It has been six long years since the family last went for a visit to the Philippines. This time to make up for all the time away, we decided to come over during the Christmas holidays and spend five weeks reconnecting with family, visiting sun-kissed island destinations like Panglao and Boracay and sampling the unique […]
About Ariel Giron
UNIX/storage geek, amateur cook, F1/fiction/rock nut.
Migo’s Spaghetti Bolognese
Just what is it with kids and spaghetti Bolognese? Picture this. A cute toddler in her high chair, plump cheeks, a mass of ringlets on her head, empty bowl in front of her and red stains all over her face. No need to be told. You know straightaway that she’d just plowed her way through a […]
Chicken Tinola
By 1 Comment
We all know the healing power of chicken soup. If popular lore is to be believed, it does everything from curing the common cold to mending a broken heart. This reputation probably owes much to chicken soup’s neutral, some would say bland, flavour. And that is where the problem lies. To me chicken soup just […]
Slow-roasted Pork Belly
By 1 Comment
Talk of Filipino fiesta and guess what comes to mind? Why, lechon of course. But for a small get-together, roasting a whole pig on a spit is not only wasteful, it’s unhealthy. Even so there should be a way to enjoy lechon without going to all that trouble. Being the eternal pragmatist, our Filipino chef […]
Chicken And Pork Adobo
I mentioned in a previous article that adobo is a dish I learned at my mother’s knee. Along with the recipe I also learned invaluable tips that don’t only make my dishes taste great but make cooking easier too. Stuff like “once the salt is in there’s no getting it out” and “open the windows […]
Laing
By 2 Comments
I did not become a fan of laing until after college when I rented a room from a family who traced their roots to the Philippines’ Bicol region. My own family came from the province of Zambales in Central Luzon where the cuisine featured strong Ilocano (salty simple dishes), Tagalog and Spanish (meat dishes with […]
Tomato Scrambled Eggs
My mother made this dish for breakfast all the time when I was growing up. She used duck eggs whose deep yellow yolk when combined with the tomatoes gave the dish that distinctive rosy orange colour. In late summer, when tomatoes are in abundance, she would buy them by the bucketful and turn them into […]
Bistek Tagalog
When I was a young boy, my father worked at the United States naval base in Subic Bay. Every Christmas, the Filipino workers at the base got to take home a “package” that included such rare goodies as apples, oranges (with the “Sunkist” brand stamped on their skin) and potatoes as large as Papa’s fists […]
Scrambled Eggs
Nothing says “Good morning” quite like a plate of golden scrambled eggs. Most of us take scrambled eggs for granted. But there’s a fine line between a dry dense mass at one extreme to a wet gloopy mess at the other; and the light fluffy perfection of scrambled eggs done right. Ingredients 6 free range […]
Gabby’s Pork Adobo
Adobo, the quintessential Filipino dish. Forget lechon and its pretensions; rarely is adobo served at fiestas and gatherings. You’re more likely to find it at Juan and Juana dela Cruz’s dinner table. That’s because adobo is your honest everyday working man’s (and woman’s) fare. Adobo is a dish you learn at your mother’s knee. Each […]
