Lardon My French: Rice

Showing posts with label Rice. Show all posts

Sunday, April 22, 2012

The Importance of Eating Seasonally

There are plenty of reasons why one should eat seasonally. Without a doubt one of the main reasons is flavor. Take a mango for example, which, a few months ago, would not only cost you twice as much as it does today, but would also not shower you with the amazing sweetness that a perfectly ripe mango can offer. I adore mangoes. Probably due to the fact (ok, mythical fact) that I fell from the mango tree - which is where my mom told me I came from.

A few weeks ago, Ataulfo mangoes started appearing at our international farmer's market. Native to the Philippines and Mexico, they're smaller, bright yellow, luscious, and buttery. Unfortunately, they were all imported from Mexico, but alas, it's difficult to find these type of mangoes in the U.S. (mangoes grown in Florida are usually Tommy Atkins).

This same time last year, I was in the Philippines visiting the other half of my family for the first time since 1995. Sixteen years. My cousins who once were small enough for me to tote around on my hip were now sharing a beer with me at the dinner table.

I forgot a lot of things about the Philippines... the sights, the sounds, the smells... well, I may have purposely dismissed some of that from my memory.

I forgot, or maybe just never realized how good the food really was. Everything seemed new to me, except for my Lola's house... and the taste of a perfectly ripe mango.

Nothing beats the bang! thump, thump... thomp of a mango falling off of the tree and rolling down your roof... then bribing your little brother to climb up there and get it for you. That's right, they are so ripe that they fall off the tree. None of this picking it 2 weeks before it's ready so that it holds up through shipping and processing crap.

San Sebastian - Paella

When in Spain, one usually thinks of paella, right? Earthy, creamy, saffron-infused rice that's speckled with all sorts of ocean creatures. Yeah, I think of it too. A few of us were hungry for a little more substantial meal (pintxos aren't always very filling), so we went in search of a good paella joint. Apparently, San Sebastian is not known for it's paella, but we were determined to find a decent one. I mean, it has to be more authentic than the paella in Paris.

Three of us set out on this paella adventure. Walking through the parte vieja (old city), we took a turn down a small alley-way and stumbled upon a hole-in-the-wall that had a menu out front with paella for 10 Euros. Not too bad, we agreed. Plus, the place looked like one of those family run establishments... mother running the register and daughter waiting tables while dad hacks away at huge slabs of beef with a meat cleaver.

We went inside and sat down in the corner of the restaurant, chatting to each other about just how hardcore the man with the meat cleaver was... and how excited we were about this paella. The daughter-waitress brings us the menus, and before we even open them, lets us ever-so-kindly know that they are out of paella. Of course. Glancing at each another with a look that only says, "Do you think we should leave?" our friend Tim suggests we stay. We were all starving. We can get paella another time.

The rest of the menu was quite expensive compared to the reasonably priced paella. Both Quentin and Tim ordered appetizers... I think to try and save money, but I went all out and ordered the prawns at 20 Euros a plate. Eeeek. I figured for 20 Euros, I'd definitely get enough food to fill me. I was picturing grilled prawns on a bed of something with a side of something... and after waiting what seemed like forever, our plates started to come out. First came Tim's cured meat. Yes, that's how I'm going to describe it, because he actually thought he was ordering fish... but to his surprise was handed a plate of about 12 thin slices of meat. That's it. Ok, it was an appetizer... so then Quentin's blood sausage came out. A plate of about 8 slices of blood sausage. That's it.

I was starting to worry about my own plate, not because of the quantity of the food, but because what I had ordered was about three times as expensive as what the guys ordered. I held my breath as the plate made it's way to the table.

Let me just preface this by saying that I would like to go back to this restaurant again. As my plate hit the table I looked down to see about 10 medium-sized prawns in a neatly grilled row on a clean, white plate. Yep. That was it. No veg, no starch... just 2 Euro a piece prawns staring right back at me. Oh, there was a basket of bread on the table, but we later figured out that we had to pay for that as well. We all looked at each other in utter shock. Did we do something wrong? Is there more food coming that we don't know about? We took our sweet time nibbling on our measly plates and grabbed the bill and got out of there.

Later we were told by Sara, the girl running the hostel, that we went to one of the best restaurants in San Sebastian. That old man with the cleaver? Apparently he's the master of the grill. All we could do was laugh.

Paella count: Zero.

