There is more to creating good food than just finding the right mix of the right ingredients. It requires a lot of heart and—old and overused as it may sounds—much love.
When you put chef Sau del Rosario in the same room as food historian Lillian Borromeo (who lives to share all that she knows about our food and culture), what you get is a roomful of adoring foodies who crave for the spread the two Kapampangan kitchen greats have prepared.
The Diamond Hotel recently hosted a successful food festival where chef Sau and aching Lillian showcased the best of Pampango cuisine.
The menu was a mix of the old and new. Some highlights were chef Sau’s camaro lumpia and sisig topped with foie gras. Aching Lillian stayed true to tradition and prepared tibuc-tibuc and her legendary San Nicolas cookies.
I asked them what their favorite dishes were. Chef Sau said it is the pork sisig with foie gras. I asked why and he didn’t reply. I think it’s because the dish is a representation of his person—a top act, inside and out. And, like its creator, rustic with a touch of class!
Pork Sisig with Foie Gras
½ k each pork cheeks and tongue
¼ k pig ears
2 c of water
1 c of pineapple juice
1 tsp whole black pepper
2 pc bay leaves
Put cheeks, ears and tongue in a large pot. Simmer with water and pineapple juice for 1 hour or till tender.
Add bay leaves, peppercorns. Refrigerate overnight.
Grill the meat over charcoal fire for another 5-10 minutes until brown and crispy. Cut into ¼-inch cube.
Foie gras:
¼ k foie gras (goose/duck liver), diced
¼ k foie gras for topping, sliced for garnish
Pan fry in dry pan, set aside rendered “foie oil.”
Sisig:
1 c finely chopped onion
¼ c pineapple juice
3-4 siling labuyo or chili peppers
¼ c calamansi
1 c minced garlic
4 tbsp margarine
1 tsp whole black pepper, crushed
¼ c soy or liquid seasoning
Saute onions and garlic in “foie oil” and margarine until the onions are caramelized. Increase to high heat, add meats.
Pour on the pineapple juice and cook for another 5 minutes. Season with pepper, soya/seasoning and calamansi. Cook 5-10 minutes, stirring.
Top with fried foie gras slices and red chili. Serve with vinegar with onions and a bit soya on the side.
Best served with white rice and a bottle of beer!
Aching Lillian’s favorite is tibuc-tibuc, a “labor of love” because of the effort and time needed to prepare this kakanin. According to her, the curious “buc-buc” sound that emanates from the mixture is what ladies in the olden days claimed to be the sound of their heartbeats beating for their sweethearts. Milagrosa rice would be soaked overnight then stone-ground, but for practical purposes, cornstarch is used today.
Tibuc-Tibuc
¾ c cornstarch
¼ c sugar
Dayap or lemon rind
4½ c carabao’s milk
Latik oil
Dissolve cornstarch in gatas damulag or carabao’s milk.
Add dayap or lemon rind and sugar to taste. Cook over low temperature until thick.
Add a tablespoon of latik oil and stir frequently to avoid burning at the bottom.
Add another tablespoon of oil as needed. Pour in igu/bilao lined with banana leaves or onto greased Pyrex dish, then top with latik.
To two of my favorite people in the world of food, chef Sau and tita Lillian, and to the very competent GM of the Diamond Hotel, Vanessa Suatengco, kudos!
Speaking of the Diamond, there are many reasons I love this hotel: the majestic bay view; chef Daniel Back’s black sesame and green tea ice cream flavors (rich, silky and luscious, and sold by the pint); and not the least, the best bacon in Manila—found in the coffee shop, sliced thicker than usual, so crisp that it crackles, very tasty, and without the oil!
It is chicharong bacon literally! (Call 5283000.)
Tacsiyapong Gulay
Last week’s Kitchen Rescue profiled food industry heavyweight Rod Ongpauco. Here, he shares a recipe of a dish he says is his answer to kimchi. If you haven’t been to Isdaan Resto Fun Park in Laguna, by the way, go before school starts. (Call 0923-1364679.)
(Delicious with anything grilled or fried)
4 pc cucumber, radish, singkamas, eggplant, sliced
1 okra
4pc sayote, French-fry cut
Kangkong leaves
1 tomato
Boil eggplant, okra, sayote and kangkong.
Peel and thinly slice cucumber, radish and singkamas. Slice tomato in half. Arrange on a plate.
Sauce:
¼ c siling labuyo, chopped
½ c onions and garlic chopped
1 c chopped manggang hilaw
1/3 cup bagoong Balayan
2 c sampaloc juice (boil 150 g sampaloc in 2½ cups water for 10 minutes, extract juice by squeezing by hand, strain, add 1 tbsp patis)
Blend. Pour sauce over vegetables, enough to glaze.
Espresso pie
After the veterans, here are the up and coming chefs. Rurik Laviña and Pierre Tan of Il Duello make an addicting espresso pie, lavishly topped with whipped cream and grated parmesan. (Call 0917-3462008).
They are in the process of fine-tuning the menu of their newly opened restaurant, but from what I’ve sampled so far, I look forward to it.