Pastil: Versatile One-dish Meal of Muslim Filipinos

Pastil: versatile one dish meal

Of Muslim Filipinos          

By Apolinario Villalobos

 

If you have ventured into a Muslim community, you may notice a delicacy neatly wrapped in a banana leaf. It is called “pastil”, a special kind of rice with a spoonful of viand on top– either fish or chicken. While the fish takes a shorter time to cook, the shredded chicken takes more, for as long as two to three hours to ensure its softness. The fish is flavored with “palapa”, a hot chili and shallot- based condiment, while the chicken is cooked in its own oil enhanced with a small amount of coconut or vegetable oil, toasted garlic, and with shallot and hot chili as optional ingredients.

 

In Manila, the place to go for this one-dish meal is the Islamic Center in Quiapo. While it can be partaken as is, some prefer to have other dish to go with it. At the Islamic Center’s halal carinderias and sidewalk eateries, the choices for other main dishes are chunks of young jackfruit cooked in coconut milk, red beans in coconut milk, broiled tuna, mudfish or tilapia, boiled eggs, stir-fried vegetables in herbs, and chicken cooked in thick coconut milk.

 

For dessert, one can have the Muslim version of “fruit salad” which is a soupy combination of gelatin and fruits in season flavored with milk and sweetened with brown sugar. It is different from the “dry” version of fruit salad which is topped with ice cream and shaved ice.

 

Variably, “pastil” is also called “patil” in other parts of Muslim Mindanao, and the preparation varies according to the added spice or condiment. The price however, does not vary, as the price is  fixed at ten pesos per wrap.

Ang Simpleng Karinderya ni Aling Myrna sa “LTO” – Imus City

Ang Simpleng Karinderya

Ni Aling Myrna (Sanchez)  sa “LTO”- Imus City

Ni Apolinario Villalobos

 

Hindi kailangang maraming nakadispley na paninda upang magpa-impress ang may-ari ng isang karinderya o sari-sari store. Ang karaniwang pagkakamali ng mga namumuhunan ng maliit ay ang kagustuhan nilang kumita agad ng malaki kaya pilit na pinupuno ang puwesto upang magpa-impress ganoong ang katotohanan ay matumal o mahina ang bentahan. Upang magawa ito ay nangungutang sila.  Okey lang sana kung sari-sari store dahil puwede pang tumagal ng ilang araw o kahit buwan ang mga kalakal nal hindi mabili bago maramdaman ang pagkalugi, subalit agarang kalugian naman ang epekto nito sa karinderya dahil sa hindi naubos na mga ulam sa maghapon.

 

Hindi makakamit ng isang negosyo ang tagumpay sa dami ng mga naka-display kung ang layunin ay magpa-impress lang. Dapat i-angkop sa kinaroroonan ng ngegosyo ang dami ng kalakal na binebenta. Napatunayan ito ni Aling Myrna, may-ari ng isang maliit na karinderya. Ang puwesto niya ay nasa bukana ng Government Center ng Imus City o mas kilalang “LTO” dahil ang unang nagbukas ng opisina dito ay ang Land Transportation Office. Nasa lugar na ito ang Cavite State University – Imus, Postal Office, Imus City Jail, mga korte, at Law Offices.

 

Nadiskubre ko ang karinderya isang umagang naghanap ako ng abogado sa lugar na nabanggit. Dahil maaga pa, naghanap ako ng isang tindahan na nagtitinda ng kape. Nakita ko ang maliit na karinderya na nasa isang “sulok”, isang tahimik na puwesto. Nang umagang yon, tatlong ulam ang nakalatag – pritong itlog, bistek/tapa (shredded beef). Maya-maya pa ay may mga dumating na estudyante upang magpabalot ng ulam. Nagulat ako nang malaman kong maliban sa murang halaga ng ulam na Php30 bawat order (ang standard ay Php35 hanggang Php40), at kanin na Php9 bawat order (ang standard ay Php10 hanggang Php12), ay may student discount pa!

