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taste

Last Thursday night (26 August), I had the pleasure of joining a wonderful group of people for their monthly Taste Wine & Cooking Club get together at the popular Fortitude Valley cookware and homeware retailer Taste.

TASTE Shop© BUSOG! SARAP! 2010TASTE

I was graciously invited by Jill Morrison as a guest for their Asian theme that night and how could I resist?  Of course I jumped for the chance of meeting like-minded people.  Cusinera was there at 7pm on the dot (I don’t want to be late!) with Adobo Chicken Wings and Baked Cassava (Cassava Bibingka) in tow.  Of course the Filipino in me can’t resist introducing Filipino dishes in any opportunity (excuse?) I can get=)

 LUMPIANG TOGUE © BUSOG! SARAP! 2010

KULINARYA COOKING CLUB

 

Kulinarya’s theme for the month of August 2010 is SPRING ROLLS (Lumpia).

 

 

Spring Rolls in Philippine’s cuisine are served mainly as snack and appetizers.  In Cusinera’s world, I call the savoury kind as Lumpia and the sweet versions as Turon.  In the savoury Lumpia, there are two kinds…the fried ones and the fresh version.  The fresh version is called Lumpiang Sariwa, made up of sautéed vegetables with some mince pork or chopped prawns thrown in.  Wrapped in a freshly made thin crepe with some frilly lettuce leaf and topped with a sweet sauce infused with minced garlic and sprinkled with coarsely chopped peanuts. But if it is served on top of a lettuce leaf minus the crepe wrapper, it is called Lumpiang Hubad (Naked Fresh Spring roll).  In the fried version, we got the Lumpiang Shanghai which is made up of ground beef or pork, beaten egg, seasonings, minced onion and carrots, rolled into mini spring rolls.  Then we move on to the bigger fried version….Lumpiang Togue (Beansprout) or Lumpiang Gulay (Vegetables) which in Malabon are called Sumpia, with a spicy vinegar dipping sauce and can be paired with Lugaw (Filipino Congee).

LUMPIANG TOGUE (Beansprout Spring Rolls)

CHILI AND GARLIC VINEGAR DIPPING SAUCE© BUSOG! SARAP! 2010

Chili & Garlic Vinegar Dipping Sauce is highly recommended for Beansprout Springrolls (Lumpiang Togue or Sumpia), Chicharon (Pork Crackling) and Fish or Squid Balls.

CHILI AND GARLIC VINEGAR DIPPING SAUCE

I always go to Inala Civic Centre almost every weekend and last week, to my delight, I found some freshly boiled BALUT!

Balut is a boiled fertilized duck egg with an early stage developed embryo.  In the Philippines, Balut are sold around late afternoon till early morning as street food.  They are kept warm in large cane basket with heavy cloth insulation alongside Penoy (an infertile incubated duck egg).  Rumoured to be an aphrodisiac, giving “strong knees” for the male species as old people use to say in the Philippines.  You can spot Balut vendors around bus terminals, jeepney stops and outside the cinemas.  Other vendors choose to walk the streets with a familiar sing song chant of “BAAaaaluuuut, PEeeenoOY! Bili na kayo nang BAAaaluuuut, PEeeenoOY!” (Balut, Penoy!  Buy some Balut, Penoy!).

Guess what I’ve found????

 PUTO INTRO© BUSOG! SARAP! 2010

Puto (Filipino Steamed Cakes) is one of the most missed Kakanin (Filipino native treats) by Filipinos around the world.  The authentic Puto is basically made with ground rice (galapong bigas).  The rice is soaked overnight to allow natural fermentation before grinding into a fine textured slurry.  This mixture is then combined with sugar for sweetness and then steamed.  Once people add or replace different ingredients in this Basic Puto, then the end products are then called differently.  To name a few…Puto Pandan (pandan flavour), Puto Ube (purple yam flavour), Puto  Bumbong (purple rice steamed in bamboo tubes) and Puto Lanson (grated cassava and coconut).

PUTO ESPESYAL (Steamed Flour Cake Version)

 Cusinera's Box© BUSOG! SARAP! 2010

About a month ago, I finally got one of my foodie dreams fulfilled…..  I got myself a KitchenAid Mixer!!!  I’ve been to David Jones, Myer and Hospitality Stores here in Brisbane but their prices were a bit on the expensive side.  I’ve browsed through the internet and found Appliance Surplus.  I bought mine for less than AUD$600 with free shipping.  They have their own warranty and have a great customer service through email.

Is she mine or not?

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