Or a year that wasn’t. As far as I can remember this website died around June last year.

I would like to blame the Lumpia series that started the whole mess leaving me in a comatose state but I am the one who plunged a blunt butcher’s knife into my own skull. I still blame the Lumpia series though. And by the way, thank you to those who came looking for me and asking me why myfilipinokitchen.com has not been updated especially that person who sent an email with a question mark as a subject and a content that only says – “Are you dead?” I appreciate and acknowledge your concern for the wellbeing of both the site and myself. Currently, I am writing from another world. I am still waiting for my soul to be dragged back to the kitchen where my lifeless flesh has been hanged like honey-cured ham. Ain’t that sweet?

So what in the freaking world happened last year?

By January, I finished writing about Filipino-Spanish stews. Click on this link to see where it all started 2 years ago. I can’t forget the thing because whenever we find ourselves in a conversation about this website with virtually anyone, my wife will not fail to say, “There was this one time that we ate Tomato-based stews for a week because my husband wants to write about Filipino-Spanish food in his website. It was a tomatoey torture.” And I say delicious at that.

The year also started with new authors writing for myfilipinokitchen. Click this to see the reckoning. Allow me to do an Oscar speech for a moment:

I would like to thank Joy Trebillo Babich for writing about Filipino Food in Filipino. Sure you raised up a resistance with your use of our national language but then “pakialam nila?” or where we just simply tell them – whatever?!

I would also like to thank our resident chef, Chef Mike Santiago. Chef, this site is not worthy of you but you showed us mightily that our readers are definitely worthy of a good Filipino grub. Thank you so much for reminding myself and other bloggers how to construct a recipe to which I fail miserably by bombarding my recipes with words that oftentimes confuse mothers whose only aim is to find simple recipe instructions… instead they find useless banter between “slice 3 tomatoes” and “sautee onions” and multitude of “really really really” added to every line.

I would also like to thank Jennifer Leonard with her superb potato salad recipe and who came all the way from California to Melbourne, Australia just to talk to me face to face about Filipino food (I would like to think so). Thank you for giving us the oppotunity to meet your “disapproving husband” and for sharing to us your family roots and what it feels like to be a Filipino who grew up outside of the Philippines.

Thank you very much guys.

And after two years of untangling web addresses, broken links, flashy, annoyingly popping and useless ads, lies, sometimes unreliable wiki information and self-glorifying content in the internet, I have finally finished the History of Filipino food with American influence and Japanese influence swept in the month of April. What a year finished in a quarter! (Maybe this is the reason why I stopped writing.)

I would like to finish this all in one post and get to the time when that blunt butcher’s knife landed in my skull around June but I am trying to shorten articles here in the site. So for now, I’ll have to end this so you will come back tomorrow and see the year’s aborted end.

And thank you to you too, dear reader for reading this. You are the reason why this blog is alive and I have to end this before I start with cliches and whatnots that will make you throw your computer (or your mobile) in revolt.

Ciao Siopao!

One of my many banes when I’m writing an article here in the site is that I do so much research, I get obsessed by it.

I want to write about Lumpia but something stronger is stopping me to talk about it. I want to know more about the roll of almighty crunchiness before I crack it open for you guys. I think there is something more than what’s inside the roll. I have a few ideas but it doesn’t read delicious yet. This is also what stops me from posting frequently in the site. If an article is not ready, myfilipinokitchen.com will remain quiet.

The other day, Lei asked me, why don’t you talk about all the food that we’ve been cooking for the last 5 days? To which I uttered my usual reply; myfilipinokitchen is not ready for additions of foreign food yet. This website is not about me and my adventures (although, it does reflect it quite a bit) but about Filipino food. That’s why if there is no Filipino food kick, this website will fail to produce content. And that’s what happened for the last 2 months. Alright I’ll stop now before this gets boring. No more dramas. We want don’t want no drama drama.

So for the lack of an article to post yet, I will follow what the lady of the house suggested. Here are the foods that a Filipino family eats, whenever they are not ready for some Filipino yet.

And pardon me, these images were just taken with our humble iPhone. If you are an Apple fanboy, treat this as a tribute.

