The World Street Food Congress is happening this summer at Bonifacio Global City, and it promises a sampling of the best street food ever.
There will be 25 street food exhibitors; 20 will come from India, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore and the United States—a mix chosen by Singaporean street food expert KF Seetoh. The remaining five will represent the Philippines, to be chosen by the Department of Tourism.
The curated street-food party on April 20-24 is expected to draw 10,000-15,000 diners daily. It will be a tented food market, set up on Federacion Drive and 9th Avenue, with cooking demos and live music throughout the day.
Seetoh, who established the Makansutra street food village in Singapore, is organizing the World Street Food Congress in the Philippines with the Department of Tourism, Tourism Promotions Board and Ayala Malls, with the Inquirer as media partner.
Take note of the festival schedule: 4-11 p.m. on April 20-22, Wednesday-Friday; 12 noon-11 p.m. on April 23, Saturday; and 12 noon-9 p.m. on April 24, Sunday.
Come in comfy clothes, and bring cash.
Seafood platter, BBQ ribs
The Fried Seafood Platter by Keng Eng Kee of Singapore is something to look forward to. It has soft-shell crab tempura, calamari, eggplant and three dips: chili crab sauce, black pepper sauce and salted egg yolk sauce.
From Malaysia, Wan Dao Tou will serve Penang Assam Laksa, a tangy-fiery noodle soup with fresh mackerel in savory laksa broth with tamarind-infused sambal, topped with a dollop of hae ko, or sweet prawn paste, and some mint leaves.
Bali BBQ Ribs by Warung Sunset of Indonesia is tender pork ribs in sweet-salty-spicy marinade, grilled for a smoky flavor. It is served with Balinese Sambal Matah, a raw salad with shrimp paste and peanuts.
Over at BánhCan 38, Vietnamese food is represented by Banh Xeo, a crispy seafood pancake cooked the old-fashioned way—over wood fire using traditional clay pots and pans.
Sweet treats will come from the United States—the Churro Sundae by Churros Locos, sundae with deep-fried churros rolled in cinnamon sugar or dipped in chocolate sauce.
Ice-cold beer will be sold.
Jamboree component
The festive food market is one of the components of World Street Food Congress, explains Javier Hernandez, Ayala Land assistant vice president for commercial business group.
“The food festival is the Jamboree component of World Street Food Congress. The other two are the World Street Food Dialogue, a conference on street-food culture, and the World Street Food Awards which recognize the best performers in the festival,” Hernandez says.
The theme of the World Street Food Dialogue, April 20-21, is “The Comforting Flavours of Home.” Among the 17 speakers are chefs, vendors and hawkers who will lecture on opportunities, plans and ideals for the street-food industry.
Seetoh will head the panel, with Mercato Centrale founder Anton Diaz from the Philippines, Food Carts Portland owner Brett Burmeister from the United States, chefs Duangporn Songivsava and Ian Kittichai from Thailand, chef Malcolm Lee from Singapore, food editor Odilia Wineke from Indonesia, former National Environment Agency official Richard Tan from Singapore, National Association of Street Vendors of India head Sangeeta Singh from India, Street Vendor Project director Sean Basinski from the United States, The Bourdain Market co-founder Stephen Werther from the United States, culinary consultant William Wongso from Indonesia and “Master Chef Asia” 2015 winner Woo Wai Leong of Singapore.
Ticket to the two-day conference is at $250, and $150 for students. Venue is 7th Ave. and 25th St. in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.
Visit https://wsfcongress.com
SIDEBAR
Fish cake ‘saté,’ salmon soup recipes
HERE are recipes of two Indonesian street food from chef William Wongso: Saté Lilit Bali, a traditional Balinese dish of skewered fish cake with spicy sambal, and Pindang Serani Salmon, a clear aromatic salmon soup with ground spices and spicy-sour broth.
Saté Lilit Bali (Minced Balinese Spiced Fish Cake Saté)
For 20 skewers:
500 g fillet of Spanish mackerel
400 g shrimps, remove skin and head
6 tbsp thick coconut milk
75 g half-mature coconuts, desiccated
20 pc lemongrass stalks, to be used as sate skewers
10 g kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced
3 tsp kaffir lime juice
3 tbsp cooking oil
20 sheets aluminum foil, cut in the size of 10 x 10 cm
Ground spices:
11-12 pc shallots
3 pc garlic cloves
4-5 pc red chilies
1½ tsp lesser galangal, minced
2½ tsp turmeric, minced
2½ tsp galangal, minced
3 tsp palm sugar, thinly shaved
3 tsp lemongrass, finely minced
4-5 pc candlenuts, lightly toasted
2 tsp salt
5 g black pepper
3 pc nutmeg
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp fermented shrimp paste
5 pc red chili
100 cc cooking oil
5 g salt
Sambal matah:
Mix:
7-10 pc shallots, finely sliced
2 pc garlic cloves, finely sliced
7 pc red chilies, finely sliced
3 pc kaffir lime leaves, remove the stems and finely slice
½ tsp cooked dark shrimp paste
3 pc lemongrass stalks, finely slice the stems
1 tbsp lime juice
40 ml boiled cooking oil
Mince fish fillet very finely in a food processor or with a chopper. Sauté all the ground spices, add coconut milk and mix well. Remove, cool down.
Mix fish, shrimp, ground coconut, desiccated coconut, kaffir lime leaves and juice, and divide into 20-25 portions.
Cover your hands in plastic and mold the mixture around a lemongrass skewer over trimmed stalks. Wrap with aluminum foil.
Grill over charcoal until golden brown, turning often, or cook in oven. Serve with sambal matah.
Pindang Serani Salmon Soup
500 g salmon fillet
500 g lime (squeezed)
100 g basil
10 pc chili paddies
5 pc kaffir lime leaves
2 liter water
2 g salt
2 g pepper
5 g sugar
100 ml cooking oil
70 g shallot
60 g garlic
70 g ginger
70 g galangal
60 g lemongrass
40 g turmeric
Sauté shallots, garlic, ginger, galangal, lemongrass in oil. Add kaffir lime leaves, lime juice and water, simmer to a boil.
Strain the broth and continue cooking. Add salt, pepper and sugar, stir till boiling. Add salmon fillet, top with basil and serve.