Top 5 Filipino Comfort Foods

I feel like my last few posts have been a little heavy so today I've decided to talk about something that everyone loves--food!

When you ask most non-Filipinos or even non-Asians about Filipino food, most of them will say lumpia. It's not bad to say that because of course, it is a dish made typically for parties and because most people are familiar with Chinese egg rolls, these are an easy transition into Filipino food. 

So today, I'll be talking a little bit about some favorite Filipino comfort foods :) I asked a few different groups of people for opinions on this, so I'll be posting based on the top 5 answers!

----------------------------------------------

1. Sinigang

This is sinigang na baboy! Photo credits to Casa Veneracion

This is by far my favorite food as well as many many Filipinos! Sinigang is a tamarind-based stew with a very sour taste. It's always some kind of meat with a lot of veggies. There are 5 main types of sinigang: 

• sinigang na baka (beef sinigang)
• sinigang na baboy (pork sinigang)
• sinigang na hipon (shrimp sinigang) 
• sinigang na isda (fish sinigang)
• sinigang na manok or sinampalukang manok (chicken sinigang) 

Honestly, the broth and the veggies are my favorite part of any sinigang but my favorites would have to be the sinigang na baka (the way my mom makes it) and sinampalukang manok. The chicken sinigang varies slightly from the other versions and usually has more ginger and actual tamarind leaves in the broth which are very yum to me. 

This is a dish that is meant to be eaten with rice, unlike most stews/soups in other cultures where it's okay to eat it on its own. I mean you can definitely eat this on its own but if you're with Filipinos you will probably be eating it with rice. It's perfect for a cold or rainy day outside but honestly no matter the temperature I will gladly eat this because I love it so much. 

2. Arroz Caldo/Lugaw/Goto

This version is arroz caldo. Photo credits to ParTaste

This is a breakfast staple in Filipino households! I remember as a kid when my dad would go to the goto place to buy goto & puto (Filipino rice cake, not a Spanish bad word) for us to eat. 

This is our version of congee or porridge. There are different variations, hence the different names. We also like to top it off with calamansi, or a citrus fruit found in the Philippines. Think of it as a cross between a lime and an orange (green on the outside, orangey on the inside) and the taste is slightly tangy. It's even a popular juice in the Philippines!

Anyway, here are the variations: 

• Arroz caldo: the spanish wording for it, but also the version with chicken. 
• Goto: the beef tripe (stomach lining) version
• Lugaw: the plain version with no meat. 

Usually, there may also be a hard boiled egg in it and it is usually topped with green onions. Most people eat it for breakfast or merienda (midday snack). Just thinking about it now is making me hungry, haha. 

3. Silog

This is another Filipino breakfast, and "silog" is the suffix used in the dish with the type of ulam (or meat) being the prefix of the word. Silog is short for sinangag (garlic fried rice) and itlog (egg usually cooked sunny side up or over easy). 

Tosilog, or sweet pork as the ulam! Photo credit to Ang Sarap

Main types of silog: 

• Tapsilog: Tapa (a form of beef) as the ulam
• Tocilog: Tocino (sweet pork) as the ulam
• Longsilog: Longanisa (pork sausage that can be sweet, spicy, or garlicky) as the ulam
• Spamsilog: Spam (canned pork) as the ulam 

It is such an easy and classic breakfast, which is of course why it made it onto this list! There are other variations beyond this; for example, Filipino fast food chain Jollibee has a hotdogsilog where Filipino hot dogs (they are colored red and slightly sweeter than American ones) are the main meat. We love our meats. 

4. Dinuguan

The infamous "chocolate meat," a favorite of many. Photo credit to Casa Veneracion

This is a fun one, haha. You may have heard it before or you may have heard of it as "chocolate meat," but no, it is definitely not chocolate haha. 

Dinuguan is a dark brown colored stew made with pork blood. For many people from western countries it sounds weird but you also have to remember that people from most parts of the world don't waste any part of the animal. Which, although I don't like dinuguan myself, is a great thing because as a society we waste too much already. 

