Burnt Lumpia: Filipino Food | Filipino Recipes | Culinary Hijinks

Homemade Limoncello w/ Calamansi Limes (Calamancello)

I've never been too big on after-dinner liqueurs or digestifs--my post meal tipple is usually a continuation of what I'd already been drinking during the meal (grab another beer, or mix another cocktail). But lately I've taken to sipping that most Italian of digestifs--Limoncello. But not just any limoncello, but homemade limoncello made with Filipino Calamansi limes, or what I like to call Calamancello (see what I did there?).

This recipe was originally intended to go into my upcoming cookbook, but because it takes over a month of steeping Calamansi rinds in grain alcohol to make this recipe, I decided to nix it because, you know, waiting a month before enjoying a drink is kind of a long time. Oh well, more fodder for the blog I say.

Although I've made a calamansi-infused vodka before on this blog, this Homemade Calamancello is smoother. It's more mellow. It's sweeter. It's better.

Filipino Chocolate and Wine Pairing

All photos courtesy of Pleasure Palate

This Sunday June 26 from 7-9pm, FilAm ARTS will be hosting an exclusive wine and fine chocolate tasting featuring Filipino-inspired chocolates paired with an exclusive selection of wines.

What's that now? Filipino-inspired chocolates? Well, yes. Tonet Tibay, of Marti Chocolatt,is a Filipina chocolatier who incorporates Filipino flavors into her chocolates. Tonet's chocolates for this tasting will include:

• Ube ~ purple yam in a white chocolate ganache
• Durian ~ durian in 33% milk chocolate
• Senorita ~ sweet ripe bananas with dark Jamaican rum in a milk chocolate ganache
• Jasmine Citron ~ queen of jasmine pearl tea with grapefruit zest
• Barako ~ Liberica coffee beans in a milk chocolate ganache
• Pina ~ pineapple caramel with Ilocano sea salt

While these chocolates sound fantastic on their own, they will be accompanied by wines selected by Filipino sommellier, Santos Uy, owner of Mignon Wine and Cheese Bar.

The event will be held at Kazuyo Sushi, a Filipino-owned Japanese restaurant (man, we Filipinos are everywhere, aren't we?).

General admission to this event includes the chocolate and wine pairing (six chocolates and four wines) for $35.

VIP admission includes the chocolate and wine pairing plus a box of chocolates and wine to take home for $75.

In addition to the chocolate and wine tasting, you can also choose to dine at Kazuyo Sushi before the event. Kazuyo also has a few Japanese dishes with Pinoy twists, courtesy of Filipino Chef-Owner, Joe Cubangbang. Kazuyo is offering a special 15% discount for all attendees who mention FilAm ARTS when they make their dinner reservations or when they walk into the restaurant.

All proceeds for this event will benefit FilAm ARTS.

For more information, and to purchase tickets click here: http://filamartschocolatewinepairing.eventbrite.com/

Coconut Eggnog with Coconut Moonshine

Aside from baking a couple of fruitcakes, wolfing down some arroz caldo, and scoping out the neighborhood Christmas lights, there's another holiday tradition that gets my insides all warm and fuzzy: Eggnog!

I know not everyone is an eggnog enthusiast, but I suspect that's because eggnog haters have never imbibed in the homemade stuff--'tis a shame. But to me, it wouldn't be Christmastime if I didn't whip up a pitcher or two of some frothy creamy nog from scratch.

And this year, I decided to stray from my usual straight-up eggnog recipe consisting of cream, milk, eggs, and a Santa-sackfull of bourbon and decided to instead Pinoy-ify my potent potable by adding coconut milk and fortifying the nog with a healthy dose of lambanog.

Lambanog?

Oh, I'm glad you asked. Lambanog is a Filipino moonshine made from the sap of a coconut tree. Add lambanog to some coconut milk eggnog and you've got yourself some high-octane coconutty goodness in a glass--something I like to call LambaEggnog.

Mmmmm. Pormanteau.

Queso de Bola Fondue

Every year around this time, a Dutch cheesemaker begins wringing his hands in anticipation of a huge financial windfall. With a high-off-his-rocker smile on his face, the Dutch dairy wizard loads a huge cargo container full of crimson globes--balls of aged edam cheese covered in red wax. The giant bounty of salty cheese is then loaded onto a ship bound for a port thousands of miles away.

The destination? Manila.

As the cheese-carrying ship dissappears over the Atlantic horizon, the Dutch cheesemaker jumps in the air and clicks his wooden heels together as he pictures the millions of Filipinos that will soon be enjoying his cheese at their Christmas dinner tables. He laughs maniacally and clipity-clops to the nearest head shop to celebrate.