MONDAY

Prawn and Chickpea Stew and Cucumber and Avocado Salad

 TUESDAY

5 Spice Fish with Crushed Potatoes and Leek Soup

WEDNESDAY

Cucumber and Feta Salad and Kibbeh with Minted Yogurt

and that comes with

Mackerel Marinated in Pomegranate and Eggplant and Cherry Tomato Salad

THURSDAY

Salmon in Miso Marinade and Shiitake Stir-fry

and on the side

Thai Noodle Salad

If you are asking what’s for Friday… I think we had a dozen burgers.

I hope you guys enjoyed this filler while I dig more about Lumpia. And I’m still looking for my writing powers if I ever had any.

Enjoy the week ahead and happy cooking! Thanks Steve!

Aside from the silly subliminal thought that Lumpia is a a symbol for a human male’s genitalia, I don’t have special memories about it. Well aside from it being an ideal first date food.

If I never found out about Shanghai Lumpia (or Lumpiang Shanghai to be proper), I would have never liked Lumpia. What’s flashing at the top of my head whenever I think about Lumpia is a very oily and very gummy pastry, soggy and chewy almost-bamboo bamboo shoot filling and some green stuff that I don’t even know. In terms of Lumpia, my formidable years formed an ugly picture of it.

Until I met my wife in the form of a Lumpia Shanghai Goddess. It’s always the woman that changes a man you see. Yup, more than 20 years of ignoring the mighty cylinder of awesome crunchness. I pity myself. Now, I learned how to appreciate, cook and love Lumpia because her family makes it perfectly right. Not oily, not gummy, no soggy or weird feelings (see fillings).

So I decided to share their family recipe with you guys.  I suppose, I partly own it now since I am a part of their family. They also make a mean Papaitan (Bitter Soup) but that can wait.

But first I want to take you on the journey of knowing what the Filipino Lumpia is aside from being a source of greed and envy during Filipino parties. Where does it come from, how did the wrapper meet the filling, and how many wars has it caused in the world. I heard they used them as currency before. It could have been the most rolled thing other than weed.

My childhood reflects exactly the attitude of most Filipinos toward their cuisine. I didn’t really bother myself to know more about Lumpia. I was just satisfied in saying no to it and I never really took the extra step to know where in the world it came from or how it ended up in my plate. I was just happy to ignore it. And it carries on when you go outside the Philippines. When it becomes OK to ignore your own food.

Well… what can you do about it?

If you have any ideas about the origin of Lumpia though, please, feel free to tell us about it and save other readers of some fictitious origin story that I will tell them next time.

(Argh. I hate it. I lost my writing powers.)

Instead of answering all the questions individually about what I cooked during my birthday, I thought it would be a good idea to put it all in this page and just send them a link.

I love cooking during my birthday. It’s the way I celebrate and thank God for the life he gave me. By simmering in the kitchen all day and after that see most of  the people that are close to me (unfortunately, I can’t invite them all), celebrate and thank God of all the blessings through preparing and partaking food. I think that’s why you need to at least have a small celebration during your birthday. Food represents life. Celebrating life is a must if you ask me.

So what did I prepare this time?

Let me give you an account of how my birth-day went:

I popped the duck in the oven for 130 deg C. This was 7 hours before the celebration. Three days before, I brined, marinated and dried it to make a perfect Peking Duck. I then set-up  the monster barbecue machine, turned it on fire, all at 100 degrees celcius. I placed a wire rack on one side and popped around 2-3 kilos of rolled lamb shoulder, that should stay there in the next  6 hours at a minimal 100 to achieve a medium well… at least that’s what my intuition tells me. I chucked the chicken cuts as well on the grill. They were marinated in ketchup and fruit syrups that I got from the fruit mix that we used for fruit salad. So all are cooked in low heat becuse not only that it makes me do a lot of other stuff, but it also softens the meat while retaining all the juices in.

And I went back to the kitchen.

I drained the chicken stock that I prepared the day before. Then I put back all the stock in a pot and added Japanese Sake. That should stay there for the next 5 hours for a Chamomile Teapot Soup.

The pig cheeks and almost all of its face was waiting for me in the oven (Yes, your butcher can do a face-off for you). This was the first thing I did this morning – to chuck them in the oven to develop cracklings and boiled the ears in the marinade of fruits syrup, soy sauce and a lot of cracked pepper. So to start with the hard part - chopping them into little pieces along with onions and red and green chili peppers for Sisig. Sisig is chopped pork with crackling on a hot plate. The mixture of meat, skin and fat was around 3 kilos and I really hurt my hand chopping them that I have to revert to putting the rest in a blender.  All of them were placed in a container ready for the hot plate later. I think I only have 3 more hours.

