Filipinos celebrate Christmas as early as September for as long the month ends in “ber” such as September, October, November, and December. Filipinos love to put Christmas decorations in display to bring in the festive mood of the season. In fact, the appearance of star-shaped lanterns sprawled along the street in the Philippines often signals the start of the yuletide season. The parol has become an iconic symbol of the Filipino Christmas as equally comparable to the Christmas tree in other cultures. These lanterns are called “parol” as a symbol of anticipation for the most wonderful time of the year for Filipinos like in any other countries.
Parols come in a variety of shapes and sizes having that distinct star-shaped pattern as the most commonly used design. Modern designs of the parols also include angels, Christmas trees, happy faces, Santa Claus’ face and beer or soda cans. The basic concept of parol lies in the source of light underneath its exterior wrought out of a casing made of bamboo sticks. The exterior of the lantern are translucent giving the fact that materials used are Japanese paper or colored plastic. The handmade lanterns are meticulously added with layers of these materials in addition to variety of stickers to create an illusion of contrast and depth despite of the only one source of light. Some lanterns employ a moving mechanism that exposes many sides to observers passing by. It only makes sense to find parol hung outside doors and windows in most homes that it certainly shine along the streets of the Philippines aglow with colorful designs for more than 3 months.
Parol making contest
Yearly competitions are regularly held particularly in Paskuhan Village in Pampanga, Philippines. You will see giant lanterns studded with colorful bulbs all over it. Each bulb is painstakingly arranged in such a way that the wires will touch a huge rotating wheel behind the lantern’s face at a particular synchronized timing. The timing is based on the location of the “catch wires” that connect with the individual bulb’s wires to light up the parol in time with the musical piece. The more than regularly sized parol have to be mounted on big trucks together with the power source, usually arrays of batteries in case no outlets are available. The basis of the competition is according to the synchronicity of their bulbs lighting with the music being played as well as the artistry applied on the lanterns. The annual event is a crowd-drawer in the Philippines thus costs millions to come up with.
The meaning behind the Filipino lantern
The parol is a showcase of the Filipino’s distinctive qualities of ingenuity, hospitality and passion for hope and peace. Ingenuity, because the materials used for parol are of different kinds. Some parols are made of indigenous materials such as bamboo, or a pliable wood called rattan. Some parols are also made of recycled materials such as plastic containers, newspapers, used canisters, empty bottles among others. Intricately designed parols are made from small sea shells can reach up to 5 feet in diameter alone. The parol is also a symbol for hospitality because the people who hung parols in their houses intend to welcome visitors during the Christmas season. Lastly, the parol is a symbol of the Filipino’s longing for hope and peace despite the commercial overtures and gift-giving rampantly obvious this season.
Ingredients:
1/2 kilo pork loin, sliced into pieces
1 small can pineapple chunks
1 large onion, quartered
1 red & 1 green bell peppers, sliced into strips
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
3 tablespoons of peanut oil
4 tablespoons of cornstarch
3 tablespoons of ketchup
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
3 cloves of minced garlic
Directions:
1. In a pot, boil pork in 2 cups of water with 1/2 teaspoon of salt until tender, then drain. Keep the pork stock for later.
2. Mix 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and soy sauce then coat the pork with the cornstarch mixture.
3. Fry the pork in a skillet until golden brown, set aside.
4. Dissolve the remaining 2 tablespoons of cornstarch on 1/2 cup of pork stock - set aside.
5. Sauté garlic and onions on oil, then add the bell peppers, pineapple chunks (including the syrup), ketchup, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the dissolved cornstarch. Stir until sauce thickens.
6. Pour over fried pork then serve with rice.
Ingredients:
chicken
banana pith*
coconut milk
lemon grass
salt
vinegar
onion, sliced
garlic, a clove or two, pounded
black pepper
ginger, small piece, pounded
cooking oil
Directions:
1. Saute onion and garlic in cooking oil.
2. Add chicken pieces and saute until the meat is nearly-cooked.
3. Add coconut oil. Boil. Add lemon grass and banana pith slices.
4. Add ginger, salt and pepper. Add vinegar or the leaf or fruit of aeabihig (if you want this a little bit acidic) or not, depends on you. Simmer until the chicken is tender.
