The flavors of Asia...at home

Philippine cuisine uses natural seasonings – patis (fish sauce), bagoong/alamang (fermented fish), calamansi (native lemon), unripe tamarind, kamias, suka at bawang (vinegar and garlic), luya (ginger), salt, even sugar. Until we started traveling and really got into cooking, we had never heard of galangang, kefir lime, and a selection of herbs and spices, some of which are actually grown, but untapped, in our country. These figure prominently in the different, but akin, cuisines of our Southeast Asian neighbors – Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Every time a Filipino visits any of these countries, he hankers not for the gourmet food in hotels and upscale restaurants, but for dishes at the hawker centers or anywhere along the streets, because he/she would be looking for that native taste produced by using indigenous ingredients.

Today, the home cook can serve a Malaysian meal or Thailand’s phad thai, among others, thanks to Rustan’s recently launched “Asian Street Food Invasion” where products and ingredients from these four countries are available.

The “invaders” were welcomed at a colorful event held at the Concourse of the Power Plant (basement level) in Rockwell where a Rustan’s Supermarket is located.

Each country had a booth with costumed attendants serving the guests. From the Vietnamese stall we sampled fresh spring rolls; from Thailand we could not resist the phad thai and crispy coated shrimps; from Singapore there was laksa and Hainanese chicken rice and from Malaysia, satay.

Overall, we are pleased that various food elements are a little drive away from our base and therefore we can often cook dishes with the typical flavors of Asia.

After the ceremonies, which included dance numbers reflecting the art and culture of the featured countries, we did our rounds at the store and found the collection varied enough to meet our needs.

The mixes and sauces were what we immediately noted – sweet and spicy Nonya (the term used for Singapore cuisine) sambal chili; kits of Hainanese rice and Singapore chili crab and curry; Vietnam’s Cholimex brand of plum chili sauce and shrimp satay sauce and bottled ground mint leaves; Thailand’s authentic phad thai noodles and rice sticks, aromatic grilled chicken/pork seasoning and a variety of curry (something common these cuisines have) paste, and much, much more. 

Other products include Bakers Cottage biscuits and fruit cake, KG Mantou pastries in coffee, pandan and chocolate flavors, Kanan Brand puff pastries and chaptti and 3-in-1 coffee.

A highlight of the “invasion” will be a series of cooking demonstrations featuring these cuisines – on July 14 at Fresh Rockwell, July 28 at Shangri-la Plaza, and August 11 at Fresh Makati.

Incidentally, have you noticed that the stores are now called Rustan’s Fresh, perhaps indicating that they are part of the trend of new and healthy supplies.

To top it all, shoppers have the chance to win an all-expense paid holiday in one of these four exciting countries. Visit the store near you and, like us, cook Asian.

Now, we need to go to our kitchen and execute a Singaporean laksa or Vietnamese spring rolls.

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