Still starving (what, 10 prawns fill you up?), we figured we would give paella another go. Earlier that night we walked past a place that was advertising about 10 different variations of paella. We hesitated going, as it seemed like more of a chain-restaurant. The back-lit plastic "picture menu" on the wall reminded me of those fast food Chinese joints... and I wasn't very optimistic. But after the ridiculous "meal" we just spent a fortune on, we just wanted a little bite of paella, no matter how bad it was going to be.

I can't even remember the name of this place, that's how much it left an impression on me. The three of us split one order of paella, and ordered some much needed beers. I can't tell you if it was good or not; in crazy starvation-mode I burned my entire mouth on the first bite. I couldn't even taste the rest of my meal. Fail #2.

Still craving paella.

The next day we did what we should have done in the first place. We asked Sara, the girl working at Urban House, for a paella recommendation. Of course, she knew a really good place that wasn't too expensive. We took another friend along to join in the paella-ness. As we got down near the marina, we found the restaurant, Txoko (pronounced "choco") and grabbed a table inside. Being very optimistic, we did it up big... and ordered two plates of fried calamari, paella for four, and a bottle of cider.

The paella came out, and so did our cameras.

This thing was beautiful. Steaming, golden-yellow rice with mussels, langoustines, and prawns peeking through... we were so happy.

This time, I made sure to let my food cool down before shoveling it into my gullet. It was delicious. Lusciously rich with bright, fresh crustaceans. Yum. It might not be the best paella in all of Spain, but it was by far the best paella I've had to date.

So fellow travelers, take my advice. It never hurts to ask a local.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

KCC Challenge: Pinakbet

This month's KCC challenge is brought to us by Erika @ The Ivory Hut, and to embrace the beginning of Spring, this month's theme is: Vegetables.

This was a bit of a tough one for me. Growing, up I was quite the picky eater. On our trips to the Philippines, one of the first things my mom would have to do would be to buy cereal and milk for me and my brother for breakfast. When going to a Chinese restaurant, I would ONLY eat egg drop soup. I didn't like veggies. I didn't like to try new things.

All of the Filipino dishes that I've grown up loving were either meat, sweet, or starch-based... so I had to consult my mom for this challenge. She threw a couple of ideas in the air... but the one that stuck out most was Pinakbet. Pinakbet is a dish that originates from my mom's hometown in Ilocos Norte. It's a melange of vegetables; tomatoes, onions, bitter melon, okra, green beans, all cooked with garlic, ginger, and bagoong (shrimp paste) until shriveled. It's one of my mom's staple recipes... a dish that she either cooks, or brings home from the Filipino store.

I never wanted to try it because of one ingredient; bitter melon. It is a vegetable that even makes my dad, one of the most adventurous eaters I know, cringe. So if he didn't like it, how could I, a picky 10-or-so year old, have had even the slightest urge to try it?

Now that I'm much older, I'm quite the opposite. I would much rather spend the time to make really delicious scrambled eggs for breakfast than pour myself a bowl of Lucky Charms. When going to a Chinese restaurant, I won't even waste my time on egg drop soup... I go directly for the Peking Duck (or something just as yummy). And I love veggies. I love to try new things.

So this is kind of my ode to how I've changed. It's a dish I've grown up with, but never ate. It's always been around, and now I am finally old enough to appreciate it... and it just so happens (as my mom just told me) that it was my Lolo's favorite dish.

Pinakbet

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
250g pork belly, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 yellow onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tablespoon of ginger, minced
3 coeur de boeuf tomatoes (beefsteak tomatoes), diced
2 tablespoons shrimp paste
3/4 cup boiling water
1 ampalayá, or bitter melon, seeds removed and cut into bite-sized pieces
8 okra, tops and bottoms cut off, and cut into bite-sized pieces
150g haricots verts (green beans), tips removed
1 eggplant, diced
salt and pepper, to taste

In a large heavy-bottom pot, heat oil over medium-high heat and fry the pork until browned. Once browned, remove the pork and set aside.

In the same pot, saute garlic, onion, ginger and tomatoes until softened, about 10 minutes.

In a small saucepan, boil water and add shrimp paste. Stir until dissolved.

Add the pork back into the pot of tomatoes, onions and garlic, and add the shrimp paste/water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add in the rest of the vegetables and cook until the vegetables are done, about 15 minutes.

Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with plain rice. Serves 4-6.