cravings... BULALO

i've had cravings for bulalo since i read my godsis e-mail last week. today, my day off, i decided to fill that void.

got assortment of beef cuts from my "suki" carneceria. there was no actual bulalo cut that included the bone. i settled for the boneless beef shank, some beef tendons & few cuts of beef ribs.

my BULALO RECIPE

i pressure cooked the tendons for about 15 minutes, while the shank & ribs were boiling separately in a large pot.
when the tendons were done, i discarded the liquid & some fat that clung to the tendons. cut them into chunks. likewise, i discarded the broth from the 1st boiling of the shank/ribs pot. i can't bear the sight of those gnarly looking brown froth floating on my broth. i rinsed the ribs & shank, sliced shank meat to serving portions.

in a large stewing pot i boiled about 5-6 cups of water with 2 large onions (cubed), about a teaspoon of crushed black pepper, together with the shank, ribs & tendons. simmered the bulalo for about 30 minutes, then let it to cool.

i removed all the meat & tendons from the pot & refrigerated the stock. all the beef fat settled on top as soon as it got cold, easy to lift off & discard the molded fat.

how would you like your broth in a pool of lard?

i'm ready for my bulalo at dinner time. all my "verduras" had been prep: 1/4 head of cabbage, a bunch of pechay, 4 golden yukon potatoes, 1 large carrot and about 1/4 lbs of "bechuelas" string beans. i prefer an array of colors & texture. your choice of veggies is up to you, except "amargozo/ampalaya".

boil broth (fat removed), add thin slices of ginger - about a teaspoon. potatoes get in first. let it cook for about 10 minutes, add in the carrots & beans then cabbage & pechay. make sure not to over cook cabbage & pechay. add sea salt (or patis) to taste and more fresh crushed black pepper.

bulalo's peppery flavor & cut of meat (shank with bone & tendons) stands out over "nilaga". nilaga simply means boiled.

i arranged the meat & tendons and veggies in a bowl & pour the the hot broth. serve with patis or soy sauce with lemon on the side for dipping.

ummmm yummy.

recuerdos de Tagaytay y Bulalo

an e-mail from my beloved godsister, NONNA,
brought back old memories.

she and her family drove to tagaytay to celebrate mother's day.
she wrote: "We went to Tagaytay for Mother’s Day Lunch last Sunday and it seemed the whole of Luzon and their mothers were there."

"Everyone now seems to drive to Tagaytay at the drop of a hat, for lunch, dinner, merienda or coffee. The whole ridge side is covered with restaurants and all crowded too during week-ends most specially." her e-mail made me feel like i was there at that instant, sharing her experience.

my recollection of tagaytay was a long ride up a hill over looking
a lake and some little donut looking island that was suppose to be a volcano.

my bias, i'm from albay province and MAYON is the only VOLCANO!

tagaytay was cool & windy and hardly any imposing structures around. just acres & acres of pasture land and fruit trees. that was decades ago, i was probably 6 years old, when i attended a yearly event hosted and held at the estate of HEREDEROS DE RUFINO, a "family day" for all thier employees. an era when most companies were family owned and LOYALTIES were rewarded.

unfortunately my "old country soul" longs for provincial ambiance.
i may be living in the past... but it's that "past" that holds my tie to pinas. expats like me need to hang on to those "memories" of the old pinas before it was "mall-ified" and turned into an urban "shoemart-land".

i've never been to tagaytay since.
my godsis description of the new tagaytay is beyond me.
friends who went to pinas and had the opportunity to
visit tagaytay have given it HIGH marks.
maybe on my next visit, i'll check it out too.

she continues: "We couldn’t get into the restaurant we wanted,
nor could we get into the second one we tried.
We finally ended up at a steakhouse, something we were not really
looking forward to — having fried tawilis and bulalo originally on our minds".

her e-mail gave me the cravings.
maybe this weekend i'll cook some bulalo.
no tawilis around here, but i will settle for crispy fried smelts.
set out a "cafe" style dinning on our small patio. eat al fresco!
it's still cold around here so i can pretend i'm in tagaytay.

hmmm yummy! tagaytay here i come.