Good thing I have a wife. Not only a wife, but a beautiful, sexy, caring and a “looking-after-me” kind of wife. When I turned my head up, I saw her on the fryer getting busy with Lumpia (Filipino Spring Rolls). Yesterday she prepared 3 desserts. A Maja Blanca which is Filipino Pudding made with coco milk and corn. She also prepared a Fruit Salad with a sort of custard sauce. And finally, for a very Filipino dessert, a Leche Flan which white people call Creme Caramel.

So I went back quickly to the Barbecue and set the chicken cuts aside because they’ve been cooking for 2 hours already. And then I threw the pork belly cuts in. The pork belly was divine because you can see the luscious thick fat and an even lining of meat in the middle. Last night I also marinated them in just lemon, salt and pepper. I just have to make sure that they are cooking in low heat because barbecuing pork belly is dangerous specially when no one is looking after it as I am doing…. how many things was I cooking already? I have to run quickly back to the kitchen because I was also grilling skewered pork barbecue there. I don’t want either of them to get burnt.

And back on the cutting board because I think I only have 2 hours left.

I started cutting the fresh tuna fillets that I got from the local fishmonger this morning. They were red and vibrant and the fishmonger said they were just in this morning, I took him for this word and grabbed 2 big fillets. They are now being prepared kinilaw style, so I started marinating them in vinegar.

I realised there are too many I’s in this post. Indulge me, it’s my bIrthday.

I jumped on to making a Greek Salad – cucumber, tomatoes, red onions, olives and a lot of Dodoni Feta. They were all mixed and placed in a grape vine nest. The dressing of olive oil, lemon juice and oregano will be swirled later during serving.

I remember I need to check the pork belly because they are the only ones that you need to have an eye on because of too much fat. When I got back to the barbecue a fire was growing to a feet tall that I have to take it off by splashing the marinade in and closed the hood. Thank God I was cooking outside. When I opened the hood, 2 kilos of delicately cut pork belly has now turned to charcoal… and this was on low heat. I felt betrayed and disappointed. One main course gone to ashes. So I cleaned the grill and then run back inside the kitchen to check if my pork barbecue skewers are on to the same fate. I wanted to shout and freak out but I have to just to accept that sometimes things get screwed up really.

Hot plate onto the stove to heat up. One more hour and I have to have a quick shower.

Breath….

Everybody took a bath before me and I have to take a very cold shower. Not a drop of hot water left. Most of you know that it is winter from where I am. So I was trembling as opposed to what I expected to be a comforting shower. At least when I was putting on clothes I have this big smile because the wife bought me a new blue Nike Free as a birthday gift. I like.

Back to the kitchen. I blanched Asparagus (Asparagi if many?) and king oyster mushrooms and placed them in cups. I transfered the broth (the one with Sake) to a teapot, added pockets of chamomile tea. When the guests arrive the broth will be poured in those cups.

It’s 6:30 pm and guests are coming in by now. This year we are looking back and celebrating with the first group of people that I have met here in Australia - our neighbors who helped us buy our first car, a family friend who can’t stop telling stories, always handy, a Filipino family that we worked with in our first job here, and  my wife’s colleagues and of course my wife’s auntie and uncle - an intimate gathering of 15 people.

I called up everyone to get their seats on the table. I grabbed the hot plate and placed it on a pizza stone, I transfered the Sisig in the hot plate and poured a mixture of soy sauce, water and pepper. The sizzling sound of Sisig on a hotplate signalled the start of the celebration.

We had Sisig, Lumpia, Kinilaw, Greek Salad (Woh! That’s a far throw! Not. Half of the guests are of Greek descent.) and a few slices of different kinds of bread. And those are just appetizers. It’s a Filipino party what do you expect. Duck, Lamb, Chicken, Pork Barbecue skewers are still on-cue for the mains. And for desserts, you have to read again to remember what they are. There’s a 15 minute break for each course.

Happy Birthday to me.

And yeah, we forgot to take even a single picture. Great.

To all those who greeted me on Facebook thank you very much. For me, nearly 200 people is very overwhelming. If only you were all here to celebrate with me. Thank you very much. Thank God for another year of Filipino Food.