Many of you are getting summer started this Memorial Day Weekend. Any of you rollin to a picnic or barbecue?  If so, we’ve got the bomb ass pot-luck dish, Watermelon Salad with Sprinkles of Patis. Imagine sweet, juicy watermelon tossed in rich salty fish sauce, sharp lime and sour calamansi juice, peppery cilantro, honey and thinly sliced red onion.WTW! This recipe is so freagin easy, there really is no excuse. The hardest thing is cutting that annoying watermelon rind. This side dish is super fresh.

Ingredients: 

8 cups of watermelon, cubed

1 cup of cilantro, chopped

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced and separated

1/2 cup of fresh lime juice

1/4 cup honey or agave

1/4 cup patis aka fish sauce

Directions: Place watermelon, chopped cilantro and red onion  in large bowl. In medium bowl combine lime juice, honey and fish sauce. Whisk together.  Pour dressing over watermelon and lightly toss until fully coated.

The Freshest Ingredients: 

Speaking of super fresh, we decided to get in on the garden craze. We got planters y’all. We plan to grow all the stuff that always goes bad in your refrigerator because you forgot to use it. We’ll keep you posted on our progress. Pig Parts & Beer, Keeping It Fresh.

 

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By Allan Reyes

One of the strongest memories I have of my grandmother’s kitchen (or Lola, as we Filipinos affectionately call our matriarchs) is the hot blue flame of her stove while she made Caldereta . I remember the stove’s sound, how it carefully hissed, exploded into blue fire, and hummed its little song. The stewing of the meats gave the kitchen a comfortably humid and cavernous air and I remember how I loved spending time in there, sitting atop the giant rice drums, watching her glasses fog up from the steam. This is when the bubbling of the stewing meat, the rhythmic separating of the rice skillfully done by a relative nearby, the grinding of coconuts, and the humming of my Lola produced a unique orchestra of its own. Cooking music. In her memory I have saved many recipes from her song book that I’d love to share, starting with Caldereta.

Caldereta, from the Spanish word ‘Caldera’, originally hails from Spain. It consists of tender goat meat (along with lamb liver), tomatoes, bell peppers, potatoes, and spices (cumin, pepper), thrown into a large cauldron and allowed to stew. This produces a savory sauce that was originally accented with goat cheese and parsley. During the Spanish occupation of the Phillippines, the recipe was updated with the country’s own ingredients. Here now is a further update to the recipe by my Lola who liked a little ‘kick’ in her cooking:

Ingredients:
2 lb. beef round cubed
1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
10 pcs. peppercorns, crushed (or 1 tsp. ground pepper)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 c. olive oil
1 c. onion, sliced
1/2 c. tomato sauce (mushroom-based)
1 c. water
1 c. beer (to give it a ‘malty’ flavor; Lola used San Miguel, a Filipino pilsner but you can be imaginative here and try different flavors; IMHO Fat Tire or Sam Adams would add and even maltier/hoppier bite)
1 c. bell pepper strips
1 bay leaf
2 potatoes, cubed
Cooked in four stages, (1) marinate the cubed beef in apple cider vinergar, pepper, and garlic for 30min. (2) Fry pieces of beef in olive oil along with onion until browned. (3) Pour in tomato sauce, water, and beer, bring to a boil and let simmer for 20 min. Add bay leaf, pepper strips, carrots, potatoes and let simmer for another 10 min or until beef is tender. Garnish with parsley and serve.

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Did any of you catch Parts Unknown with Anthony Bourdain in Koreatown? Tony and Roy Choi made a brief stop at Jollibee for some “Filipino representation”. Among the fast food goodies The Kogi King nudged the Tonester to try,  was the mix mix drink/dessert aka Halo Halo. Halo Halo is a Filipino version of a sundae, just more tricked out.  It’s got everything: ube ice cream, plantains, corn and cheese ice cream, shaved ice, sweet beans and leche flan, yes flan. Bourdain seemed to enjoy the “oddly beautiful and very tasty” frozen treat. Good Times.

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By Karena Apollonya Ebora Higgins 

At a glance, Chef K looks hard, like a bad ass, and you know what, she is, but under the fierce make-up and butcher knife tattoos, Chef K’s a real sweetie. We met up at The Little Next Door and talked ish about everything, including her dad’s wack relocation tactics, bullshitting on the TASTE  and why she feels like the richest mother fucker! 

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