coconut, sashimi-style.

it's coconut harvesting time in the homestead again, so expect a few coconut-based recipes here. although, i have to say, i prefer coconut mostly unadorned, and as fresh as possible--adding ice to cool coconut water and scraping meat straight from the nut is as much as work as i usually do, and is pretty much all that is necessary. however, it doesn't make for much of a post.

something so simple and something so lovely and unusual is to serve the coconut sashimi-style, cut into bite-sized strips, accompanied with a sushi-grade soy sauce and wasabi. the condiments transform the flavour of the meat into something akin to ika, or raw squid. no, it's not fishy, but it seems more savoury, milky, and slightly sweet. it makes a good palate cleanser if you are serving several types of sashimi, or a nice alternative for a vegan or non-fish eating member of your party.

top tip: use the youngest coconut you can find. the sweeter and softer the flesh, the better!

name that fruit!: lanzones.

one of my family's most favourite fruits is lanzones, or Lansium domesticum, from the family Meliaceae. this tropical fruit is thought to have originated from malaysian peninsula, and is found in great abundance in the southern provinces of the philippines, including sulu and camiguin; it is also found in the laguna province of luzon. camiguin is known for having particularly sweet and desirable fruit, and has a festival in the fruit's honour in early october. however, now is the (short) season for laguna's bounty.

this ovoid-to-round fruit is about the size of the a large concord grape, the skin is yellowy beige, which covers the opaque, segmented flesh that is mostly seedless; there can be, however, one large seed, bitter with tannins, hidden in one of the segments. the flesh itself is sweet and juicy, with a texture similar to lychees and a flavour similar, but without the florally finish. the fruit grow in grape-like bunches off of tall and lanky trees, which give off a sticky resin when the fruit is picked; the resin is thought to protect the stomach from alcohol, but is bitter and difficult to actually imbibe. the bark of the tree contains anti-inflammatory properties and thought to be an anti-spasmodic--traditional medicines made from it are used against everything from dysentery to scorpion bites. which, i don't know, could be handy where you live.

saturday market finds at salcedo.

the saturday market at salcedo is one of the nicest markets i've attended; it's not just that there is a nice array of produce and handicrafts available, nor is it just that there is a staggering assortment of prepared foods, but it's also in really lovely park with shady trees filled with fairy lights and plexi-shapes that dance in the wind. it doesn't matter how warm it is or if it's raining, the trees and canopies shelter the shoppers and the lively and easygoing atmosphere keep you from caring anyway.

giant jackfruit

mounds of mangosteens


lovely lychees


beautiful birds of paradise


piles of peanuts


squash blossoms, okra, and cilantro for home


bounty of fruit for immediate and ecstatic consumption


these little piggies went to market

golden bounty

it's the first time that the decade(s?) old mango tree has given out a worthy crop--pure gold, really, it has earned its keep as the giving tree. we still don't know exactly what variety it is, but i can say that the fruit are very large (some are more than a pound each), fibrous, but very, very sweet and juicy. i'm not sure i care, really. and i was thinking of posting some recipes, but for now we are just eating them out of hand, sometimes straight off the tree--warm and fragrant, juices dripping down our forearms, sticky and sweet.

watermelon coolers

sometimes there's a truck selling watermelon out by the post office in barrigada (look for the corn truck); if you should see it, definitely stop by. lately the watermelons have been extra juicy and sugary sweet.

i had some feta cheese left from my grilled corn bonanza this weekend, so i used it to top a favourite salad of arugula, thinly sliced ribbons of red onion, watermelon balls, and a raspberry balsamic vinaigrette. the watermelon cools the bolder flavours and adds a nice touch of sweetness.

i don't think there's really any reason to do anything but chill and slice up these bewdies, but if you feel a little creative and have some time, a melon baller and a little mint makes for a lovely presentation.

in case you have an overripe/underripe one or are looking for a change, you can make a simple, refreshing granita. just make a simple syrup, flavour it any way you wish or leave it as is (i like to add lime zest and finely chopped fresh and candied ginger). add as much as you wish to some cut up fruit, then freeze up the lot in a zippered freezer bag. bash it about a bit every 20 minutes or so, and you'll have a light and icy summertime treat.

if you can't stand the heat...

get out of the kitchen and fire up the barbecue grill.

my cousin passed by mr. wusstig's corn truck this weekend, and brought over some ears. the weather was far too oppressive for me to think in any way beyond breathe.move.maybe.breathesomemore. so it was a miracle the corn got cooked at all, never mind something schmantzy. i simply chucked the ears onto a grill, then served them with a little basting of butter, a crumble of feta cheese, a shake of chipotle chili powder, and a squeeze of lime. generally, i prefer to eat freshly cooked corn as is, without any garnishing, but the spare addition of the salty cheese, fresh citrus, and zing of the chili complimented the sweetness of the kernels very well. i suppose one could pile it on, but a little goes a long way.

a little more on macopa.

