18 August 2005

Got coconut milk?

See the Lasang Pinoy Round-up at The Pilgrim's Pots and Pans

I received an e-mail from food blogger Stefoodie and asked if I would be interested in joining the First Lasang Pinoy Food Blogging event. This is the food bloggers' way of commemorating Ninoy Aquino and his staunch dedication and pride for the Filipino.

While I do not have a food blog, I have to heartily say yes! to this worthy endeavour. For, as my regular visitors will surmise, I am Filipino through and through in my consumption of gastronomic delights.

The time when Ninoy Aquino made the ultimate sacrifice and the important Philippine events that followed after that is actually quite a blur to me, for I was not in Manila that time, and I was still in high school. I remember, though, seeing the events unfold on the broadsheets and on TV, culminating in the People Power . Who would forget the day the top story of newspapers were "Marcos Flees", in allcaps?
Well, I don't have exactly a food association with those events because we were far from the center of climactic events. I have photos though of my family in various occasions flashing smiles and proudly showing the "L" sign with our thumb and pointing fingers.

But I admire Ninoy Aquino and his determination. Most of all, in the way he looks at Filipinos. I wish we can also always look at ourselves in that light, and love our country.

Filipino cooking is one aspect of our life that I love. The simplest things can turn into a culinary showcase! Take gata (or coconut milk), for example. We can do so many things with it. For merienda fare, we have guinataan, a sumptous blend of sago, langka, saba, camote, bola-bola [just some of the many things I do not have the english equivalent of :-)]. And have you tried guinataang bayabas (guava)? Simpy delicious. Rice cakes with coconut milk are simply the best.

For meals, we can mix gata with just about anything. Fish, crabs, shrimp. Mouth-watering delights! Even the simplest dish becomes an excellent companion to rice. Such as laing, for example. Shredded gabi leaves in gata. Add a dose of siling labuyo (small red and green peppers) for good measure, and it's sufficient to appease many an appetite.

My neighbors would usually go out on weekends to a fish market to buy clams and fish, enough to feed their families, and with lots to spare for the neighbors. They'd cook outside using firewood and make it look like a neighborhood cook-out. No occasion whatsoever. Just cooking and sharing for the fun of it. And they would also cook laing. Lots of it to go around. But bring your own rice :-).


Filipino food and the Filipino trait of sharing is just one of the many things that make me truly proud of my heritage. Kain tayo!

29 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:20 pm

    yay una ako!!!

    ang paborito kong gata eh yung Laing saka Langka.... nakakagutom tuloy, heheheh....

    alam mo ba na hindi lang ang coconut milk ang maraming gamit? check mo yung entry kong "World Challenge" para malaman mo ang sinasabi ko :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous9:46 pm

    Ah, laing seems to be a universal favourite!

    Thank you for participating in Lasang Pinoy. Not being a food blogger need not matter as long as you are with the community in our love for Filipino food. I hope to see again in the succeeding events!

    ReplyDelete
  3. DarkBlak! Wala kang magawa ano? hehehe. Sige punta ako sa blog mo.

    Thanks for the invitation Karen! And regards to Stef!

    ReplyDelete
  4. psst! pwede ka bang magpost ng food for diabetics? na totorture ako sa mga pics. :P

    ReplyDelete
  5. Imagine mo na lang cherry yung food without sugar and spices :-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Uy, at sumali rin..right o! Gata is also a favorite of mine.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Maybe I can help, Cherry. Sige, ipagpo-post kita ng list.

    I love Gata and Laing. Mas healthy pa ito than most food items out there.

    Great cooking, Watson! You're the man! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  8. ahhh coconut milk (gata) lahat yata halos ng luto sa gat e masarap.... even recipes with cury powder kailangan may gata.... even foreigners who visits the country loves our gata based dishes.... those of you who wants recipes with gata... e-mail me... LAING DA BEST!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. prends... ok na po ang blogsite ko.... you can post your comments na... :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. this post is mouth-watering naman. i happen to love gata in food although i'm not a bicolana. yummmm!

