While baked and sweet treats as well as occasional tries of some Western and Asian recipes excite me, my palette still craves for the savory dishes I’ve grown up eating. Not everything might be considered a healthy option, but the occasional salty and spicy (and fatty) dishes do have their own charm.
One simple dish I miss from my childhood in the province is boiled scampi (halabos na alupihang dagat) paired with vinegar with crushed garlic, salt, black pepper, and red chili peppers. I’ve been in the city for many years already but I rarely see this seafood in the supermarket. Thus, when I chanced upon it a few years ago, I bought and cooked it just like the old times.
When it comes to coconut milk dishes, pork binagoongan, ginataang langka, and laing easily come to mind. Still, I’m always on the spicy side.
For soup dishes, ginisang munggo and ginisang mais are my bet. And when I crave for noodles, pancit canton and chicken sotanghon are fairly easy to prepare.
For fish dishes, I wouldn’t say no to bangus bistek and simple fried fish paired with a veggie dish. Yum!
I know arroz ala cubana isn’t a native Filipino dish, but I guess it’s long been mainstreamed in the country’s culinary culture. I recently prepared this dish as the kiddo loves tomato based dish, too. I did a little twist though as he doesn’t eat raisins and peas. Still, the kiddo loved the dish. Again, my heart is full. <3