Anyway, back to the stew :) Dinuguan is spiced with garlic, vinegar, and chili, along with the pork blood, so it has a tart taste, which is why I'm not a big fan of it. As a kid I didn't like it because I thought it looked nasty, but now that I'm older it's more so the taste. However, if there is absolutely nothing else to eat I will eat it with rice, which I'm sure you know we eat everything with by now. haha. 

5. Lechon Kawali

This is not exactly a "comfort food," but many of the people that I surveyed really love it for its crispiness and fattiness but also because for many, like me, it reminds us of our childhood. 

The deep fried goodness of lechon kawali! Photo credit to Choose Philippines

It is pretty much fried pork belly, known for the super crispy skin and the very fatty meat. Because it's very fatty people either love it or hate it for health reasons but besides that it's pretty delicious. It is usually served with Mang Tomas, a very common brand of lechon sauce. It's kind of a gravy, but it is much more peppery and vinegary with traces of liver in it (which I didn't find out until just now!). I, personally, don't usually use Mang Tomas with my lechon as I prefer to savor the crispy skin as it is, but most people dip their meat in it and it's delicious. Again, this is also typically served with rice but nowadays more and more Filipino restaurants trying to appeal to a more younger and westernized crowd serve it as an appetizer with no rice. 

-------------------------------------------

Okay I'm really hungry now but I hope this gave a good taste into Filipino food beyond lumpia! Which one is your favorite or which one would you try if you haven't had any of them? Let me know if there are any other foods that I missed! I might just write a part 2 to this :) 

I'm Hungry Pho: Pho-ntastic Phood

All the puns.

I haven't done an "I'm Hungry For" post in a while, and so today I decided to talk to you about one of the most popular/well-known Asian dishes and also the punniest of them all (hehe): pho. As you can see I also went a little overboard in the puns for the titles for this post.

Pho is a Vietnamese soup that consists of a basic broth, meat (that is sometimes raw), rice noodles, and vegetables like onions, green onions, cilantro, bean sprouts, and jalapeños. There are a few different variations depending on the region of Vietnam that the pho is from, but that is is what the basic pho consists of.

Pho on a summer day is still just as good under the cool shade!

What's in it: Typically, pho is served with just the rice noodles, the meat, onions and green onions. The bean sprouts, cilantro, and other veggies are served on the side so that you may put as much of it as you want in the broth. There is also usually a lime served with the pho to add a nice sour flavor.

As far as sauces go, the two most commonly used/mixed sauces are hoisin sauce and Sriracha sauce. Hoisin sauce is a sweet and salty tasting sauce and Sriracha is a type of Asian hot sauce. It's like the Tapatio for Asians, except the spices used are widely different.

How to eat it: As you can see from my photo above, I have some chopsticks and a soup spoon. Typically the chopsticks are to pick up the meats, noodles, anything that isn't broth. The soup spoon is obviously for the broth. But some people like my boyfriend take the meat or veggies or noodles with chopsticks and put it into the soup spoon so they can have it with the broth at the same time. I say it's pretty genius. I do it sometimes too, but not all the time.

Cost: For the most part, pho usually costs between $6-$9, and the portions are HUGE. I'm not sure if you can tell by my photos, but the bowls are quite large and so getting some pho is well worth your money (especially if you get it between $6-$7).

Best time to eat it: Most people say it's best to eat pho when it's cold or rainy because it's so hot that the broth cooks your meat (yes, the meat is typically raw because of the hot broth but you can request cooked meat if you're not comfortable). For me, I'll eat it no matter what time of the year, as long as I'm craving it and won't be dying of heat from eating it. Whatever your preference is with eating soup is up to you!

So, what are your thoughts on pho? Have you tried it before?

I'm Hungry For: Korean BBQ

If you look at the Instagrams of almost any Asian person in Southern California (or people that associate with them), you'll come across quite a few posts depicting meat on grills. If you don't know what that is, it is Korean Bbq, or kbbq as you'll see most people post for short.

