's relegated to a corner of our balcony (our condo has no yard, just a small porch and the aforementioned balcony) where he is kept under close watch by our garden gnome, Reggie.

Kal and Reggie, BFFs

As it is, Kal soaks up about 4 hours of sun a day. I've read that citrus needs at least 8 hours of sun, so I'm sure Kal's smallish limes are directly correlated to his lack of solar energy.

And it has also occurred to me that perhaps I lack the green thumb gene that seems to be so very prevalent in my family. Both of my grandfathers are wonderful gardeners who have grown all sorts of goodies in their respective backyards, I have an uncle who owns and tends a large sprawling farm in the Philippines, and my parents spend weekends in their garden tending to their supply of various halucinogenic fungi magic poppy fields cannabis coca plants uh, fruits and veggies.

Although I presently lack any gardening prowess in my DNA (I'm hoping it's still too early to tell), I've at least seemed to inherit my father's appreciation for a good buzz via a stiff drink (well, that and an undying, forever-burning internal rage). And while Kal's bounty is always good for a squeeze into a small dish of soy for a toyomansi dipping sauce, I've found that the majority of the Kalamansi I pick usually ends up in a cocktail glass to sate my inherited thirst for blurred vision and hiccups.

Iron Liver > Green Thumb

Admittedly, using kalamansi juice in cocktails is quite easy--just sub the kalamansi for lemons or limes in the cocktail recipes that call for them. A gin and tonic with a squeeze of kalamansi is a no-brainer, as is a whiskey sour that is soured with the Pinoy lime. And as seen in this post by Manju of Three Tastes, kalamansi juice can create a unique twist on the margarita as well.

For me though, I've come to enjoy kalamansi in the Aviation cocktail, which is an old pre-prohibition drink comprised of gin, lemon juice, and maraschino liqueur (and also creme de violette, but that is an old ingredient that is incredibly hard to come by).

Since I used kalamansi juice and some of the Ginebra Gin I brought back from the Philippines to make my version of an Aviation cocktail, I hereby dub this drink "Philippine Airlines" (Clearly No. 2).

PAL

Anyhoo, this drink isn't overly sour from the kalamansi juice as it is balanced out by the sweetness and pepperiness of the maraschino liqueur. And don't confuse maraschino liqueur with that red chemical/corn syrup sludge found in jarred store-bought artificial maraschino cherries. Maraschino liqueur is an alchoholic concoction made from fermented sour cherries--pits and all. Maraschino liqueur has a thick, almost syrupy consistency to it and is nutty, sweet, peppery and has juuuust a hint of cherry in it.

Also, do yourself a favor and make your own maraschino cherries by following this NYT recipe (I made a batch earlier this summer at the height of cherry season, the artificial cherries don't come close to the real thing).

While we're on the subject of cocktails, another old man drink that I'm quite fond of is the Manhattan cocktail. The manhattan is composed of whiskey (bourbon is good, rye may be better), bitters, and sweet vermouth. I made a discovery a few weeks ago when I was mixing myself a Manhattan and took a whiff of my sweet vermouth--it immediately reminded me of the Basi (Ilocano wine made from fermented sugar cane) that I had brought back from Ilocos. So I did a little taste test between the sweet vermouth and the Basi.

Turns out that the sweet vermouth and Basi were quite similar in looks, smell, and taste--which is pretty odd considering they are fermented from completely different things (grapes vs. sugarcane). I wouldn't say the vermouth and basi are dead ringers for each other, but they were pretty close. I'd say that the Basi was a touch sweeter and more astringent than was the sweet vermouth.

The Basi Manhattan I mixed was very complex--and rightfully so as this drink is usually spicy, sweet, and bitter all at once. But with the Basi subbing in for the sweet vermouth, my version was also a bit more astringent as well--quite a tasty twist if you're used to drinking old-man Manhattans.

Philippine Airlines (Aviation cocktail w/Kalamansi Juice)

Makes 1 cocktail

Although I prefer to have a bit more maraschino than Kalamansi in this drink, feel free to play around with the ratios (but leave the amount of gin alone!) to fit your particular tastes.

2 ounces gin
1/2 ounce Maraschino Liqueur (I prefer the Luxardo brand)
1/4 ounce Kalamansi juice

Combine the gin, maraschino liqueur, and kalamansi juice in a mixing glass or shaker with ice. Stir briskly for 15 seconds, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a Kalamansi lime on the rim, or a maraschino cherry in the glass.

Basi Manhattan

Makes 1 cocktail

I usually make my Manhattans with 2 parts rye whiskey to 1 part sweet vermouth. But since I found the Basi to be a bit stronger in flavor than the vermouth, I toned the basi amount down to 1/2 an ounce.

