KULINARYA's Fresh Lumpiang Ubod

I've continued road-testing recipes in the book KULINARYA, now considered a national bestseller as it has become a favorite gift to friends and family, especially Filipinos living overseas. I've handed out a few copies of the book myself - to my "inaanaks" or godchildren for the new wives to work their way into the hearts of their new husbands thru the stomachs, and to relatives abroad who long to cook Filipino dishes the authentic way. At the very least, the photographs in the book would be enough to appease their tummies that might have gotten homesick for their traditional Filipino cooking.

So, off to another recipe out of the cookbook which is the most accurate by far that I've read and tested. This time around, since I'm catering for a nephew's one-year old daughter on May 17, I tried KULINARYA's Fresh Lumpiang Ubod (Coconut Pith Spring Roll). The trick to making this dish is to have really good coconut pith - the "ubod" - which means you have to get "ubod" that stays crisp and does not become chewy after cooking. I was able to get fresh "ubod" some from Makro which was already julienned into fine strips (that cut away part of the work for me). KULINARYA suggested that the "ubod" be soaked in some water with a tablespoon or two of fresh milk. I did that to make sure the "ubod" stays fresh. 

The recipe as printed in KULINARYA: A Guidebook to Philippine Cuisine

Of course, the all-important step in the recipe is to make the fresh lumpia wrappers as you can't use the store-bought kind. The lumpia wrapper must be soft yet it should hold the fillings well. It's best to cook the fillings first since you need to let it cool before putting inside the wrapper. 

KULINARYA's recipe for Fresh Lumpiang Ubod is quite simple. The filling was a mixture of sauteed garlic and onions, to which about 100 grams of ground pork is added. After sauteeing the ground pork, peeled shrimps are also sauteed. This is seasoned with some salt and pepper and then finally, the "ubod" (strained from the water and milk mixture) is added and again, sauteed for another 10 minutes or so. As a personal touch, for color, I added julienned carrots.When the filling is seasoned to one's taste, you can strain the cooked mixture and let cool. 

Meanwhile, you can do the fresh lumpia wrapper, quite tedious since you have do it one wrapper at a time. I used a 10-inch non-stick skillet, swirling 1/4 cup of the batter made of flour, cornstarch, egg, salt, oil and water, to make a perfect wrapper, although I was expecting something with a yellowish tinge. The other recipes I read used more eggs - maybe that's the trick to adding color to the wrapper. Nonetheless, the wrapper I made was soft and held the fillings well. 

Lastly, you need to make the sauce - a sweet, thickened soy sauce-water-sugar mixture. The recipe calls for caramelizing the white sugar first and then adding water and soy and thickening that with some cornstarch mixed with water. 

Finally, you can assemble the spring rolls! One lumpia needs one lettuce leaf on the wrapper, plus the filling and if you want, you can put in the ground peanuts and some of the sauce before wrapping and rolling the lumpia. Now, to serve, you just drizzle the sauce on top of one lumpia and add ground peanuts and minced garlic. Voila, you have a merienda delight that's fresh, healthy and bursting with a sweet, salty, garlicky flavor. A Filipino spring roll that rivals fresh spring rolls of our Vietnamese and Thai neighbors!

Halohalo ala DEC

Nothing beats the heat during a scorching hot summer day than a big bowl or glass heaping with sweetened tropical fruits, beans, gelatin, strips of macapuno or langka, a spoonful of ube haleya or ube ice cream with leche flan and pinipig packed with crushed ice, milk and sugar!

In the Philippines, that mix-mix mixture is called "halohalo." No self-respecting person from this country, young or old, male/female or any other sex, can say that he is a true-blue Pinoy if he does not know what "halohalo" is and what it tastes like. No summer in this tropical country can go without one dipping a long spoon into a tall glass and doing an up and down movement with it to make the ice melt, mix the sugar and milk down to the layers of sweetened saba, red beans, sweetened chickpeas, langka strips, kaong, gelatin and whatever else is there in the glass of "halohalo." 

There's simply no substitute for the experience of mixing the blend down to a cool, sweet, colorful, milky sensation that pops in your mouth:  bits of fruit mixed with crushed or shaved ice, then off to a soft piece of jelly to a pasty bit of red bean or chickpea. And if you ordered the "special" with a scoop of ice cream that's usually ube flavored, then you just turned your day around. "Halohalo" is bright, colorful, sweet, cold - what's there not to like? 