How it works: When you go to a kbbq restaurant, there are usually different levels to choose from, obviously with the more expensive levels having more meats and many times seafood as well. One of the main attractions of Korean bbq to people is the All-You-Can-Eat (AYCE) aspect that many kbbq joints have. Not every restaurant is AYCE, but many are. On top of that, depending on where you live, it can cost as little as $10 for all the meat you can eat.

You can see why people go so often.



Another unique aspect about kbbq is the side dishes, called banchan. At every Korean restaurant, whether it is kbbq or not, it is customary to have banchan served with your meal, and you can have as many servings of banchan as you want.

On top of that, you also cook your own food, as you've probably noticed from the pictures. There are some kbbq places that can cook the food for you, but let's face it: it's always more fun to cook food yourself. The only downfall is that you smell heavily of meat afterward.

Types of Meat: Kbbq can have a wide array of different meats/seafood, but there is two types of meats that I have noticed at every kbbq place that I've been to. Those two meats are beef brisket and pork belly. Other meats included in AYCE packages can include anything from chicken to pork to beef cheek to prawns.

Sauces: On top of the typical Sriracha, Chili, and Hoisin sauces, there are two sauces that you could dip your meats in. One is brisket sauce, this sweet-tasting sauce with a thin consistency that is amazing with the beef brisket, hence the name. The other one is oil with salt. It's probably not the healthiest thing for you, but it's still good.

NOTE: Don't go to Korean bbq if you are on a diet! I've watched my boyfriend fail his diets by going to kbbq haha. (Sorry, babe!)

I reviewed a local Korean bbq restaurant last year too, if you are interested in some of the foods I ate while there.

I think I've gone over just about the main gist of the way Korean bbq works. Have any more questions? Leave a comment below!

Oh, and HUGE tip: TIP. I haven't been to many Korean bbq restaurants but all of the ones I've been to will practically chase after you if you don't tip. I know that we are technically not obligated to tip, but Asians want their tips haha. I've only not tipped once (woops!) because the people I went with and I only had enough to cover the bill without tip. They chased us out the restaurant and said we'd be banned from the place if we ever did that again. However, I think if you go to more expensive places they won't do that. That place is one of the $10 places so I can see why they do it. It may not be right, but hey, that's just how they do it. It's up to you if you will go back or not.

I'm Hungry For: BOBA

If you follow me on Instagram, you'll see my occasional posts about boba, or bubble tea or tapioca pearls as other people may call it. It is the starch from the cassava plant and is most commonly found in milk-based teas and smoothies.

At first glance (or taste), the concept of boba is disgusting and many people don't like it at first, but it is usually because most of us aren't used to drinking drinks with stuff in it. On top of that, boba is really chewy as well, which throws people off. However, I can assure you that if you drink it enough, you will grow to like it!

My family LOVES boba!

I used to hate boba but started getting it with my drinks because all my friends loved it, and I eventually loved it. Every person that I have met that used to not like boba ended up liking it after a few months and getting used to the taste. Boba is really an acquired taste.


Popular boba drinks: The most popular are the milk tea type of drinks. The two most common ones that I've seen and heard and that are at most places that serve boba (and even at places that don't specialize in boba) are Thai Tea and Milk Tea / Black Milk Tea /Earl Grey Milk Tea (but the tea isn't black or gray, it's pictured above). There are also smoothies for those that don't like the teas, but I highly suggest trying at least one of the tea drinks (there are more than just those two I mentioned) before going to the familiar smoothies.

Milk tea is my fave. 

My favorite: I'm not sure if you can tell by my pictures of boba, but my favorite boba drink EVER is the classic Milk Tea Boba drink. It's simple and I like it that way. If that kind isn't around, I go for the Thai Tea. I stay pretty simple and classic as far as boba goes.

If you aren't sure where to find a boba place, go to any location that has a heavy population of Asian people/Asian restaurants. Chances are, at least one place will have it. Boba originated in Taiwan, which is why it is so heavily associated with Asians/Asian-Americans.

I'm not too sure about other Asian cultures, but I know that Filipinos have their own version of boba and boba drinks, and for us, we call it sago (sah-go). I don't mind sago, but I would much rather prefer the Taiwanese version of boba.

Yum. Talking about all this boba is making me want some.

