Food from the Pearl of the Orient Seas - Philippines (My Easter Lunch)

Hi Guys!

Firstly I'd like to say, Happy Easter To All of You! (a few minutes ago since I posted this just a few minutes past 12:00am) :)

Secondly, I'd like to comment on the posts so far. There's a nice mix of Asian and South American cultural foods which is nice to see. Also, nice post about junk food Anna. It's a nice background information about the modern eating habits of some teenagers and young adults these days. For me personally, if I'm going to eat fast food for breakfast or lunch, I will just order a small meal. For example, if I choose to have breakfast at McDonalds, I'll most likely just order 1 apple pie and 1 piece of hash brown and a small drink. This way I can have a decent meal and at the same time consume food that is not too unhealthy. Saves me money too :D

Haha anyways, my post today will be about my Easter Sunday lunch which my mum cooked. for me on Easter Sunday. It is a Filipino dish called 'Tinolang Manok' (pronounced Ti - Noh - Lang - Ma - Nok).

This is a chicken soup vegetable dish. Lots of Filipino families have their own recipes and my mum has her unique recipe too. But usually, the basic ingredients are small pieces of chicken, a variety of vegetables and soup.

But the secret ingredient is this vegetable that in the Philippines we call 'Sayote' (pronounced Sa - Yo - Te). Here in Australia, it is the green vegetable called 'Choko'. This vegetable is cut into long slices and added into the dish. It is then mixed with very small slices of ginger,onions, chili and crushed garlic. These are then all added along with the chicken pieces and soup to give the dish a nice natural flavour. I especially like eating this particular dish with sauce which is a mixture of soy sauce and lemon as well as a small portion of rice.

Below are pictures of the 'Tinolang Manok' dish and the secret ingredient.... Sayote or Choko! :)

Till next time,

Kerwin Abinoja (41758765)

Hot Pot!

Continuing on with my Chinese themed menu. My second favourite meal is Hot Pot.

Hot Pot, in the asian tradition consists of a variety of stew - by simering metal pot of stock at the center of the dining table. While the hot pot is kept simmering, ingredients are placed into the pot and are cooked at the table infront of all dining guests.

Typical ingredients can include vegetables, meat, seafood, qual egg, mushrooms, wontons, egg and dumplings. Personally my favourite, is seafood. My family and I eat alot of prawns, mussells and fish.

This meal is usually eaten in most Asian traditions, but very familiar with the Chinese/Vietnamese tradition in winter because it is a very warm meal.

Eating hot pot with my family allows us to enjoy our food and talk at the same time. It is a very traditional and common Sunday dinner in my family.

Julie

I like it Rumbera !!

Venezuela is a country where everyone loves bread but guess what?  The principal bread in any Venezuelan table is called AREPA.

This traditional bread , which is made of ground corn dough or cooked corn flour, is serve at anytime of the day, it can be eaten for a breakfast, lunch or dinner and why not sometimes they are a good snack for our tummies . Arepas (plural of Arepa) could be flat, thick, fried, backed, the colour will depend of what they are made of and the size will also depend of how big or small you like them.

A lot of people ask how do you eat them ? only butter? Ham & Cheese?... Well the answer here is very easy, we eat Arepas with anything and everything.

These are some of the most popular arepas:

• Reina pepeada - filled with avocado, chicken, and mayonnaise

                                                                                     

• Arepa pelúa - with yellow cheese and shredded beef
• Arepa con queso guayanés - with soft Guayanés cheese, like  mozzarella
• Arepa con queso de mano - with firm white cheese from los llanos Venezolanos
• Arepa catira - with yellow cheese and shredded chicken
• Arepa de dominó - queso llanero and black beans

                             

• Arepa de Perico - made with perico, a scrambled eggs mixed with diced tomatoes and onions
• Arepa rumbera("party" arepa)- with pork meat and yellow cheese (tasty cheese or swiss cheese)

 

• Arepa llanera - with cuts of beef (barbecued beef), tomato , avocado and fresh white cheese
• Arepa con cazón - with baby shark shark

Arepas not only need to be filled , they can be made of different things as well. For example these are the 2 most yummy and popular arepas :

·       Arepa dulce (sweet arepa): this arepa is made of ground corn dough or cooked corn flour  mixed with papelon (sugar cane) and anis which give it a great flavor , this arepa is a really thin one which is deep fried in oil.

·       Arepa de chicharron ( crispy pork arepa): this one is made of ground corn dough or cooked corn flour mixed with crispy pork meat and it is then deep fried.

                          

The best way of eating those is with a liltte bit of butter and whit cheese ...Mmmmm !!!

Arepas are yummy with everything even alone with soup and or just with butter they are just perfect.

This is one of my favorites dish back at home and I would never change it because as you can see it is just Yummmmyyy !!!

                           Joanna

Make sure Pabellon equals Miss Universe

Pabellon Criollo is not only Venezuela's Traditional dish, its also the most emblematic and delicious dish of the country which is enjoyed in every single table in Venezuela.

It is made of a super delicious combination of caraotas negras (black beans), carne mechada (shredded beef), arroz blanco (white rice), and tajadas (fried plantains).

 Even in the cheapest little restaurant Pabellon will be the principal dish of the day and it would be accompanied with arepas, which are the cornmeal staples that Venezuelans eat instead of bread.

