cooking filipino food

Started about 7pm and the buzzer on the flan buzzed at 1am. whew! I don't know how my mother ever cooked some dozen dishes enough for a hundred people for parties growing up.

Nowadays, it's simple enough to head to Vallejo, Daly City, Union City and order Filipino cuisine. There's 3-4 restaurants in downtown Oakland even that serve Filipino food. But there's something more to cooking the food myself.

My grandmother tells me before parties to watch her cook her bibingka, so someone will learn how to make it. Part of me resists learning it as if making this dish is what keeps her alive. Perhaps I will try that dish next.

It was my first time to make flan. Had complications trying to steam the dish in a wok, then had to switch over to the steam and bake method. Fortunately, my friend Maiana (who I just found out has been living across the street from me for the past 6 months) gave me some tips. She told me how her grandmother would make flan and mix all the ingredients with her bare hands. Now that's LOVE, massaged right into the food. Maiana's mom makes Brasa de Mercedes, it's her specialty. She said she'd call me when her mom is in town and I can watch her make it. After separating 18 eggs, what are a few more.

Mistake number 1 in cooking flan "don't use American condensed milk." Oh well. And I had written it down per Prosy's instructions too. Damn. Got to go for the Chinatown brand ones.

I had better luck with the arroz caldo. First time I made that I forgot the ginger, which makes ALL the difference. But I try to learn from my mistakes, so this worked out much better this time. The red rice gives it a nuttier texture and color which is nice.

The flan actually still worked out despite the stateside milk. But the hardest part of cooking Filipino food is not really the recipe. I'm finding that alot of the recipes are actually pretty simple. What makes Filipino cooking hard is that if a dozen people taste your food, a dozen people will give you a dozen opinions on what you should change in the recipe. And the reason for that is because they each have a different memory of the food. They're looking for the taste of their grandmother's recipe, or the way their aunt made it. Memory being as intangible as it is, it's hard to really compare. In that way, it becomes more than simple nourishment and taste, which makes it really hard to use substitutes like using American condensed milk or Hershey's chocolate for tsamperado. Made a mistake using that one too.

ok 3am. Guests are arriving in 11 hours. There's a stack of dishes in the sink for the Fiance to do in the morning. Time to put the saranwrap on the flan and put it in the fridge. See some of you tomorrow.