    ReplyDelete
  11. masarap din yung sinantolan. (not sure kung tama.) basta santol sya na may gata. sarap grabe. :D

    ReplyDelete
  12. yehey! sumali si Watson sa Lasang Pinoy! You just made me hungry fo some ginatan. I think I'll make some this weekend, with plenty of bola-bola :-)

    ReplyDelete
  13. i love gata watson. lalo na sa bicol express. puede rin sa monggo. mega yummy!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Woohoo! At nadagdagan ang guys sa Lasang Pinoy participants.
    Hindi ako masyadong mahilig sa savoury applications ng gata. ;)
    Mas gusto ko yung kakanin o desserts na may gata like ginataang halu-halo, biko, cassava bibingka, etc.
    'Musta na si JoLo? (tama ba?)

    ReplyDelete
  15. mmm... laing!!! yum yum... the picture looks good enough to eat!! yumm....

    try mo next thai curry .... mmm...

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous7:20 pm

    thanks so much for joining us, watson. you are so right about coconut, rice may be our #1 staple pero 'yong niyog eh almost right up there with it. great post! luto pa, okey?

    ReplyDelete
  17. You remind me Watson of sharing food with neighbors in the province. That's true. But we didn't share pag may sobra lang. We really cooked a lot para ipamigay sa mga kapitbahay lalo na pag weekends. Ganoon din minsan ang mga kapitbahay namin. We were like a big family then.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I don't get this blog entry one bit. You celebrate a person's martyrdom with a food fest?

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hi Ting Aling! Masarap rin yung ginataang kuhol!

    Thanks Doc! Good to know that laing is also healthy!

    G, mukhang may hidden talent ka sa cooking ah.

    Hi Amie! Something in common, huh?

    Ginataang santol? Kakaiba yan, Jessie. Minatamis na santol ang alam ko.

    JMom, penge ng guinataan!

    Svelte Rogue, ginataang monggo? Uy bago rin yan sa pandinig ko! Yes, sikat rin ang bicol express.

    Hi Celia! Masarap talaga kakanin natin. Ok naman si Jo-Lo, parang nagsasalita na nga eh, do ko nga lang maintindihan :-)

    Uy Juls thanks for visiting! Sige try ko curry next time.

    Yes stef. And thanks!

    Ah oo, abaniko. Kaya nga nakakatuwa yung neighbors namin dito sa Manila. Parang nasa prubinsya ka.

    Not the martyrdom, jgotangco, but food that you remember having during that time. Or our culinary heritage that makes you proud to be a Filipino, a celebration of the pride which Ninoy has for all of us.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Schatzli, thanks din for visiting!

    ReplyDelete
  21. o hail o hail i can eat gata all day .. wuhahaha ... may fav tslap tsalap. laolo na yung tambakol na may gata. kakagutom!!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Ah, yun yung malaking isda, di ba? Grabe, naalala ko talaga yung ginataang bisukol. Ang hirap kainin kasi pupukpukin mo pa tapos susungkitin. Pero maanghang-anghang yung sabaw na may sitaw at kalabasa ... Waaaah! Gutom na ako!

    ReplyDelete
  23. doc emer,

    thanks! :)

    G,

    salamat naman. to block spammers, try to use the new blogger function where they have to use the word verification feature in order to post.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Nick, luto na yung ginataan. Come pick up your bowl :-)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous2:06 am

    Gata! So good in so many ways! I love both its sweet and savory variations in our cooking...laing syempre, kuhol, ginataan anything, adobo with gata (this was a favorite of my lolo)...hayayay! Just had kalabasa with gata and hibe for dinner...yum :-) Hope to see you in other events!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous6:10 pm

    Cool guestbook, interesting information... Keep it UP
    » » »

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous6:03 am

    Cool blog, interesting information... Keep it UP » »

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...