 

Ang mga ulam na paninda ni Aling Myna ay kinikilala na ngayon sa local culinary world na “pagkaing Caviteἧo”. Sa kabila ng mura niyang paninda, hindi siya nalulugi dahil dinadaan niya sa dami ng namimili, isang sistema ng mga negosyanteng Intsik. Marami siyang suki dahil ang kanyang mga paninda ay hindi kapareho ng mga tinitinda ng iba pang karinderya na ang layo sa kanya ay ilang metro lang. Ang ibang mga karinderya ay marami ding katulong, samantalang siya ay wala maliban sa kanyang anak, kaya kontrolado niya ang operasyon, at higit sa lahat ay nakakatipid siya dahil wala siyang sinisuwelduhan. Upang makatipid sa tubig, ang mga platito at pinggan ay binabalot na niya ng plastic na itinatapon pagkatapos na pagkainan. Walang pinag-iba sa pagbalot niya ng ulam at kanin na pang-take out ang sistema. Ang hinuhugasan na lang niyang mabuti ay mga kubyertos at baso. Nakatipid na siya sa oras ay nakatulong pa siya sa pagtitipid ng tubig lalo na ngayong tag-init!

 

Lalo akong nagulat nang sabihin niyang tumagal siya sa negosyong pagkakarinderya sa loob ng halos pitong taon. Ang nakakatuwa ay ang sinabi niyang may mga dating estudyante na first year college pa lang ay suki na niya haggang magtapos ng kolehiyo sa Cavite State University. Ang iba naman, kahit graduate na, pero napapadaan sa lugar na yon ng Imus ay nagpapabalot ng bistek/tapa o adobo upang mai-take home. Maliban sa mga estudyante ay marami rin siyang suking empleyado ng gobyerno.

 

Pagtitiyaga ang puhunan ni Aling Myrna sa pagka-karinderya kaya malayo sa isip niya ang style ng ibang negosyanteng gustong kumita agad ng malaki. Malaking bagay din ang nabubukod-tangi niyang mga “ulam-Cavite” kaya binabalik-balikan. Mistulang family bonding din ang paghahanda ng mga itinitinda niyang ulam dahil ang isa niyang anak na lalaki ang nagluluto ng mga ito na dinadala sa puwesto nang maaga upang maibenta sa mga estudyanteng dumadating alas-siyete pa lang ng umaga. Bago magtanghali ay dinadagsa na siya ng mga suki kaya halos hindi sila magkasya sa mga mesa na ang iba ay hinahabungan laban sa init ng araw.

 

Nakita ko sa mukha ni Aling Myrna na nag-eenjoy siya sa pagtinda ng ulam kaya hindi ko man tinanong kung tatagal siya sa larangang ito ng negosyo, naramdaman ko nang umagang yon na maaaring mangyari…. dahil isa siyang larawan ng tagumpay na ang bigay sa kanya ay kasiyahan kahit hindi limpak-limpak ang kita!

Foods are for the Stomach, as Writings are for the Mind

Foods are for the Stomach

As writings are for the Mind

By Apolinario Villalobos

 

The foods can look appetizing by how they are presented, so are the writings that can be made attractive for reading by their title and first few lines. The writings are the poems and essays, and foods are appetizers, main dishes and desserts. While the print media, and today, the internet are the venue to showcase writings, outlets such as dining places and parties, are for the food.

 

Every country has its own specialties and distinct recipes or styles in cooking. So are the different nationalities that have their respective and distinct kind of literature, based on their culture. Honesty in presentation, though how seem simple they may be discerned, are on what the foods and writings are judged.

 

The intriguing simple dishes of a far away Asian country can elicit curiosity and admiration due to their exotic taste, just like the equally intriguing broken-lined poetry of young poets today.

 

Respect is what foods and writings should be given. They should not be altered based on the whims of others. Those who cannot take the taste of certain foods and intriguing literary style should prepare their own dish or come up with their own poems or essays.

 

Invented gadgets, contraptions, and machines can be altered and improved based on their progressing necessity. But dishes should remain as originally concocted and can just be made as basis for new ones by food enthusiasts. In the same manner that the different styles in writing poems and essays should remain as they are written by the author and those who have been inspired should come up with their own style of presenting the idea.

 

Based on the above, nobody should be timid in coming up with their own cookery, essay or poem. What they come up with, unconsciously reflect their personality, such that, simple people may come up with simple dishes and simply written poems, as well as, short essays. Those with complex character, on the other hand, may come up with equally complicated dishes due to various ingredients, as well as, poems and essays with difficult to discern messages.