remember the macopa/wax jambu i wrote of in a previous post? i passed by a macopa tree a bit back, and thought you might like to see what the fruit look like in the wild. or behind a chinese restaurant in tumon. ha!

the flower of the Syzygium samarangense.

it takes about two months for the fruit to go from bud stage to ripened fruit, although

it seems to stay at this stage for a very, very long time.

the ones on island aren't as big and juicy as this, but are a pretty shade of cherry pink.

termites love the trees, so look out for nests. not that you could miss this one.

getting a little fruity in kl.

i had some fun correspondence with the housekeeping staff at my hotel; i would leave them one of the bento boxes from the conference (not bad but i'm in kl--sooo many more possibilities) during the lunch break, then return to find more than my fair share of whatever fruit was on offer from the housekeeping cart. whoo! unnamed housekeepers, you rock! of course, no one left me any durian (shucks), but i saw it quite a bit in the produce stalls around the city; no one wanted to split one, so i didn't try the local version (for the record--yes, i've tried it before, and like it okay. the smell doesn't bother me, but whilst the flavour is complex on the sweet end of the spectrum, it lacks an acidity i look for in most fruit). the mighty mangosteen and prickly rambutan, on the other hand, were bought at any given opportunity, and eaten just as quickly--hence, the woeful lack of photos.

also imbibed whenever possible: fresh coconut water, in the young coconut, served with a straw and also a spoon, to scoop out the tender, sweet flesh; coconut water contains a high amount of potassium (lots more than a banana), and helps a body rehydrate easier than just cold water. also sucked up: sugar cane juice, freshly expressed from the cane, diluted only with copious amounts of ice, and a touch of fresh lemon. cane juice is nowhere near as sweet as you would imagine, as it comes from the younger, greener cane, picked before the sugars develop.

probably my most favourite dessert in kl is the shave ice treats topped with fresh and preserved fruits, but unlike the filipino halo-halo, korean bingsu, or even its regional sister ais kacang, it does not have red beans or dairy added, so it is much lighter on the stomach. too many fruit concoctions and combinations were available; this one had fresh soursop pieces, preserved palm fruit, mochi balls, and nata de coco (fermented coconut water gel) covered in a guava syrup and basil seed syrup. fresh, fruity, sweet, yet sharp, icy and refreshing.

imho, the best fruit brought over by the housekeeping staff was the local wax jambu (if you want to get all latin fancy it's Syzygium samarangense.) it is known in the philippines as macopa, and on the island as simply "mountain apples." i never see fruit as big as this here on island, nor this colour--usually it's white or pinkish here, but in malaysia--where it is cultivated for harvest--it comes in a rainbow assortment from white to yellow to green to various shades of pink and red. the interior is snowy white, with a cellulosey texture and flavour similar to an asian pear but slightly spongy and lighter. as i can only get it on island in the wild or from other people's backyards, i took every opportunity to munch on this simple but satisfying gift.

a little pick(le)-me-up in kl.

nothing in kl got the chamorros and guambats amongst us in a pickle as much as coming across this preserved fruit stall in one of the many (many) shopping centres, which had a glorious array of tropical and not-so-tropical fruit pickles and preserves. many of us have childhood memories of going to the local mom and pops stores or snack stands and instead of picking up penny candy or sodas, our money would go to plastic sandwich bags filled with sliced green or semi-ripe papaya, green mango, or daigo (daikon radish), in a sweet pickling vinegar liberally seasoned with chopped fierce and fiery boonie peppers (bird chiles). this would often be the second breakfast on the bus to school, the mid-morning merienda, or afternoon snack. the scent of vinegar and chile would linger on our fingers and breath, not to mention our lunchboxes and schoolbags because this was pre-ziplock days....

all it took was one whiff of that pungent vinegar scent to lure us in. it was difficult to decide what to pick, without getting overloaded: there was the familiar green mango, yellow mango, and papaya, the unfamiliar-as-a-pickled-substance green grapes, yellow peach and surinam cherries, and the purely unfamiliar salak (snake fruit) and asam kelubi. luckily, we could pick our mix at whim, and return the day.

also available were a variety of rojak sauces and salty, sweet, spicy, stinky concoctions to dip the fruit in: salt and sugar, salt and sugar and chili, salt and sugar and chili and shrimp paste. we didn't have these as kids, which is a shame. i didn't get a chance to sample anything too whiffy, but there's always hope for next time.

21 fruits store
sungei wang plaza
jalan bukit bintang
kl

bounty, cagey.

deposited at my front doorstep the other day: a giant carton of cherry tomatoes and bittermelon. whooo! what to do, what to do.

