Filipino food is one of the lesser known cuisines from the Far East. It is not that it doesn't cater to popular tastes. It actually does. So people ask why, if Filipino food was actually good, are there not a lot of Filipino restaurants around? I can only surmise that it is because Filipino food takes time to cook. It is not as quick and easy to prepare as other Asian food.
I know that people get excited at the mere mention of chicken wings. There is one person here at home who does and always avers that "this chicken wing recipe is the best so far". That has been said so many times before. I don't know if each recipe really surpasses the previous one. I know I already have a lot of chicken wing recipe posts but just in case this really is the best one, I best share it with you.
I love sweet and savoury twists on recipes, even on meat. This cookie like concoction is actually sweet pastries filled with char siu pork. They are just exceedingly delicious. The pastry is a crumbly and crisp sweet shortcrust and that goes so well with the pork filling.
The vegetable spring roll, although more known as a Chinese restaurant and take-away staple, is also a Filipino food. We call it lumpiang prito, which simply means fried spring roll. The word lumpia is the generic word for spring roll and prito (which stems from the Spanish word frito) is the Tagalog word for fried. Lumpiang prito is eaten as a snack or a side dish rather than an appetizer. It is usually paired with noodles or rice porridge such as goto (rice porridge with beef or tripe) or arroz caldo (rice porridge with chicken).
Thai green curry has become quite a phenomenon in the West. That creamy, aromatic and deceptively mild looking curry dish in restaurants packs a punch and gets your mouth in a fierce burning grip in seconds. Although I love the flavour, I can't bear the heat.
I like having fun with food. I am certainly not a purist when it comes to cooking styles. I read a lot of recipes and watch a lot of cooking shows and what I learn shows on my food but not in the exact manner that I saw it. My recipes take on a few twists and turns as a result of inspiration, necessity or forgetfulness. I sometimes get a spark of inspiration from something or nothing and end up creating a recipe. Sometimes a new recipe is born from substituting an unavailable ingredient. Sometimes, I must confess, I cook something from memory but end up with a dish that's different because I simply forgot how to cook it.
Growing up in a predominantly Catholic country, the Philippines, I have always been aware of the practice of abstaining from meat during the Fridays of Lent. Back home, there are a lot of meat free dishes that are customarily lined up for Lent. Sometimes there is so much food made "in lieu" of meat that we end up feasting instead of fasting.
Roast isn't exactly fast food but it can be if the meat is pork tenderloin. Pork tenderloin is one of those cuts of meat that is delicious and tender and cooks in no time. It is beautiful to serve and graces any plate with style.
