The (Mis)Adventures of Superboink

Before my leukemia and medications left me sores in my lips and mouth for some time, I was a fan of spicy food. I think I am still one but I try to stay away just to prevent the sores from coming back. One of my favorite turo-turo meals is the popular Bicolano spicy dish - Bicol Express .This dish is said to  be named after the train travelling Manila-Bicol. I am pretty sure most of you know (Pinoys) that the Bicol region is popular for making great spicy viands and that almost all are even great for pulutan (food taken in with beer or alcoholic beverages).  Here is my version of Bicol Express - Please note that I want my BicolEx meaty so I'm using half a kilo of pork and that M is allergic to shrimp so I minimize the use of the shrimp paste. Bicol Express (Sinilihan) Ingredients: 5cups Long chilies/lady-finger chilies (siling haba), seeded and julienned 1/2kg Pork Liempo, cut into 1/2" strips 2pcs onion, minced 3 cloves garlic, minced 3cups Coconut Milk (or 1 1/2cup coco

Oil spells heart attack! Pero masarap ang bawal. LOL. I love corned beef! Those salty and flossy, sometimes chunky and spiced beef meat that's usually sold canned. I grew up eating it straight out of the can but sometimes my lola would elevate the taste a little by sauteing it with onions, garlic and tomatoes. On special days, I'd have it hashed by adding diced potatoes in the mix or eat it omelette style. Living in the US for quite some time gave me the opportunity to taste some of the brands available there. I come for grocery shopping mostly in Albertsons, Costco, Walmart and 99Ranch. I remember having Libby's, Hormel, Hereford and Palm all at the same time in my grocery cart and the cashier from Albertsons asked me if I was throwing a corned beef party. LOL. If you're wondering what my answer was, I said 'yes'. LOL. I like Hereford the most among the four brands maybe because it isn't too salty (but the one available locally is salty). Their hash

Who doesn't love sinigang ?  My son W, would not complain even if I serve him sinigang the whole week. It is amazing how sinigang makes him eat more and faster and healthier. Sinigang is a general term for a Filipino soup characterized by its sour taste that comes from a souring agents such as tamarind, guava, kamias and even the Japanese miso. There are also powdered ready-mixes available to make cooking sinigang a breeze. The basic ingredients are comprised of - the meat (either chicken, pork, beef, fish or shrimp), vegetables (like sitaw(yardlong beans), gabi(taro corms), labanos(daikon), okra, kangkong(water spinach), sigarilyas, mustasa(mustard greens), talong(eggplant), etc.), onions and green chili pepper. The variety of ingredients that are incorporated in this dish makes it even more interesting to eat. For now, I'm sharing with you my Pork Sinigang recipe. :: :: :: Sinigang na Baboy (Pork Sinigang) Ingredients: 1kg pork cut into chunks (or ribs/liempo) 1 larg

Filipinos eat just about anything with rice.  Mikey Bustos even says, we're " Rice-ivores " and " We're Pinoy this way. "  Champorado is like a Pinoy rice version of a "snack" much like ' suman '. I love Champorado especially when it's milky and paired with ' tuyo '. It's perfect for cold and rainy mornings. :: :: :: Champorado (Chocolate Rice Porridge) Ingredients: a cup of sticky rice/glutinous rice ( malagkit-haba  is better than bilog for champorado) 3cups water 5T cocoa powder (or 1-2pcs of tablea ) 1/2cup sugar  milk - evaporated/condensed/fresh/powdered How to do it: Wash the sticky rice as you would in a regular rice, then drain. Add the water, then the cocoa powder. Bring to a boil while stirring to avoid lumps. Add the sugar. Stir once in a while and simmer until rice is cooked. You may top your champorado with milk - your choice - evaporated, condensed, fresh or powdered. :: :: :: I like my champorado toppe

British channel BBC has this " Toughest Place to be a... " show. I recently came across a YouTube video of their episode about Josh West (a Londoner) who came to Manila to try out driving in our crazy streets  using a jeep. A Pinoy jeepney driver named Rogelio Castro became his host and 'mentor' during his 10 days stay. Watching this video is like seeing the daily lives of every average Juan. Other than the "driving swap" Josh also learned a lot about Philippine culture. Truly a mix of emotions.  See 35:00 onwards and 42:08 onwards...I feel them both. *sigh* 45:38 shows another means of survival Pinoy style - re-cooking and selling thrown away food a.k.a. ' Pagpag '. It is sad to face the real situation of our society now but heartwarming to see a foreigner in the person of Josh West be transformed into a more thankful and appreciative man. Watch this video and let me know what you think. =D *I wanted to insert some comments about family pl