Have you tried boba before? What's your favorite drink?

The 3rd Day After Christmas: Top 13 Foodie Moments of 2013

Although I don't write about it on here as much as I should, if you know anything about me, it should be about my love for food! If you were to look at my expenses, most of it would point towards eating. Why? For Filipinos (or even Asians in general), any kind of gathering or time spent with friends isn't complete without some food! This year I tried a few new foods and enjoyed even more of old time favorites of mine, and today I will be counting down my top 13 foodie moments of 2013!

1. Cuy & Anticucho - I decided to start off this list with Peruvian food. I went to Peru this past summer, and the food was some of the best food I'd ever had but these two dishes were probably the most interesting. These two dishes are pretty crazy and unusual... to the average American. However, to most Peruvians, these are actually pretty normal.

Any guesses on what this is? No?

Me trying the cuy for the first time!

Yummy Anticucho -- found on peruviandelights.com

If you're still stumped, well here are the answers. Cuy is what Peruvians call guinea pig and anticucho is another word for cow heart. 

Some of you may own or may have owned a guinea pig at some point in your life and most of you probably don't think about eating the heart of anything (except probably an artichoke). The looks I got when I told people I ate guinea pig weren't as bad as when I told people I tried dog the last time I went to the Philippines in 2010 (I wanted to spite people by fitting the Filipino stereotype--plus I wanted to say I'd tried it). Cuy was a little too fatty for me, but it was definitely an experience! As for the anticucho, it tasted like any other delicious piece of beef, but knowing what it was made it just a little more difficult to eat. Yum!

2. Maracuya - Another Peruvian favorite, my team and I would drink this any time we were eating, no matter the meal or time. The English name for maracuya is passionfruit. All juices in Peru are freshly squeezed and very natural, making this exotic drink the choice of drink for us (unless it was Peru's beloved Inka Cola. hahaha). I've been searching around here to find it since then, even if it's sugared up, but I still haven't found anything!

All juices in here are of the passionfruit - courtesy of my friend,  Madi

3. Frosted Cupcakery - Over the summer, one of my friends introduced me to a local cupcake shop called Frosted Cupcakery. There are three locations in Hermosa Beach, Long Beach, and Hollywood. (But they do online orders too!) I have so far been to the Hermosa Beach location twice and really enjoy their red velvet cupcakes. The store itself is very cute and gives off a 50's vibe to me. I hope to try some of their other flavors someday [:

MooDaePo Rowland Heights Korean BBQ

If you know me personally, you'd know that I absolutely LOVE Korean BBQ. As an Asian-American living in Southern California, it's a pretty normal thing for me. Almost every single day there is someone I know out eating Kbbq, so when I got the opportunity to attend a media event that Moodaepo Rowland Heights was hosting, I was beyond excited!

A few other bloggers and yelpers, along with myself, were invited to this event (hosted by Wendy of Wendyful World I might add) to try Moodaepo's new lunch menu and Korean Bbq.

This was my first media event, so I was very excited to meet up with some other bloggers through SoCal Lady Bloggers. I was very happy to sit with Allison from Girl with the Pink Snuggie, Julie from Wrongway Peachfuzz, and Jess from IRockSoWhat. It was lots of fun sitting with them and getting to know them through the beauty that I call Korean Bbq.

Saesak Bibimbap: Mixed Rice w/ Assorted Spring
Vegetables

So onto the food! (*Note: the lighting for the pictures wasn't very good, so I aplogize for that!)

First, we started off with a traditional Korean Salad, called Saesak Bibimbap. The salad consisted of a fried egg, bean sprouts, seaweed, carrots, and other assorted spring veggies! It was pretty good, but I'm not much of a salad person so I didn't eat much of it.

Yuksu Bulgogi: Bulgogi Soup w/ rice cakes
and vegetables

Next, we were served the Yuksu Bulgogi, which is Bulgogi Soup with Rice Cakes and Vegetables. I actually really liked this dish and ate it with Sriracha. Yum! The meat was beef and having mushrooms in the dish reminded me a little bit of Mongolian Bbq (which I also love!). I definitely ate a lot of this.


