Burnt Lumpia: Filipino Food | Filipino Recipes | Culinary Hijinks

What the Duck?!!

After concocting a batch of duck adobo confit a few weeks back, I've had quite the surplus of duck fat sitting idly in my fridge. In addition to the tub of duck fat that was still protecting my last two legs of confit from the harsh elements of the outside world, I had another tub of duckboob grease at my disposal as well.

As I mentioned in my confit post, I've used some of that fat to fry some garlic-fried rice. But for the last few weeks I've also used duck fat for sauteeing veggies, whipping up vinaigrettes, browning chicken, rubbin' on my elbows (I get ashy), and silencing squeaky door hinges (it's the WD-40 of the kitchen). It's been an absolute cluster-duck for me these past few weeks.

In fact, duck hasn't been this prevalent in my life since Webby Vanderquack and Doofus Drake chilled with me on weekday afternoons.

Ah, DuckTales. It's a classic.

Anyhoo, I decided to put a stop to all this here-and-there use of duck fat and put the magic grease to the test on a larger scale--I broke out the cast iron pan and was ready for some fryin'! Oooh-whoooo-hoooo!

Of course, the first thing that may come to mind when mentioning frying and duck fat is perhaps potatoes--as I'm sure duck fat fries are quite tasty.

But I had something else in mind--especially after doing some reconnaissance on Ilocano Empanadas during my recent trip to the Philippines.

Empanada vendor in Batac Ilocos Norte, Philippines.

Coffee Cookery

The reputed stimulative properties of coffee have never had an effect on me. I happen to be one of those people that can drink a hot cup of coffee right before bedtime, and then lull off to sleep as soon as my noggin hits the pillow. I don't get debilitating headaches at work if I miss out on my morning cup of joe. And I can even have a scalding cup of java spilled onto my groin at the drive-through, and then drive off with a wink and a smile for the cashier.

OK, so maybe I exaggerated some of that a teensy bit. But truth be told, I drink coffee because I like the way it tastes, not because it's a magical cup of pick-me-up. And aside from being a breakfast-time beverage, coffee can make for a wonderful ingredient in a number of dishes. For instance, brewed coffee can be used as a braising liquid for tough cuts of meat, and whole coffee beans themselves can be used to infuse a custard mixture for ice cream.

And since I brought back a giant bag of Barako coffee from my trip to the Philippines, I had more than enough beans to experiment with for these other coffee applications

Good Food, Better Company

Earlier this year, I received an email from a blogger in the Philippines named Mila. After reading one of my adobo posts, Mila (who writes the blog, Watergirl) kindly offered to send me a cookbook comprised of nothing but adobo recipes. I replied to Mila and, of course, accepted her generous offer so that I could further my research into the salty and tangy subject of adobo cookery.

After exchanging a couple more emails, Mila informed me that she and some of her friends (other Pinoy food bloggers and readers of my blog) happened to be chatting one night and decided that they all would like to meet me if I ever made my way to Manila during my trip to the Philippines.

Upon reading this bit of information, I was initially excited at the prospect of meeting people that I had become acquainted with via their own wonderful blogs and through their helpful comments left here on my own blog. But then my ego slowly started to deflate as my inherent sense of suspicion kicked into high gear. Personal experience dictates that when a group of women talk about me when I'm out of earshot, the conversation usually revolves around how huge of a dork I am, followed by giggling, more conversation about my dorkiness, and then ending with uproarious side-splitting laughter while fingers are pointed at me from afar.

In spite of (or maybe because of) my dubiousness and low self-esteem, I cautiously wrote Mila back, said it would be wonderful for all of us to meet, then closed my eyes and hit the SEND button. Because this was still a few months before my trip to the Philippines, I promptly forgot about this whole exchange no more than 30 seconds after hitting said SEND button (my short-term memory is lacking in, I forget).

A couple months later though, I received "The Adobo Book" in the mail. Inside the book was a short note from Mila reminding me that everyone would still like to meet me and my wife for dinner in Manila.

By now, I had come to grips with the fact that perhaps there does exist a type of person who would actually want to take the time and meet other human beings in a friendly atmosphere rather than incessantly mocking them. These people are called "normal", whereas people like myself are referred to as "anti-social," "paranoid," or "surly hermits". Despite my usual status as a "surly hermit," I was again excited at the prospect of meeting other bloggers and lovers of Filipino food.

So, after much planning and organizing on Mila's part (thanks again, Mila), I was able to wine and dine with a wonderful group of people on one of my last nights in the Philippines.

Hits from the Pasalubong: Vol. 2

After our stay in Badoc, Ilocos Norte, we made our way by bus to my auntie's house in Baguio for a couple of days, got on another bus, and ended our trip at another auntie's house for a couple more days in Manila. Since we weren't at either place for very long, I don't have many food pictures from Baguio and Manila. Sad, that. So instead, I figured I'd post a roundup of all the goodies I brought back home from the Philippines for my family (but mostly for me).

More hits from the pasalubong! Consider this the remix.

Locals in Ilocos

After our stay in Boracay, the wife and I traveled to Ilocos Norte, a region located in the northern part of the Philippines. More specifically, we would be staying in the town of Badoc and spending the next few days at the family home that my mother grew up in, and in which my Grandfather and another set of cousins (and a whole lot of nieces and nephews) are still residing.

At this point of our trip, we would also be meeting up with my mother (my father stayed home in L.A.). My mom actually flew to the Philippines with the wife and I, but she had been staying in Badoc while we were in Boracay. Considering the fact that my mother can get under my skin when only traveling to the end of her driveway back in California, and that she would be joining us for the remainder of our journey through the Philippines, I knew that my patience would be tested considerably (I'm joking, of course! Well, partly joking).

Even though I've been to Badoc and wandered about the other towns of Ilocos Norte before (once when I was 9 years old, then again at age 22), this place, this headquarters of my family, never ceases to amaze me. And because we'd be surrounded by family, the wife and I would easily fit in and become locals ourselves (who am I kidding, we stuck out like sore thumbs!). At the very least though, I did realize how much Ilocano I understand as I was able to follow along with conversations in the local dialect, and answer any questions back in English (I understand, but I still can't speak Ilocano).

I also knew that most, if not all, of our meals would be homecooked, so I was looking very forward to this leg of our trip. I was not disappointed.