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LAST
week we took the ferry ride and enjoyed viewing the
backside of Pasig, Manila, Makati, Mandaluyong and
Quezon City. Escolta was the terminal we boarded from
and off. Then it was lunch at Savoury with David and
Judy Lao, my hubby Bob and our son Chef Joey Herrera.
After the heavy chopsuey-and-fried chicken lunch (and
trying to remember how much things cost 20 years ago),
we set off to walk through Chinatown.
Our
look-see was worthwhile, since a lot of food things were
around. We followed the Nueva Street food alley to get
to Ongpin. Fresh vegetables from
China,
all kinds of mushroom, lettuces and beautiful tomatoes,
fruits and ponkans coming into season! It is also
persimmon time, right after the Mooncake Festival, and
we saw the expensive fruit arrayed alongside apples and
pears. Thick-fleshed daing of labahita was neatly packed
in plastic. Good for faking bacalao real well...and I
guess for Chinese-style adobo.
In that
busy pocket of
Manila, there are some specialties sold in particular stalls. One
sells a lot of corn hair for those with kidney problems.
Another one is manned by an elderly couple and all they
do is roast freshly peeled corn over coals...you will
really wait for them to get done, as it’s worth the
wait. If you get as far as Benavidez, in the periphery,
you might also get serenaded by this man selling
chicharon...he will definitely charm your P60 out of
your pocket...or he won’t stop following you while
singing. And just by the corner of that place, at around
4
pm, the first batch of bicho-bicho begins popping up hot
and fresh from the oil, with another batch about to be
fried. Hmmm...delishush. Never mind that my tongue got
burned!
We
collected quite a load of goodies but the best one was a
batch of big, young ginger, pale beige and with pinkish
nodes. This young ginger is one of the nicest fresh
produce you can ever buy, the kind that the Japanese
love to use in everything. It is aromatic, as well as
spicy, leaving a cooling effect after the intense flavor
that lands on the taste buds. I offered to buy some for
Judy but she said she tried to “candy” them, but they
gathered moisture and didn’t taste good. This is because
she didn’t use enough sugar. So I got some of the young
ginger to make into candy for my friend. Some will also
go to my sister-in-law Mary Ann Ojeda, who simply loves
ginger in any form.
Here is
a real easy way to deal with the colds...and a neat
substitute for salabat. No spills, no need for thermos
or styro cups. Just pop a few in your mouth as
“lozenges” or natural mint candy. And if you go
caroling, you can bring these along in a glass jar or
wrap them in a nice tulle bag to give away. A small tin
box will likewise be a nifty package to make it a food
gift.
For the
future carolers this December, as you stretch your vocal
chords to high heavens...may your rendition of “O Holy
Night” be so angelic that the audience will beg you to
please, please let them double their donations to your
worthy cause. I’d head off to the nearest fresh
vegetable stand and grab all the young ginger I can get.
And here’s what you will do with these....
GINGER
NUGGETS
You will
need:
Young
fresh ginger
White
sugar
Water
Aluminum
Foil
A heavy
stainless-steel pan
Break
the ginger into small pieces, breaking at the nodes.
Peel all the pieces and dice into small cubes.
The size
would be ¼-inch cube. Then, measure cut-up ginger in
cups. For every cup, use ½-cup sugar.
Put
ginger and sugar in heavy pan. Add water, same amount as
sugar. Bring these to a boil, stirring gently.
When it
boils, stop stirring and lower heat.
Let it
boil till almost dry. Then spoon them out onto a sheet
of foil to cool. When cooled, each piece will be
“frosted” with sugar. When thoroughly cool, store in a
tightly sealed glass jar.
Great
for coughs, colds and vocal chords which need to be
stretched....fa-la-la…la-la...la-la-la-la. Bow. |