*****

OK. So the above scenario has probably never really occurred--I just like to think it has. But there is a little bit of truth in the above story. Edam cheese from Holland really does make an appearance on many a Filipino dinner table at Christmastime. But we refer to the cheese as "Queso de Bola" or ball of cheese, or cheeseball. And although Queso de Bola is technically Edam cheese, the export to the Philippines is specially formulated for the Pinoy palate--the Dutch add some extra salt just for us (perhaps we can blame them for our gout).

Queso de Bola is usually served at Christmas Eve festivities (Noche Buena) and paired with anything from ham, to pandesal, to ensaymada, and even tsokolate.

And luckily for me, Queso de Bola is readily available here in the States. I found the Marca Pina brand of cheese at my friendly neighborhood Filipino grocery store, and I believe the Marca Pina brand is a preferred brand in the Philippines.

The cheese itself is firm with a sharp, rich and nutty flavor, though not as salty as I thought it would be. While nibbling on a few pieces of my cheeseball and drinking a cold San Miguel, I figured I'd do something a little different with the rest of the cheese--I'd make fondue!

Macapuno Ice Cream/Coconut Porter Beer Float

Wow. Long time, no blog eh?

Although I've been in blog hibernation for the past few months, I've hardly been sleeping otherwise. I've been on the road and working like a dog (actually, I'm sure dogs don't work as hard as I've been working).

But as I've discovered, piloting Southern California's First Filipino food truck does have its perks, as well as provides much inspiration for blog posts (many of which I hope to cover here some time down the road).

For instance, a couple weekends ago I had the great opportunity to park The Manila Machine at the Los Angeles Beer Float Showdown II. Not only was I able to serve hungry bar flies some Filipino food, but I too was able to enjoy in the beer and ice cream festivities.

I Spy The Manila Machine

This year's Beer Float Showdown featured four teams/bars (Boneyard Bistro, Ladyface Alehouse, Simmzy’s and Tony’s Darts Away) that each created a single beer float. I was so inspired by the boozy ice cream floats that I decided to make my own Pinoy-ified beer float at home. But before I get to my own concoction, let's take a look at what went down at the L.A. Beer Float Showdown II.

Stay Thirsty, My Friends

As some of you may remember, a few months back I partook in a most excellent adventure to South Africa. In addition to witnessing the sheer beauty of the South African bush, I was also able to sample some of that country's best wine and spirits. And as it turns out, I ended up writing a piece for Mutineer Magazine about a South African liqueur made from the mysterious and exotic marula fruit.

Here's an excerpt from my story:

"While South Africa was once the diamond capital of the world, it can be argued that the marula fruit is a rarer gem. Marula trees themselves cannot be cultivated; they grow wildly in only one place on the entire planet—within the subequatorial plains of Africa. Marula fruit cannot be exported to other countries, and they are harvested only once a year from January to March. Given this information, it seems that my February arrival in Limpopo was a timely one.

Aside from the marula trees that flourish in the Limpopo area, it is also the location of the primary production plant of Amarula Cream Liqueur—a rich and smooth South African spirit made from fermented marula fruit. So although I was technically on safari, I was also on what equates to a “vineyard tour” of Amarula’s key crops. But instead of seeing neat rows of trellised grapevines, I saw arid, wide-open plains broken up by groupings of wild and majestic marula trees. And instead of the customary scarecrow, these vineyards were guarded by a bevy of wild animals.

The vineyards of Amarula are, indeed, unlike any other vineyards in the world."

To read my article in its entirety, please do pick up a copy of the May/June issue of Mutineer Magazine on newsstands now.

And if reading about my South African safari isn't enough to whet your whistle, just take a look at the magazine cover above! Egads, man! It's a cover story on The Most Interesting Man In The World!

I don't always read magazines. But when I do, I prefer Mutineer!

Cocktail Underground

If you're a regular reader of this here blog, you may have noticed my penchant for booze and spirits. And if you're not a regular reader of this here blog, well, I've got a penchant for booze and spirits.

And although some may see my liquid inclinations as a vice and/or character flaw, I was actually able to parlay these proclivities into a print piece for the January/February issue of Mutineer Magazine (pictured above).

The subject of my article revolves around the mysterious entity known as The Pharmacie--a series of underground, invite-only cocktail parties that emerge once a month or so in Los Angeles. I was lucky enough to weasel my way into attend one of these secret parties.

Here's an excerpt from my story:

"At this point, with all the secrecy and mystery, I was half expecting a scene out of Eyes Wide Shut: masked revelers taking part in a drunken orgy of sorts, and perhaps Snoop Dogg himself would be there, situated behind the bar and cloaked in an ever-present puff of smoke while sipping on some gin and juice.