 

What I mean here is: everybody can cook and write which are just two of the many expressions of life…our various reasons for living. Most importantly, while the styles in preparing foods and presenting ideas vary, their respective essence remains the same.

Why Filipino Foods are not Popular Abroad Compared to those of other Asians’

Why Filipino Foods are not Popular Abroad

Compared to those of other Asians’

By Apolinario Villalobos

To put a straight answer to the question….it’s because names of Filipino foods in classy restaurants are “proudly” in Spanish or French, unlike those of other countries with authentic native names. As we know, people of other nations, especially those in the west, prefer the exotic, the native…and not what they already have in their country. So, in their desire to try something exotic, they would go to Korean, Japanese, Indonesian and Thai restaurants for a taste of Asia.

I am expressing this concern after reading an article in a weekend supplement of a broadsheet about a Filipino cook who has gone places, and the write-up is complete with photos of recipes that are his masterpieces – all with French names, though prepared with native ingredients! Filipino cooks who prefer to be called “chefs”, are obviously, so ashamed to name their dishes based on the main ingredient that they use. Perhaps, they should name, for instance, snail cooked in coconut milk, just as “ginataang kuhol”, the fern tops salad as “kinilaw na pako”, the “pinakbet” as just that, as named, coconut pith salad, as “kinilaw na ubod ng niyog”, misua soup as “sopas na misua” instead of “angel’s hair soup”, etc. There is, however, a problem with the “bird’s nest soup” that should be named “sinopas na laway ng ibon”.

There are a few Filipinos based in other countries, and who have ventured into the restaurant business, but most still prefer to hide their Filipino identity by using foreign-sounding names for their establishment, afraid that they will not attract customers, other than fellow Filipinos. Most also prefer to offer Mediterranean dishes introduced by the Spanish colonizers in the Philippines, such as the “arroz Valenciana”, “chorizo”, “estofado”, etc. when these can be prepared the Filipino way and given Filipino names. The hypocritical effort is obviously, an acrid residue of colonial mentality.

It is interesting to note that, in Arab countries, “saluyot” is used as an ingredient in spicy chicken curry, but in our country, only the lowly Filipinos eat the said vegetable, despite the already known fact, that it can prevent diabetes. A classy Chinese restaurant in Manila serves “alugbate” as an appetizer, but again, only mostly Visayans appreciate the said vegetable which is also known as Madagascar spinach or Chinese spinach, and those who cook it, know only of monggo as the appropriate taste enhancer. Still in the Middle East, one way to prepare eggplant is to sauté it in oil and spices until it becomes mushy, which then, is eaten with bread. But in the Philippines, despite the abundance of eggplant, what most Filipinos know as a dish for it is “tortang talong” or an ingredient in “pinakbet”, or an insignificant ingredient in “achara” or pickles, and still for the lowly, “binagoongang talong” or just “inihaw na talong”.

In Thai restaurants, they serve “bagoong rice” with thin slices of green mango and toasted dried krill (alamang) or baby shrimps on the side. Filipinos love it, but local carinderias do not serve them or only very few even attempt to cook it at home, despite the availability of ingredients in wet markets. Still, Filipinos do not mind paying for the pricey Thai coffee, although, it is just an ordinary black coffee mixed with “condensed milk”, that can be prepared at home. And, to top it all, the mentioned offerings are listed in the menu with Thai names!

So far, only the street food vendors are bold enough to give their palatable goodies “exotic” names, such as ‘adidas” for chicken feet, IUD for chicken intestine, “pares” for soupy mixture of shredded beef, cow skin, chili flakes, soy sauce, and toasted garlic – paired with quick-cooked fried rice.

When Fiilipinos have foreign visitors, they are brought to classy restaurants, unless the latter request for something local. Oftentimes, no initiative is taken by most Filipinos to introduce what are ours. A classic attempt, however, was made by a Filipina when she brought her German guest to a mall and went to the Filipino section for candied tamarind. While picking up a pack, the host was proudly talking about the fruit as being abundant in the Philippines. When the guest looked at the label, she saw a “Made in China” printed prominently as the source of the product!….well, at least the proud Filipina tried.