PG. Patay-gutom? No, it’s not. PG stands for “pagkain galore”. However, since we are now talking about food, then patay-gutom is a good guess. After all, Mom and I acted like it in our past three meals.
I come from a family of food lovers. There are no formally-trained culinary experts in our clan, but we make excellent and palatable dishes. (Yours truly is no exception. Wink!) Each time I go home to Tarlac, Mom prepares food like it’s our town fiesta. The thing is, I’m the only visitor. Actually, I’m no visitor. I live in this house. It’s my home, but Mom gives me that extra-special treatment. She knows I love to eat, and makes sure my favorite dishes are ready by the time I knock on our door.
Before leaving Manila for Tarlac last night, she asked me to buy for dinner one of her much-loved dishes at the Manila Grand Opera House in Avenida – “chicken feet” (Figure PG1). I made two orders. I also got her our long-time love – “shrimps with cashew nuts and green peas”, which comprised only half of the dish, so it’s really a misnomer (Figure PG2). It should be named “shrimps with cashew nuts, green peas, water chest nuts, onion leaves, ginger and celery”. These were to complement the “miki-bihon” waiting at home in Tarlac, thick and thin Chinese noodles cooked plainly with chicken breast, no other fancy stuff (Figure PG3). I also brought some fresh crabs which I cooked in butter and lots and lots of garlic when I arrived (Figure PG4).
When I woke up this morning, it was Mom’s turn to return the favor. The breakfast table was filled with food that reminded me of my happy childhood. The “pinablad” – known as “binatog” in Manila, puffy corn kernels with kinayod na niyog (Figure PG5). The “panara” – grated young papaya with dried shrimp, deep-fried in rice wraps and eaten with sukang Iloco (Figure PG6). And the Filipino breakfast classics, pritong tuyo and scrambled eggs with onion leaves (Figure PG7). And that’s not all of it. My stomach literally drooled at lunch when Mom served a hot bowl of “pinaksiw na ampalaya” – tiny Ilocano bitter melons, kalunay (a small garden plant taxonomically and morphologically related to the spinach) and kamoteng ube cooked in vinegar and bagoong Iloco (Figure PG8). She paired it with “pritong tinapa” – freshly made everyday, my hometown’s best delicacy ever (Figure PG9).
And now, I think I’m five pounds heavier. It’s okay. Besides being with Mom, I always have a good reason to go home.
Figure PG1. Chicken feet from Manila Grand Opera House.
Figure PG2. Shrimps cashew nuts and green peas, also from Manila Grand Opera House.
Figure PG3. Miki-bihon, simple yet delectable. Our main carbohydrate source instead of rice, just for this meal of course. Hehe.
Figure PG4. My very own (all-female) crab in butter and garlic.
Figure PG5. Pinablad, a favorite breakfast among Ilocanos in Tarlac. My grandfather's sister used to make this when she was still alive.
Figure PG6. Panara. As of today, there's only one person who cooks and sells this in our town's public market. I asked her one time for the recipe but she didn't give it to me. I'll find out, honey, sooner or later. Also in the photo: fried Libby's Vienna sausage.
Figure PG7. Pinoy breakfast classics. Tuyo at binating itlog.
Figure PG8. Pinaksiw na ampalaya. This is actually an Ilocano-Capampangan fusion. The addition of kamoteng ube is authentically our style.
Figure PG9. Tinapang galunggong. Freshly made everyday in our town. The best tinapa I've ever tasted in my life.
