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by Philipina A. Marcelo
To put some order in this blog, while maintaining "variety", I decided to have a (semi)regular "Sunday foodie" blog. I'm not sure if I could maintain it when the going gets tough in the University, as we enter a new Academic Year in June... but I'll do my best to get this going. Hopefully, that would also break weekly monotony at work. :)
Although I tried a few exciting things in the kitchen over the past days while on summer break (summer break in the Philippines is April and May), it didn't occur to me to take photos. This afternoon, I decided to prepare a popular Filipino merienda or snack - Spaghetti, Filipino style. And, I only needed 25-30 minutes - enough time to relax the mind, enjoy the soothing aromas in the kitchen with some nice music in the background. :)
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The pasta should not be pasty
The key to Spaghettiliciousness is the cooked pasta's al dente quality. I am meticulous when it comes to this. After adding the pasta in boiling salted water, added with a little bit of oil, I stir for the first two minutes of cooking. I usually set my cooking timer 2 minutes short of the specified cooking time in the packet, and then stir the pasta the rest of the time until I get what I'm looking for - tender but firm, with smooth "skin", that you can bite cleanly into it. I then wash the pasta with cold water right after cooking, drain the wash water, add generous
amount of extra virgin olive oil to prevent the pasta from sticking with each other as they dry, and a rich sprinkle of herbs, usually basil. I then shake vigorously and set it aside.The "Filipino sauce" or "Pinoy sauce" is a "sweet" tomato sauce with a choice of meat and/or veggies. Simply put, it is sweetened tomato sauce - popular among Filipino kids and kids at heart. I usually prepare it from scratch using fresh tomatoes, with their seeds removed, and the pulp pureed and cooked to smooth consistency with sugar. Or, on busy days, canned tomato sauce or tomato paste is acceptable. Today, I decided to prepare Pinoy sauce with chicken, using cubed lean chicken meat and freshly prepared chicken broth to cook the tomato sauce with. The chicken meat was sauteed in light butter with finely chopped garlic and onion before adding the tomato sauce. The buttery aroma cuts the sourness of the tomato sauce, and blends better with the sweetness, while it coats the bland chicken meat with rich buttery flavor. For some "kick" (optional), a dash of cayene powder may be added. The sauce is added to the pasta, topped with grated cheese for added richness, and a few drops of balsamic vinegar (optional)... and served immediately.
Oh, and it's the last day of Spanish La Liga, too. To add to the excitement of watching replay of FC Barcelona's second team victory over Malaga CF, 1-3 (a record-breaking away win for Barҫa - 14 in one season), I ate my merienda with warm Spanish bread, which is basically a butter and caramel roll - again, a Filipinized variety. Hmmm... this food blog is going to be worth it, I just know it! :)
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Photo: Filipino spaghetti and Spanish bread. I took this photo in my kitchen.