Shortly after eating the Yuksu Bulgogi, we were served the Teriyaki Chicken and the Galbi Tang, or Beef Rib Soup. Boy, I must tell you that the teriyaki chicken was some of the best that I've ever had! Teriyaki chicken is such a common dish, but Moodaepo did a great job at making it stand out tastefully (to me, at least!). As for the Beef Rib Soup, I enjoyed it mostly because I love all kinds of Asian soups. It reminded me of some Filipino stews as well. I know for a fact that Allison enjoyed this as well! She kept eating it, even after we had gotten the Korean Bbq!

Teriyaki Chicken and Galbi Tang: Beef Rib Soup

Up Next, was a dish that I had been waiting for the entire meal! (No, not the Korean Bbq yet!) It was the Kimchi Fried Rice, or as it is traditionally called, Kimchi Bokumbap.

I had only tried Kimchi Fried Rice once before when I was out with friends and I loved it! I couldn't stop eating it! So when I saw that it was going to be on the menu for the day, I was so excited to eat it again and try a slightly different version of it! I talked about it so much that even the lady who served us said, "Here's what you've been waiting for," when she served it to us! (I really do just talk that much.)

Kimchi Bokumbap: Kimchi Fried Rice!

When I tried the Kimchi Fried Rice, it was just as good as the first time! A couple reasons why I like Kimchi Fried Rice:

• It's rice. I'm Asian. That's pretty obvious. After going to college and being deprived of Asian food, I learned to appreciate rice so much more!
• I normally don't like fermented food, but the kimchi (which is fermented cabbage) adds a very interesting flavor to the rice, which I actually really like. 

So after eating all of this food, you'd think I'd be full, right? Well to put it simply, no! 

I was actually still really hungry despite having had a whole meal already. But after all of these dishes, we finally had what we came there for--the Korean Bbq!

Look at all those beautiful meats! (Top left)Flower Steak,
(Bottom left) Pork Cheek, (middle top to bottom) Pork Belly,
Short Ribs, Tiger Shrimp, (Left) Beef Brisket

According to the menu, we were served the Prime Beef Brisket, Prime Marinated Short Ribs, Flower Steak, Tiger Shrimp, Prime Pork Cheek, and the Miso Pork Belly. Out of all of them, I loved the Prime Marinated Short Ribs and the ever popular Beef Brisket the best. However, I did enjoy all of the meats. I found the Flower Steak and Pork Cheek interesting because it was my first time having both. But it was a good kind of interesting and wished that we could've had more. 

Another thing that I loved with the meats were the sauces! They had the brisket sauce and salt/oil mixture that most Kbbq places have, and when I asked for hot sauce, the servers gave us each a small dish of a special hot sauce that they serve. I must say that it was definitely different than what you normally get for hot sauces, but I liked it for the most part.  

Look at all those beautiful meats on the grill. Yum.

I must say that hands down, this was the nicest and best quality Kbbq that I have ever had! I definitely would love to come here again! It is a little far from the LA/OC area where I live, but knowing my friends from my hometown, they'd be willing to drive a little for a good Kbbq place! The prices are a little much for the average high school or college student--$13.99/person is the price of their cheapest package, but it comes with 14 items! That's a lot more than what I normally get at the $9.99 all you can eat Kbbq places so I say that's really good! The menu that we sampled from was the $24.99/person package, and there are 31 items in that package overall! We only sampled five of the items, so I can only imagine trying everything. Don't forget, this is also ALL YOU CAN EAT! (But there are also cheaper, single dishes like the ones I had before the kbbq!)

Would I come here again? Heck yes I would! I'd be willing to drive here every now and then, and I also have friends who live in the area so it would be great to drive up and hang out with them here when I visit. I think that it is well worth the drive. The food is great, the service is great, and the atmosphere of the restaurant itself is really hip and modern. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone who asked! If you'd like more information, "like" MooDaePo RH on Facebook! 

Chau for now ♥  

Disclosure: I was not paid to write this post, but I was served this food for review purposes. All opinions are completely my own.