*Banana pith is the center-most layer of the banana trunk. Peel through each layer until you find the white parts. It is very tender and sweet. If this is not available, you can use canned or fresh hearts of palm or ubod in the Filipino language.
Ingredients:
6 medium large steamed crabs
1 medium sized tomato, chopped
white pepper
2 tbps crushed garlic
2 eggs, separated
3 tbsps cooking oil
½ cup chopped onions
1 teaspoon salt
Directions:
1. Remove the meat of the crabs from the shells. Set aside shells.
2. Saute garlic, onion, tomato and crabmeat.
3. Clean crab shells with sautéed crab meat mixture.
4. Beat egg whites 8 to 10 minutes until stiff.
5. Add yolks, salt, and pepper. Beat for 3 minutes.
6. Place about a tablespoon of egg over stuffed crabs.
7. Fry in hot oil in a pan for 5 minutes on each side until slightly brown.
Ingredients:
4 medium-sized eggplants
3-4 tomatoes
2-3 white onions
1/2 head of garlic
1/8 c. of rice vinegar
1/4 c. of light soy sauce
1 tsp. of sugar
1-2 chili peppers
1/4 tsp. of grated ginger
Directions:
1. Boil or steam the eggplants until almost mushy. Cool. Cut in half vertically and scrape off the meat with a spoon. Place the scraped meat in a large bowl.
2. Cut the tomatoes into quarters (or into eighths if they are large). Do the same with the onions. Add to the eggplants and toss lightly.
3. Peel and finely mince the garlic.
4. Mix together the light soy sauce, rice vinegar, grated ginger and sugar.
5. Add the minced garlic and the chili peppers.
6. Crush the peppers with a spoon.
7. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss.
8. Cover and let stand for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Ingredients:
20 large prawns, shelled
2 large eggs, beaten
3/4 cup flour
1 cup ice-cold water
salt and pepper for seasoning
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp curry powder
2 tsp chopped parsley
oil for deep frying
Directions:
1. In a bowl, make the batter by mixing together the eggs, flour and water. Season with salt and pepper. 2. For the sauce, mix together the mayonnaise, curry powder, and chopped parsley in a small bowl. Add more curry powder, if desired.
3. Heat oil in a deep fryer. Dip prawns in the batter, then deep fry for about 2-4 minutes, until golden brown and cooked. Drain.
4. Serve with steamed rice and the curry sauce.
Ingredients:
300g pork loin
300g pork liver
200g garbanzos (chick-peas)
2 brown onions
2 tomatoes
2 potatoes
1 red pepper
2 cloves garlic
50ml vegetable oil
600ml beef stock
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
1. Cut the pork loin and liver into cubes.
2. Bring 2 saucepans of water to the boil. Blanch the pork and the liver separately.
3. Drain and allow to cool.
4. Soak the garbanzos in cold salted water for 2 hours, then drain, rinse thoroughly and cook in fresh water.
5. Drain again and allow to cool.
6. Dice the onions, tomatoes and potatoes. Crush the garlic. Finely chop the red pepper.
7. Heat the oil in a large pan. Saute the onion, tomato and garlic for 3-4 minutes, then add the pork meat and liver and continue to stir-fry for a further 3 minutes.
8. Add the potato, red pepper and beef stock. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper and bring to the boil.
9. Lower heat and add garbanzos, then place a tightly fitting lid on the pan and simmer gently for 20-25 minutes.
Ingredients:
1 lb ground pork or beef or chicken
1/2 lb shrimps blenderize
1/4 lb bigger shrimps for topping cook
3 tbsp of tinapa flakes slightly toasted
1 pack mama cita palabok mix
1 pack atsuete powder
spring onion
8 boiled eggs 4 eggs blenderize 4 eggs for topping
2 bags palabok noodle 500gm each
2 garlic head
1 big onion
4 tbsp olive oil or canola oil
4 cans of chicken broth or 4cups beef broth
½ cup flour
pepper to taste optional
patis to taste
Instructions:
1. Boil 4 cups water,add a little salt. cook noodles for 15 to 20 mins or just half cooked then drain set aside.
2. Saute the ground pork with garlic and onion .add atsuete, tinapa flakes, pepper.
3. Add 3 cans or 3 cups of chicken broth when boiling add mama cita palabok mix with flour and 1can cold chicken broth ,pouring slowly until it’s thicken.