2 ounces rye whiskey
1/2 ounce Basi wine (fermented sugarcane wine from the Philippines)
1 dash Angostura bitters
1 dash orange bitters

Combine the whiskey, basi, and bitters in a mixing glass or shaker with ice. Stir briskly for 15 seconds, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

My Adidas

2008-08-06T19:51:49-07:00

Chicken feet are gnarly-lookin' things aren't they? What with the pink-toned lizard skin and the talon-equipped toes and non-opposable "thumb".

Ick.

From a purely aesthetic standpoint, the foot of a chicken is indeed quite creepy in appearance. And depending on how a particular chicken is raised, his or her feet will either spend a good amount of time standing in the chicken's own hot feces within a small confined cage (regular industrial, corn-fed, mass-marketed chicken), or hopefully running around out in the open on dirt, grass, and the hot feces of other farm animals (natural, cage-free, free-range, blah blah blah chicken).

Double ick.

Now, if you can get past the pink lizard look of chicken feet, and if you can get past the notion of where those feet could have possibly spent all their walking (or standing) hours, and if you are a bit of an adventurous cook, then you may find that chicken feet can actually be a wonderful ingredient to use in the kitchen.

Not only can chicken feet be used to make a wonderfully rich and gelatinous homemade chicken stock, but they can also be transformed into tasty bits of goodness on which to nibble.

Yes, nibble.

That's right. Chicken feet are delicious.

For instance, the menus of Chinese dim sum joints often offer fried/braised/steamed chicken feet under the moniker of "Phoenix Claws" (perhaps risen from the heap of unwanted chicken parts).

And in the Philippines, street food vendors can be found grilling marinated chicken feet that are playfully nicknamed "Adidas" (three toes = three stripes). Similarly, grilled chicken heads are referred to as "helmets," and pig ears are known as the ever-so-80's "Walkman". I'm not making this up.

Filipinos. Clever marketers of food we are.

Anyhoo, I'm sure there are many more cultures with a chicken foot fetish. But for most chicken foot recipes that I've found, you have to first boil the feet to tenderize and soften them up a bit. As such, I decided to kill two birds with one stone, er, uh, boil chicken feet for two separate recipes: Chicken Stock and Grilled Adidas.

Do the chickens have large talons?

Making chicken stock from scratch is perhaps my most favorite thing to do in the kitchen. I'm serious. Whenever there's a windfall of cheap chicken parts at the store, or whenever the surplus of discarded bones, wingtips, and carcasses reaches maximum capacity in my freezer, I gleefully daydream about a simmering pot of stock on my stove.

A.D.I.D.A.S.: All Day I Dream About... Stock

And there's nothing easier, or more gratifying for that matter, than making your own chicken stock. Pile of chicken parts + simmering water + pile of aromatic veggies = Homemade Chicken Stock.

My freezer is usually littered with stray bags full of chicken parts and carcasses that I specifically save for stock making, but I've never made stock from chicken feet before. So I was more than happy to buy a mess of feet when I found them.

You can usually find chicken feet on the cheap at most Asian markets, but I was very happy to stumble upon a giant mound of chicken feet (as well as chicken backs and necks--a murderer's row of chicken stock ingredients) in the poultry case of a Whole Foods Market for about a buck a pound.

West Coast!!!

Since I make my own stock a few times a year, I have my own ways of preparing this magic elixir. My chicken stock method is a hybrid of an Alton Brown recipe (use an inverted steamer basket on top of the bones to keep everything submerged in the water), and a Michael Ruhlman recipe (don't add veggies until the last hour of simmering--that's all the time needed for the veggies to release their flavors).

But for my maiden voyage upon a sea of chicken foot stock, I got a couple of pointers from this recipe by Elise of Simply Recipes. Elise had a great tip about cutting off the tips of the chicken feet after first boiling them for 5 minutes. After this initial boil, the claw tips are easier to lop off with a sharp knife. Removing the tips is useful for stock making since more bone and collagen will be able to leach out into the water for the stock. But claw removal is also useful if you will be eating the chicken feet and don't want a rogue talon shredding your tongue and throat.

So after boiling, and then lopping off the claw tips of my chicken feet, I returned the de-clawed feet to the pot and boiled for another 20 minutes. After this 20 minutes, I fished out and set aside a few chicken feet that I wanted to grill and eat. I let the rest of the chicken feet simmer away for a few more hours to develop the stock.

Some recipes say that 2 hours is enough time to simmer a stock, others say 4 hours--but I make it a whole day event when I make stock and I go for 8 hours (I have no life). After 8 hours most, if not all, of the collagen from the chicken bones has leached out into the stock and the bones can be easily crushed with a pair of tongs (Behold my power!). The more collagen in a stock, the richer and more lip-smacking it will be.