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Amidst all varying origins of the word Parvati , I'd like to think its being the Goddess of Power should top it all.  Why?  Because now, Parvati in the foodie world is like a dessert Mecca that gives sweet-toothed beings like me  a piece of heaven on earth.  For me, sweets are like my powers the same way Darna has her magical ' bato '. LOL. It energizes, soothes and brings me happiness. =D :: :: :: I always make Gourdo's my excuse to M whenever I am in Trinoma just so I could sneak into Parvati and load myself with sweets.  Though he agrees that there's a lot of good treats to try in Parvati, he doesn't like the idea of me spending much money stuffing myself.  So there, now he knows my excuse. haha! :: :: :: The last time I dropped by Parvati, I bought three goodies that I find the best in the lot and without realizing, patronizing the bakers who are in someway related to me. Here are my Parvati Dessert Top Picks (in no particular order): The first goodie

It is just a few weeks left before school starts again. When W and I went to the mall to shop for some of his school supplies, National Bookstore was already packed. I know most parents are now preparing the budget and saving dates when to shop for supplies. As I am almost done with W's, I am sharing here some tips when shopping for you kids' school supplies   Photo credit: Paisley-Place.blogspot.com --- 1. Make a List It is great that the school gave us the list of the things to bring early (and it's a long list to begin with). By reviewing the list, I was able to determine which ones we need to buy and which ones we still have. I did an inventory of W's school things when classes ended last March so I now I can just compare my inventory list with this new list. There are also other things that are not included in the school-provided list but your child may need - like replacement for worn out socks or a new school bag. Put everything down in a sheet of paper and

My brother and his family went to Cebu and came back with a pack of lechon for us. Well, not just lechon cebu but Zubuchon. Zubuchon is a brainchild of popular blogger Market Man (of  Market Manila ). When known American chef and foodie Anthony Bourdain visited the Philippines about 2 years ago (for his No Reservations show), Market Man was his tour guide (other than Augosto Elefano - the fan who convinced AB to visit the country) and MM let Anthony taste a variety of Pinoy dishes including the acclaimed lechon Cebu. If I got it right, it was the Accuchon ala MarketMan  (aka Zubuchon after making it "commercial") that got Anthony Bourdain's attention most, to the point of even saying, "... the best pig ever! ..." Great right? Philippines now tops Bourdain's hierarchy of pork . A kilo of the Zubuchon sells for about Php450 and comes in a styro-pack covered with cling-wrap. It's great to have it fresh  almost fresh, especially since my br

It is so cool to finally meet Fran (of frannywanny.com) in person during my last visit to Mercato Centrale.  We were like, "Finally!" =) I am an avid reader of Fran's blog and last 2009, I joined her  Starbucks planner giveaway contest -- which I won!  The prize was sent via courier so I never got the chance to meet her. So yay for MC! As I mentioned in my previous post about Mercato Centrale , Fran and her husband are selling  Allies Wonder Peanuts in MC.  I've been hearing good things about it and so I knew I really have to buy and taste it myself. I got one jar (450g) for Php160. AWP didn't disappoint!  They were crunchy, garlicky the way I want it and best of all, it's not greasy!  Even M loved it.  We almost finished munching everything in one sitting! We will definitely buy again. Thanks Fran for bringing this Pampanga goodie to MC.  I hope my uric acid level won't go up,up,up because of this. =D  :: :: :: Allies Wonder Peanuts is sold at

Rainy days are here. Here's one good way of warming ourselves up - a warm, hearty soup! :: :: :: Chicken Macaroni Soup/Chicken Sopas Ingredients: 1/2kg chicken pieces 200g pack elbow macaroni (salad macaroni or any small-sized pasta), cooked according to package directions 4pcs garlic cloves, minced 2 medium sized onions, minced 2 medium sized carrots, sliced into strips 1 and 1/2 cans evaporated milk (big can, adjust according to your preference) 1 medium cabbage, julienned oil salt and ground black pepper (whole peppercorns may also be used) fish sauce, to season How to do it: *I usually cook the macaroni first on a separate pot, but you may also cook it together with the ingredients if you wish. In another pot, saute the onions and garlic. Add the chicken pieces then cooked until slightly browned. Season with salt and pepper. Add the carrots then pour some water enough to cover the meat and vegetables. Simmer for about 10minutes (or until cooked) then pou

I am sharing some videos of my cousin playing the piano/organ facing back. He usually does this trick but I am still always awed by him. Cool.Cool.Cool. I mean, how cool is that?! =D He's playing Jingle Bells on this one... ...and he's doing a 'duet' with a friend - Heart and Soul. Go Pol! Yay! Thank God for unique talent! Like this post? Click to Subscribe to The (Mis)Adventures of Superboink by Email   Xoxo, 

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