*

also deposited: a bunch of eggs. i have to laugh whenever i buy those cage-free, free-range, battery-free, antibiotic-free, donovan-listening eggs at the market. i have a few friends with errant chickens, which are empirically without cage and battery, conforming to every stereotype about the bird you may have ever thought: they cross the road to get to the other side, they run around even with their heads cut off (srsly? so freakin' weird), and are as free as. no one is actually sure where they've come from--probably another yard in the neighbourhood--but no one comes around to claim them, and certainly none of my friends actually feed them. they know how to fend for themselves, surely.

i don't really know all that much about chickens, but i was under some assumption that eggs were usually dropped in a nest or at least in a sheltered area and roughly in the same area. however, the eggs pictured above are much like all the ones collected from various folk: randomly deposited on window sills, doorsteps, flowerpots, but mostly in driveways--coral rock, conrete, brick, dirt, clay....they seem to like the open expanse and playing chicken (! ha) with the cars coming in or out. the ones out of the way are mostly left alone, because of uncertainty of age, although some folk are partial to penoy, which are fertilized eggs which fail to hatch. personally, i think it's an open invitation for snakes (leaving eggs around the yard, not the penoy per se). the driveway ones are collected and distributed for consumption. i haven't really participated in the handouts because, well, i as a lifelong storebought egg consumer, am still a bit suspect of the driveway eggs. sure they are collected pretty quickly, but temperatures reach 80˚F or more by mid-morning regularly, and i'm not the one collecting the eggs. i know i should get over it, so i've started to get my share, but only for hard boiling purposes until i am more comfortable with the idea (i'm not worried about salmonella, but i figure a cracked/bad egg is easier to deal with once boiled).

i'm sure i wouldn't be so cagey if someone told me these had come from their lovely little farm with the red barn and the cow named bessie, i should be thrilled i'm getting fresh and free ones from the lovely little subdivision with the concrete house and the car named camry.

*

almost speaking of snakes, i came home from manila at 5am, opened up the bedroom door to find a snake slithering underneath the bed. after a little bit of a freak out, i went looking for it, to find...nothing. so after a few days of careful peering and not reaching into handbags too hastily, i was happy to find one of the dogs inadvertently stepping on what i originally thought was an electrical cord but turned out to be an irate and desperate snake. mostly dead (yay dog! although she is traumatized from the incident), so it was finished off with a whack of a nine iron. before animal rights folks get after me, i have to point out that the brown tree snake is non-native to the island, invasive, and has decimated the native bird population. "ecological disaster" is not too strong a phrase. so, although i find my golf club whacking ways troubling, i also think it's necessary. the thing is...the dead snake is not same one seen slithering under the bed. #$%^.

impromptu visit.

when will this monsoon season ever end? i was about to go mad with the sound of horrid rain, day in, day out...so i hopped on a plane, bound for manila, just for the weekend. even though it was overcast there really wasn't any rain to speak of (stupid or otherwise), but there was a nice cooling breeze. perfect for a stroll through saturday's salcedo market, again. just some scenes from the village:

katuray and bagbagkong, edible flowers


caimito (star apple), lanzones, chico, sampalok (tamarind), and bananas


cotton candy floss vendor


"dirty" ice cream


barbecued pusit (squid), hito (catfish) and bangus (milkfish), pork


roasting chestnuts


guess we know what fidel's up to these days.

surprise delivery.

s just brought over a case of super-sweet strawberries from korea, about 4 pounds' worth. any baking/dessert requests?

purple pretty

purple cauliflower, which gets its lovely colour from the presence of anthocyanin, which is also responsible for the colour in red cabbage, red wine, apples, and the distinctive deep loveliness of blood oranges.

when deep-fried, the colour changes to a gorgeous bluey-purple, not unlike dame elizabeth taylor's eyes. the flavour of the cauliflower becomes quite sweet and nutty. also like i imagine the ex-mrs. fortensky to be. not to taste.

makes a great sandwich. i'm sure the ex-mrs. hilton wilding todd fisher burton burton warner has a cook or chef who does, too.

fruit vendors, binondo, manila, philippines.

it's saturday so it must be salcedo.

i am nothing if not predictable about my routine in manila. i usually take the friday flight right after work in guam, and arrive in makati just before most of the restaurant kitchens close. saturdays start early with a couple errands, and then off to the market at salcedo village.

predictable, but considering the variety of food and produce available, not exactly boring. and not particularly expensive either--the current rate of exchange is about 49 pesos to the US$1, so i can usually get a great meal and enough fruit for the weekend for about US$5. la-la-love a (relative) bargain, baby.

i was looking at photos from produce markets at tableau vivante and she who eats, and thinking that i'll never get such gorgeous artichokes nor delicate tulips here, but then again, i don't think frost damage is ever really a concern for the local crops, either.

and it never fails, i always find something new. spices 'n flavours run a stall there, with a small but fairly intensive selection of their merchandise. i picked up a small tumbleweed of dried oregano, and a packet of kasubha (Carthamus dentatus Blanco), which is similar to saffron but not (used much the same way, though); it was there i noticed a steel bowl filled with these almost coal-like fruit fossils labelled "black lemons."

preserved lemon, certainly, and a little interrogation of the shopgirl revealed it is from india, but no recipes were offered. has anyone ever used black lemon? does anyone out there know how? anyone? anyone?

bueller?


tagged! manila makati philippines salcedo produce market