4. Add patis to taste.
5. On a separate wok pour half of sauce, when its boiling add the noodles for 10 or 15 min or until its cooked add more of sauce if needed.
6. Garnish with sliced eggs and cooked shrimps and chopped spring onion.
Amidst news reports bombarding our consciousness of the gloom and doom of the pig flu, good food continues to prevail in the Philippines. Most Filipinos just can’t bear to stay away from a favorite dish called “Lechon” or slowly roasted pig.
“Lechon” is world renowned as American TV chef Anthony Bourdain called it “the holy grail of pork” and Time magazine the “Best Pig” in Asia.
The epicenter of the outbreak, in Mexico there have been 12 confirmed deaths from the illness and 300 others infected, while there have also been infections in Canada, the US and across the globe, but not yet in the Philippines.
The outbreak was formerly known as “swine flu” yet consequently gave a wrong impression that pigs actively carry the virus thus pork should not be eaten at all. To clear out any misconception, the World Health Organization (WHO) is now officially referring to it as Influenza A (H1N1).
The owner of a famous “Lechon” house shares that the business are not affected by it. Lydia De Roca, 62, owner of Lydia’s Lechon emphasizes that none of her 19 branches in the country had experienced a drop in sales. De Roca shares that customers remain to patronize their roast pig joint since they have retain high cleaning standards and pigs are bred to high quality.
Lydia’s Lechon is just one of many restaurants in the area where pigs are slow-roasted over charcoal in full view of diners. The dish is a regular during Filipino celebrations with its golden-brown skin and its juicy white meat adorning the dining table.
The government is also doing its bit to communicate that humans cannot get swine flu by eating pork and although the Philippines produces most of its pork needs, imports from Canada, US and Mexico have been banned just in case. The government had already highlighted the new strain of flu could not be caught from eating pig meat when Health Secretary Francisco Duque said: “You get flu when someone sneezes or coughs on you. Meat does not sneeze or cough on people.”
Nevertheless, pig farmers in many countries have been hit hard and dozens of countries have imposed bans on pork imports. But sellers of the Philippines’ signature dish go on much as before.
Zennaida Correa, owner of “Hiedy’s Lechon”, said she has not suffered a sales drop, saying that previous outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease and bird flu fears have done more to scare customers.
“I know about swine flu and I’m very sure you don’t get it by eating roasted pigs,” Myra Valencia said as she accompanied her husband and child to a lechon stall.
“I just wanted to eat lechon,” said another diner, Frederico Bautista. “I have heard about swine flu from the newspapers and television but I don’t know if eating roasted pigs was the source of it.”
The head of the National Federation of Hog Farmers, Eliseo Yu, confirmed that pork prices have fallen recently in Manila public markets but is brought about a seasonal demand cycle and is not at all related to H-1 flu virus.
Ingredients:
1 Pata, front or hind leg of a pig with knuckles
1 bottle of soda, Sprite or 7-up
1 tablespoon of salt
2 tablespoons fish sauce or patis
1/2 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon of monosodium glutamate or MSG
4 tablespoons of flour
Enough oil for deep frying
Enough water for boiling
Preparation:
1. Clean the pork pata by removing all hairs then scraping the skin with a knife. Wash thoroughly.
2. Make four to five inch cuts on the sides of the pata.
3. Place the pata in a deep stock pot. Add soda and salt to the water.
4. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Add the baking soda and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes.
6. Remove the pata from the pot.
7. Hang and allow to drip dry for 24 hours or you can thoroughly drain the pork pata and refrigerate for a few hours.
8. After which, rub patis on the pata and sprinkle flour liberally.
9. In a deep frying pot, heat cooking oil and deep fry the pork pata until golden brown.
Sauce:
1. In a bowl, mix 3/4 cup of vinegar, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 2 cloves of crushed garlic, 1 head of diced onion and 1 hot pepper.
2. Add salt and pepper to taste.
