Invent a New Taste

Two friends of ours, perhaps tired of the usual ordinary dishes served at home, summoned their creative juices and injected an element of new taste to otherwise boring but healthy food. We all know about sautéd kalabasa (squash) and sitao (string beans) cooked with coconut cream and spiked with finger chilis. Well, this gentleman did a gourmet-ing up of the dish and voila! we had something worthy of any world-class table.

As usual, he sautéd the vegetables in little oil, garlic and onions and added light coconut cream, which was enough to make the dish a little bit soupy. Then he did his trick–he crispy fried one big bisugo daing and cut it into small chunks. With the vegetables in a deep bowl, he topped it with the daing. Super!

In our cookbook there is a recipe for old-fashioned pancit which uses no meat but flaked bangus (cooked in water, celery and leeks) to enrich the flavor. A lady friend went a step farther (as suggested by her husband) and used smoked bangus (tinapa) instead. This removed the hassle of pre-cooking the fish and the resulting pancit got a new dimension, texture and taste.

There is another way you can modify your daing na bangus. After frying it in oil, pour some coconut cream (thicker than usual) and let simmer for a while. You will get a richer gravy-type sauce perfect to smother your rice with.

The hot months are soon to come, and salads will be the order of the day. Invent some delicious dips and dressing. Very handy for these would be left-over cheeses you have in your refrigerators. Likewise mustard that could have been lying around your fridge for a long time. From the groceries and other outlets you can buy sun-dried tomatoes, which make salads more tangy. Never throw away the oil they have been prepared in. You can add it to your mix. Anchovies are, of course, the best salting agent but, used moderately, you can substitute our own bagoong.

Capsicums (bell peppers) are so lovely these days. Take advantage and concoct refreshing salads using a combination of red, yellow, orange and green. It is not going to be expensive if you get only a piece of each (about P10 to P14 per). Putting them together in a bowl gives you an attractive color harmony. Their sweetish taste is better extracted if you roast them first. Take away the burned skin, which should not be much if you regulate the fire.

With a couple of friends, we were convinced to give cooking lessons at regular intervals. Our objective is to give homemakers (male or female) the chance to improve their culinary talent, maximize creativity and teach them basic techniques in the kitchen. The first of the series will be held on March 1 in Parañaque from 2 to 4 pm. Interested and aspiring cooks (beginners most specially) are welcome to call 820-4933 for details. Learning how to cook better is perhaps one of the most productive endeavors we can all get into in the coming summer months.

Asparagus is among our favorites and we are delighted that the supply we find in the markets (wet and otherwise) always looks fresh and firm. They go from about P30 a bunch. Years ago we discovered asparagus as sandwich filling. Boil in water then roll a stalk in a piece of Pan Americano with mayonnaise. We also steamed and rolled them in butter to serve later as side dish for meat or seafood. But rummaging through our file, we found some information on many other ways one can serve asparagus. They can be fried with garlic. Fried in butter then mixed with cream corn, young corn or kernels laced with a few drops of oyster sauce.Made into omelets with ham and cheese or cooked together with broccoli and button mushrooms. But nilaga, sinigang and tinola? We will have to test this and let you know.

We are happy (and proud) to note that Figaro has spread its coffee wings beyond Philippine shores and have opened an outlet in Hong Kong. That signals a step toward going international and we wish them success!