The chicken feet that I removed from the pot at the 20-minute mark would be used for my Grilled Adidas. I first ran them under cold water to cool them off, then I marinated them for 4 hours in a mixture of soy, kalamansi juice, chili paste, and other goodies.

After marinating the feet, I placed them on a hot grill, turning them every few minutes until they were nicely browned and a bit charred.

Me and my Adidas do the illest things

After spending some time on the grill, the "Adidas" kinda looked like the charred alien remains you might find at a UFO crash site. Nevertheless, they still tasted danged good.

If you're curious about how to eat a chicken foot, you just chomp off each toe one by one, work the tasty skin off in your mouth, and then spit the toe bones out. The best part though, is the "palm" of the chicken foot. That's where most of the skin, fat, and meat (well, more like cartilage) are located.

Fatty palm

You could then finish off the rest of the foot (the ankle on up) as you would a normal drumstick--just bite off the skin and toss the bone away. No, there isn't much etiquette when it comes to chomping on a charred chicken foot. But who cares, really? These grilled adidas are smokey and spicy and perfect with a cold beer.

The marinade for my grilled adidas would still be excellent for wings. So if you're still chicken about chicken feet, don't fret. Just use chicken wings as a substitute in my recipes below. Also, you don't have to make chicken stock and grilled chicken feet all at once, I just did so because that was most efficient for me.

Chicken Stock

2 lbs. chicken parts (I used about 1.5 pounds of feet, and 1/2 a pound of backs)
1 large onion, quartered
2 carrots, cut into large chunks
2 ribs of celery, cut into large chunks
5 sprigs of fresh thyme
10 parsley stems
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 bay leaf
10 peppercorns

Wash the chicken feet under cold running water, then place the feet in a large stockpot along with the other chicken parts. Fill the pot with enough cold water to cover the chicken by an inch. Place the pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes then drain the chicken into a large colander. Rinse the chicken with cold water until cool enough to handle.

Using a sharp knife, chop off the tips of each claw and discard. If there are any black spots or overly-scaly patches of skin on the "palms" of the chicken feet, remove those with a knife as well.

Return the chicken to the stockpot and again fill the pot with enough cold water to cover the chicken by an inch. (Optional: place an inverted steamer basket on top of the chicken in order to keep everything submerged.)

Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Skim off any scum that rises to the surface. Partially cover (I left the lid slightly ajar) and continue to simmer for at least 4 hours, or up to 8 hours. During the last hour of cooking, remove steamer basket and add the onion, carrots, celery, thyme, parsley stems, garlic, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Replace steamer basket on top of chicken and veggies and continue to simmer for one more hour.

Using tongs or a slotted spoon, remove and discard the vegetables and chicken from the stock. Strain the stock through a cheesecloth-lined fine mesh sieve into a large bowl or another large pot. Chill the strained stock over an ice bath (I usually fill my sink with ice, then stick the bowl into the sink). After the stock has cooled, divide into separate containers and store in the freezer.

You can use the chicken stock to make soups, sauces, etc.

Grilled Adidas (Grilled Chicken Feet)

Makes about 3-4 appetizer servings

1/2 pound chicken feet (about 6-8 feet, depending on size)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup kalamansi juice, or the juice of one lime
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1-2 tsp. sambal oelek (chili-garlic paste) to taste
6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1-inch piece of ginger, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Wash and rinse the chicken feet under cold running water. Place the feet in a pot and fill the pot with enough cold water to cover the chicken by an inch. Place the pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and continue to simmer for 20 minutes.

While the chicken feet are simmering, combine the soy sauce, kalamansi juice, oil, sambal, garlic, ginger, and brown sugar in a medium bowl. Whisk well to combine.

After the chicken feet have simmered for 20 minutes, drain the chicken feet into a large colander. Rinse the chicken feet with cold water until cool enough to handle.

Using a sharp knife, chop off the tips of each claw and discard. If there are any black spots or overly-scaly patches of skin on the "palms" of the chicken feet, remove those with a knife as well.

Place the chicken feet in a shallow dish and pour the marinade over the feet. Cover the chicken feet and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for 2 to 4 hours.

Remove chicken feet from the marinade and place on a well-oiled grill over medium heat. Grill chicken feet for 8-10 minutes total, brushing with reserved marinade, and making sure to turn the feet every couple of minutes. Serve immediately.

My Adidas cuts the sand of a foreign land
With mic in hand I cold took command
My Adidas and me, close as can be
We make a mean team, my Adidas and me!