My esteemed coworker young master Leon disclaimed hunger today, asserting that he had had a late breakfast. Which involved queso, arroz, possibly an empanada, frijoles, huevos, and longaniza.
I asked him to discuss it in detail, as I figured that thinking about good food would make him esurient. The operative concept here being that I like to enjoy my lunch after everyone else has eaten.
I wanted him to eat lunch first.
His lyric eloquence describing the longaniza made me ravenous.
Whereas it simply put a silly smile on his face.
Ah, happy memories!
He did not bother having lunch.
I had Sriracha and a sandwich.
Naturally I ended up at dinner time craving longganisa, embutido, lechon kawali, adobo, lumpia, sinigang, and bihon.
The only thing that happened was bihon. With carne de puerco, fried onion, yellow squash, basil, lime juice, abalone sauce, and sambal.
Followed by a cup of strong coffee, because I do not wish to sleep yet, as good food makes me do.
Filipino longganisa is made by stuffing minced fatty pork into sausage casings and tying it at short intervals. The meat is jazzed with garlic, sugar, soy sauce, and vinegar.
If it is to be stored, also Prague powder.
Or you could freeze it.
It is simmered in a little water till the liquid is gone, then turned in the rendered fat to brown it all over. Great with garlic rice and an egg, but also sliced and dumped over thin rice-stick vermicelli (bihon), along with chopped chives, ulang or hipon, and a squeeze of lime.
Or just eaten as a manly snack.
Embutido is a meatloaf wrapped in tinfoil (used to be a banana leaf) and steamed, then sliced after cooling a bit.
Lechon kawali is streaked fatty pork simmered with soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and water, till tender -- about an hour -- then left to air-dry in the refrigerator so that the skin will crisp nicely when you fry it, yielding soft oozy delicious fat underneath a golden crunchy dermis. It is delicious.
Adobo is pork or chicken stewed with soy sauce, peppercorns, and vinegar.
Lumpia are little egg rolls. Finger food. Yummy.
Sinigang: seafood or meat in tamarind-based broth.
Tangy and fragrant, not too sour.
Comfort food.
None of these things are easily available in this part of San Francisco, because there are far too many young people connected with computers living in the neighborhood now, and hardly any Filipinos.
That is something which makes me sad.
I like Filipino food.
This area is whitifying far too much.
Higher prices, and less flavour.
No longer malinamnam.
No sisig either.
Darn.
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