Usually pabellon is served with a generous portion of delicious queso llanero o queso blanco grated over the black beans, which is white cheese that is make en los Llanos which are kind of farms in the rural area of the country, or a slice of avocado on the side.

If you want to eat it in a Venezuelan style, you might want to put a couple of teaspoons of sugar in the beans, it will be an awesome taste that you will never forget.

The combination of onions, sweet peppers, bell peppers and adobo (seasoning) and cumin, is the combination of ingrdients that the beef is cooked in,  which are The real secret of any delicious pabellon and all this together is called Sofrito

Around the coast, in Choroni, or in Margarita, the Carne Mechada is often replaced with cazon (baby shark).

If you want to be exotic you will have to try the pabellon during the Catholic fasting period of Lent when you may find chiguire (large guinea-pig) meat in place of the beef.

We say back at home that Pabellon is actually the best dish in the world, not only because it is extremely rich in flavour; but because it is a very cheap dish. The only dangerous thing here is that the money you safe from eating it you will be spending it in new pants because I am pretty sure that you weight won’t be the same after you have tried it.

If you get the chance to try it, I hope you enjoy it.

 

                                           Joanna

Junk Food

Other than Vietnamese food, who can say that they've never enjoyed eating junk food? As the world is more advanced as each years go by, people tend to be more busier and busier. This results in, no sufficient time to eat a proper meal. Junk food is the answer. Junk food, a meal that is cheap and quick to gobble down. It is highly favoured by business people and more commonly now, to the younger generations.People have no time to plan and cook out a decent/healthy meal.

There are many junk food franchise that i favour to eat. MacDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Dominoes, Oportos, this is just a few to name. Even though I may have mentioned that it is a popular meal to consume, but consuming it everyday will be a problem. Research has shown that, intaking too much of these meals can lead to various health problems. A main issue is obesity. But who can resist these types of food? Even though they may be fatty and problematic to the health, but so hard to resist.

Since my parents are sometimes lazy to cook, we usually buy food from one of the food franchise listed above. It is interesting, as each one is similar, yet very different. MacDonalds specialises in burgers and french fries and have also currently been introducing healthy items such as salads. KFC specialises in chicken, Dominoes and Pizza hut specialises in pizza and oportos specialises in burgers.

As a human living in the 21st century, I must say that it is very hard for people nowadays to avoid eating junk food, as it is quick, easy and delicious :)

 

Anna.(42101492)

Yummy Yum Cha!

Who doesn't know what Yum Cha is?!

Part of my Chinese/Vietanmese heritage it is a heritage to eat Yum Cha for Sunday Brunch with the family. Yum Cha is a world known breakfast favourite! This delicious meal is eaten by many cultures, whether it is Asian, Australian, Middle Eastern etc.

It is not surprising if you are to walk into any Yum Cha restaurant and to see a variety of nationalities spoiling themselves with this delicious meal, I mean who can resist?!

Here's a little history about Yum Cha, aka as "Dim Sim" in the USA. Its Chinese-Translated-English name is "Ban Ming" and is a traditional dining experience which involves drinking Chinese Tea and eating dim sum dishes (similar to tapas).

Dishes are usually steamed or fried and can be savoury or sweet.


My personal favourites include:

• Steamed Buns
• Dumplings
• Siu Mai
• Chicken Feet
• Rice Noodle Roll with Soy Sauce

After savoury, I cant leave without eating their delicious dessert menu. These include egg tarts, mango pudding, tapicoa pudding.  Mmmmm!

 

Julie :)

Food from the Pearl of the Orient Seas - Philippines.

Hi guys,

Since I spent my childhood in the Philippines, I am quite familiar with the different types of Filipino food and so I will be posting about this topic.

Throughout my posts, I will be posting about my favourite types of Filipino food in the categories of: Philippine Snacks, Philippine Breakfast Food, Philippine Lunch Cuisines, Philippine Dinner Cuisines and Philippine Desserts.

Today I will be posting about my favourite Philippine snacks:

When I was a child living in the Philippines, I remember that I had 3 specific favourite Philippine snacks that I like to eat for Mir-Yen-Da (that's the Filipino equivalent of "Coffee Break" or "Tea Time".)

1) Ensaymada (pronounced En - Sai - Ma - Da):

Ensaymada is a type of sweet pastry bread which is about the size of a muffin. It is topped with melted butter, sugar and sometimes small slices of cheese. It is very sweet and has a soft texture. These can be bought in all bakery shops in the Philippines. Here in Australia, they can be bought in Filipino shops.

2) Hopiang Mungo (pronounced Ho - Pyang - Mung - Goh):

Hopiang Mungo is a type of sweet pastry cake. The crust is made of baked dough and the filling inside is of sweet mung bean paste. It is also sweet, but not as sweet as the Ensaimada. These can also be bought in all bakery shops in the Philippines. Here in Australia, they can also be bought from Filipino shops.

3) Suman (pronounced Su - Mhan):

Suman is a type of sticky rice cake. It is made from glutinous rice that is cooked in coconut milk which gives the rice its sticky texture. It is then wrapped in banana leaves and then steamed to mix all the natural flavours. Sometimes brown sugar is also applied to enhance the sweet flavour. In the Philippines, these can be bought from Suman vendors who specialise in making them.

 

I will be posting about the different Philippine food categories next time.

Cheers.

Kerwin Abinoja (41758765)