Tuna is a pantry staple, though finding one that truly satisfies my buds and that’s readily available has been quite challenging. Not anymore.

San Miguel’s Del Mar Tuna is 100-percent authentic tuna that tastes just as it should—meaty, chunky and doesn’t easily flake or shred. It is flavorful, clean, pristine, in fact, and leaves no unpleasant aftertaste.

The variant packed in vegetable oil is sublime. I simply eat it from the can with freshly cooked hot rice, sprinkled with sea salt, drizzled with good sesame oil, a sunny-side-up egg, nori and kimchi. To die for!

This must be one of my best and happiest food finds for 2020.

Here’s a popular recipe from the San Miguel Culinary Center.

Tuna Kani Sushi Bake

4 c cooked Japanese rice

3 Tbsp cane vinegar

1½ Tbsp sugar

5 pc 8×8 inch nori sheets, 1 sheet cut into 16 small squares, and the remaining sheets, each cut into 4 squares

2 (185 g each) cans San Miguel Tuna Del Mar in Vegetable Oil

8 pc kani sticks, shredded

1 (165 g) pack Magnolia Quickmelt Cheese, grated

¼ c Japanese mayonnaise or Magnolia Real Mayonnaise

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a bowl, combine rice, vinegar and sugar. Mix well and set aside.

In a 8x8x2-inch ovenproof pan, add half of rice, making sure layer is even. Add nori sheets (16 pc squares), then top with the rest of the rice. Evenly spread then set aside.

Combine tuna, kani, cheese and mayonnaise in a bowl. Spread on top of the rice and bake for 15 minutes, or until cheese has melted and slightly browned.To serve, place about 1 portion sushi bake on each square nori sheet.

Tips: An oven toaster can be used instead of an oven. Adjust pan size to fit toaster. Bake for 5 minutes in the oven toaster or until top has browned. Add furikake on top of mixture for added color and taste.

Climate-controlled

Future Fresh sent me the most “alive” lettuce I’ve ever seen delivered to my doorstep—crisp and freshly picked.

Metro Manila’s first hydroponic farm grows its produce in a climate-controlled facility, harvested on demand by personal protective equipment-garbed farmers.

Without coming in contact with soil, Future Fresh vegetables are free of pesticides. But of course, a good washing is still required.

Future Farm’s Nori Tolentino says that through their roots, the plants are fed with additional nutrients. Salanova is a special mix of hybrid lettuce from Sweden that are small, compact yet leafier. In texture and character, it mimics baby lettuce, being delicately crisp.

Future Fresh also grows frisee, oak leaf , roquette, savoy spinach, baby kale, basil, coriander and flat leaf parsley.

Tel. 0927-7329956; follow @gofuturefresh on Instagram.

 

Pizza Tower

The Pizza Tower is a vertical food tower where newly harvested sweet basil, arugula, chives, cherry tomatoes, chili peppers and Italian oregano are picked to put into one’s pizza.

It is designed by Nicolo Aberasturi, who transforms small spaces such as balconies, verandas, rooftops, sun decks and parking spaces into fresh food oases.The vertical container was intended to be a food garden, equipped with planters, a water basin and a composting worm tower that turns kitchen scraps into organic fertilizer.

It comes with your preferred endemic plants including leafy vegetables, edible flowers, herbs and fruits.

Available are the herb, salad bar, bahay kubo and mixed towers that come in two sizes—the regular and the toddler for smaller spaces.

The vertical gardens are delivered and installed by Nicolo, who guides you through the whole process to ensure that your farming venture is a success. He can even customize towers for you.

Tel. 0917-7002007; follow @downtoearthph on Instagram.Visit www.reggieaspiras.com; follow @iamreggieaspiras on Instagram.