By SOL VANZJ
Ju
(Photo by PINGGOT ZULUETA)
MANILA, Philippines -- Whether dining at home or feasting at social functions, most Pinoys prefer Filipino food, of which there are two distinct kinds: Lutong Bahay and Pang-handaan.
Lutong Bahay, or home cooking, is the ultimate comfort food: uncomplicated recipes prepared from locally-sourced ingredients and redolent of scents and flavors that awaken flashbacks of family days long gone.
These are the day-to-day fare that require very little preparation and only a handful of ingredients: pinangat (fish stewed in salt), pinaksiw (fish simmered in vinegar), pinaputok (fish stuffed with tomatoes and onions, grilled in banana leaves), prito (fried), tinola (fish or meat in gingered broth), nilaga (boiled in water with onions), inihaw (salted lightly and broiled), kilawen (simmered in vinegar and spices, or raw marinated in vinegar).
In the Visayas and parts of Mindanao, the ultimate comfort food combination is Sutokil, laughingly nicknamed shoot-to-kill; the term is a contraction of Sugba (inihaw), Tolahan (nilaga or tinola) and Kilaw (raw fish in vinegar). It is a very simple food that accentuates the freshness of the ingredients and uses flavorings grown in the neighborhood: tanglad (lemon grass), luya (ginger), souring agents, vinegar from tuba (fermented coconut sap), spring onions.
Rich sauces -- Lutong Bahay is good, healthy food; but for special occasions like yuletide family reunions, weddings, birthdays, baptisms and fiestas, there are extra-special dishes which are classified as Pang-handaan (for banquets and special occasions).
Bathed in deeply-colored rich sauces, these dishes often require items not normally stocked in Pinoy homes: mushrooms, cream, canned pimiento, tomato sauce, grated cheese, ham, chorizo, raisins, gisantes (green peas), garbanzos (chick peas). Housewives and hosts often stock up on these imported ingredients weeks and months before the event.
Foreign influences -- Even the names of the dishes are not ordinary, often of foreign origin. From our Spanish past come Paella, Menudo, Mechado, Asado, Embotido, Morcon, Galantina, Relleno, Bacalao and Pastel de Lengua. Americans and other westerners contributed Meatloaf, Pot Roast, Stuffed Roast Chicken, Macaroni or Potato Salad, Baked Macaroni and Lasagna.
Asian neighbors gave us Sashimi, Tempura, Pata Tim, Vegetables in Oyster Sauce and Chicken Curry. Dishes from Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand, though becoming familiar through malls and restaurants in urban areas, have yet to become popular fiesta fare nationwide. “Too foreign” is the comment of most rural folk.
Cely kalaw, pioneer – There was a time when classy restaurants in Manila serving Filipino and Continental cuisine ignored many Lutong Bahay fare as being “too primitive” or “too simple” and “not fit for guests” or customers. Pang bahay lang talaga.
Defying this unwritten rule was Cely Kalaw, who capitalized on her probinsyana origins and proudly showed off her country bumpkin recipes at the restaurant “The Grove” along M.H. del Pilar near Padre Faura in Ermita, Manila in the 1960s. She coined the term “Bicol Express” for the dish that many had generically referred to as Ginataang Baboy na Tambak sa Sili.
Her very popular lunch and dinner buffets hardly varied from day to day, but nobody minded; everyone hankered for more Paksiw na Bangus, Sarsiadong Lapu-Lapu, Burong Mustasa, Sinigang na Ulo ng Talakitok sa Miso, Daing na Bangus, Ayunging Pangat sa Sampalok, Burong Manga, Inihaw na Isda, Adobong Hito, Pesang Dalag, Pagi sa Alagaw, etc.
The good old days -- Tita Cely burst into our Metropolis at a time of culinary adventure, when editors and business executives were scouring the alleys of Chinatown for authentic dishes with ingredients like preserved celtuce and salted jellyfish. Artist-writer Abe Cruz (father of Larry “LJC” Cruz) played host and guide to young journo wannabes like me.
Other days, we walked in the sand at the abandoned Stonehill reclamation project beyond the seawall of Dewey (now Roxas) Boulevard. There, at the spot where the CCP now towers, stood half a dozen fishermen’s huts enclosed with bamboo baklad (fish traps) for privacy: mom-and-pop eateries serving steamed halaan, tahong, talaba, bangus, kitang, asohos, malabansi and whatever else was caught overnight in the clean waters of Manila Bay.
The fishermen’s wives could cook nothing fancy or complicated; the only seasonings were ginger, patis, salt, vinegar and hot chili peppers. Bottled water had not yet been introduced in the Philippines; lacking drinking water, we drank soft drinks and beer. Lunch usually ended way after watching the sun set behind Corregidor Island.
Newer not better – Anticipating a trip down memory lane, I recently attended a VIP’s birthday party at one of the restaurants inside the fish market complex along Macapagal Avenue.
The baked tahong (mussels) shells were stuffed with tiny, tough shellfish meat obviously steamed and shucked the night before. The suahe (white shrimp) were fried crisp and encrusted in salt, which could not mask the un-fresh fishy after-taste of the flesh. That the shrimp heads were falling off were a bad premonition that they were not fresh when cooked. The Inihaw na Hito (grilled catfish) were leathery, indicating that they were pre-cooked many hours (or even the previous night) before and reheated shortly before serving. Fish Sweet-Sour was similarly dry, overwhelmed by a blanket of banana catsup-based sauce.
What a disaster!
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