Fortunately (or perhaps sadly), no such scene unfolded. Masonic orgies or hedonistic rituals of any sort were noticeably absent, as everyone seemed to be fully clothed and sans Venetian masks. And no, Snoop Dogg was not in attendance either. So much for my imagination."

I'm sure the above makes little sense out of context, but I assure you, despite the lack of nudity and rappers at this secret soiree, a good time was had by all. And besides, I was served some truly stellar cocktails that night.

And because cameras are usually frowned upon at secret gatherings, my article is accompanied by original artwork from artist Brent Estabrook. If all that weren't enough for you, the article also includes a cocktail recipe courtesy of The Pharmacie.

To read my article in its entirety, and to learn more about the underground cocktail scene of Los Angeles, please do pick up a copy of the January/February issue of Mutineer Magazine on newsstands now.

Lastly, I do want to thank Nastassia, for hooking me up with an invite to this hush-hush party. I also want to thank Erin, of The Endive Chronicles, who first suggested to me that I try writing something for Mutineer. Thanks, ladies!

Pacman Punch

If you're Filipino and/or a boxing fan, chances are very high that you'll be watching Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao take on Miguel Cotto this coming Saturday. And if you are going to be watching said match on said day, I'd be willing to bet that you'll be doing so in the company of friends and family at a fight party.

And whether you're hosting a fight party of your own, or just mooching off of someone else's Pay Per View, why not loosen things up by contributing a lively libation in the form of a good ol' fashioned punch? That's right. Punch. Punch in the cocktail world is very much like Zombies in the movie world--they're so hot right now.

But I'm not talking about your grandma's punch that's laden with 7-up and sherbert (though that is dang tasty stuff). Nor am I talking about that bowl of hooch you may fuzzily remember from college (good times). Instead, how's about a wonderfully refreshing punch made with fresh fruit juice and good liquor--a balanced punch that Soda Popinski would sip with his pinky in the air, yet would still knock him on his arse.

So to commemorate what will hopefully be another historic victory (7 titles in 7 weight classes!) for my main man Manny, I've devised a simple, yet potent, potable that you can easily whip up for your own fight party festivities on Saturday. It's a concoction I like to call Pacman Punch (pun definitely intended).

Tsokolate: Filipino Hot Chocolate

Although cacao trees flourish in the tropical climes of the Philippines, chocolate is not indigenous to the islands. In fact, like a few other Filipino foods, chocolate was introduced to the Philippines by Spain via Mexico (the cacao tree IS indigenous to parts of Central and South America).

In fact, according to many historical accounts, the ancient Mayans are credited with the invention of hot chocolate. Originally, the Mayans simply ground native cacao beans and spices into a paste, and then frothed the mixture into water and served this concoction hot. Soon, the Aztecs were introduced to cacao beans and made a similar chocolate brew of their own--though it was a cold drink that was served during religious ceremonies and human sacrifices (oh, those crazy Aztecs).

Then one day, some Spanish dude named Cortez arrived in Mexico and was peacefully received by Aztec emperor Montezuma. As the story goes, Montezuma presented Cortez with a frothy cup of chocolate out of simple good will. In return, Cortez wiped out the entire Aztec civilization (oh, those crazy Spaniards).

Finally, to make a long story a little bit less long, about a hundred (give or take) years later the Spanish took the cacao trees (as well as the Mexican custom of drinking chocolate) from their Mexican colony and introduced it to their Philippine colony. Thus, Filipinos started growing their own cacao trees, and then making and drinking their own form of hot chocolate known as Tsokolate.

Summertime Salabat

Salabat is a hot Filipino ginger tea usually served during the colder months of winter (well, if in the Philippines I guess it's served just during the cooler months) to sooth and comfort what ails you. In fact, Salabat may be the Filipino elixir of choice to combat the ill effects of cold and flu season: coughing, sneezing, runny nose, sore throat, and overall booger-cloggedness. Heck, Salabat can even soothe one's golden pipes after a late night of carousing and karaoke (if that's how you roll).

While I enjoy warming my mitts around a scalding mug of freshly steeped ginger tea as much as the next guy, the weather in SoCal is currently hotter than two rats in an effing wool sock. In addition to the hotness in my neck of the woods, I've also been sweating and whiling away painting a nursery, re-finishing an old rocking chair, putting together a crib, and making sure the wife is well-fed--all in anticipation of the pending birth of my demon seed (I mean that affectionately, of course). As such, sipping on hot tea is a less than desirable way to quench my thirst at the moment.

Despite the present circumstances though, I have found a way to enjoy Filipino ginger tea during the hot summer months... make a cocktail!