These days, most everyone goes to Razons of Guagua for a glass of "halohalo" with just three ingredients: sweetened saba, macapuno bits and leche flan, for P75 per glass. There's even an urban myth that goes around -- that these ingredients were made every night by the grand matriarch of the Razon clan back in Guagua. I almost believed that until I found the Razons commissary tucked somewhere in Pasig. Some even say that the secret is in the milk that is used, fresh carabao's milk. But really, it's only evaporated milk sweetened with condensada. The only honest thing about Razons' version is they reinvented it by using shaved ice instead of crushed ice. THAT makes a whole lot of difference! Take note, CHOWKING! 

Razons has made its mark in the "halohalo" world here in the country. But more variations of the sweet iced dessert are cropping up. It was my daughter, the aspiring pastry chef, who introduced our family to DEC's Halohalo. To most, DEC's is a Chinese deli selling kikiam, siomai, siopao and other Chinese foodstuffs. But this summer, we discovered that they made really good "halohalo" with a mixture that outnumbers Razons' magic mix: red beans, buko strips, saba, round gelatins, different types of jellies, leche flan, ube, and instead of pinipig, the mixture is topped with crunchy cornflakes! There is no secret ingredient - just evaporated milk mixed with condensada and of course, shaved ice. 

Since we like our "halohalo" packed with color and flavor, this is our hands-down choice for the best "halohalo" in town. We found DEC's at the ground floor of the Provident Building at the back of OB Montessori Greenhills. And for just P60 per glass, it comes with a disposable tall spoon and a huge straw so you can sip the goodness of the milk and "halohalo" bits at the bottom -- no need to turn a tall glass over onto your mouth to drink the milk! 

Paying Homage to Her Royal Highness : ALING LUCING

I had meant to write this article after going on a culinary day-tour that ended in a pilgrimage to a culinary shrine, Aling Lucing’s Sisig in Pampanga. Upon reaching the eatery one rainy afternoon, it certainly felt like setting foot on hallowed ground.

Having heard so many stories about the award-winning sisig place, I was determined to find out why the 80-year old culinary icon was befitting the title of royalty bestowed on her: Lucia Lagman Cunanan - SISIG QUEEN. What was the secret behind her tasty take on the crunchy mix of boiled and chopped bits of pig’s cheeks, ears and snout? What set her apart from all of Pampanga’s and the nation’s sisig-churners, enough for her to be hailed the Grand Slam Winner of the 2005 Sisig Festival in Angeles City over 176 competitors? 

Of course, my personal curiosity over Aling Lucing’s success came from my desire to improve on our own sisig dishes served in our food establishments. But after reaching Aling Lucing’s restaurant to unravel the mystery behind her sisig right where it all began, I stood there amazed at the Queen’s tenacity, her own passion to be the best among her fellow Kapampangans who are all known to possess high-grade culinary genes in their DNA. She is proud to be the best in a league of her own, dishing out what is the most flavorful showcase of the “pambansang pulutan.”

I have not had the chance to sample the other sisig recipes of Pampanga or those that competed versus Aling Lucing’s Sisig. But having a spoonful of freshly prepared sisig in her store raises your eyebrows, widens your eyes and makes you believe that the judges had good reason to laud the dish and heap awards on it.

Aling Lucing’s pork sisig, the original kind served in her restaurant since 1974, had just the right salty-crispy taste. Its crunchiness came from grilling the pork over hot charcoal and then chopping it to bits before it is mixed with mashed chicken liver and minced onions. It is laden with MSG which enhances the flavor of the dish and then sprinkled with calamansi juice and served with a dipping sauce of soy and vinegar with chopped onions and siling labuyo. It is also served on a sizzling plate to keep the dish hot, allowing the diner to scrape the scrumptious crunchy bits that cling to the hot plate. 

It has been two years since that trip to Aling Lucing’s in Pampanga and exactly a year after her tragic death – a stabbing that has been left unresolved. Her death was made even more tragic by nasty jokes that alluded to her having the same fate as the main ingredients of the dish that made her famous. Certainly, Aling Lucing was herself famous as the “rich and famous” park their SUVs alongside the humble eatery near the railroad tracks to have their fix of the most devilishly-delightful pulutan ever created.

Today, sisig is no longer just bar chow. It has evolved to being a regular viand, eaten with hot steaming rice and sometimes even with a side dish of vegetables. Too bad, Aling Lucing did not live long enough to see her legacy being continued. But time will tell if the passion that set Aling Lucing apart from the rest will be carried on by her heirs and yes, her franchisees. For there are Aling Lucing stalls now in foodcourts and some dine-ins in the metro. It is up to us to see if they live up to the memory of the one who is to be known, perhaps for all time, as the QUEEN OF SISIG. 

Long live the Queen!