Recipe: Pork Sisig

My Husband and I sometimes miss the night life in Manila.  We met at work but it was at a bar that we were officially introduced and later on became part of one barkada (group of friends).  One of the things we enjoyed then were our Friday night gimiks with our barkada (night out with friends).  Hanging out at a bar would almost always mean ordering Sisig to go along with a bottle of beer.

Sizzling Sisig is a Filipino dish made from parts of pig’s head and liver, seasoned with calamansi and chili.  If not eaten as an accompaniment to alcoholic drinks, this goes well with steaming rice.

Since my Husband and I miss having yummy Sisig every now and then, but haven’t found a place that serves it as delicious as the ones from the Philippines, I thought of making my own Sisig.

The easiest way to make Sisig is buying a pig’s head, chop the skin and ears into bits, then fry it with onion, garlic, chili, etc. (No more boiling, grilling or marinating).  In the suburb where we live, we have access to a shop where we can buy pig’s heads.  The catch is, your Sisig can be very oily (from too much fats) and not-so-healthy.  So scratch that.  Instead, I made a not-so-fatty Sisig at home.

Making my own sisig, as I discovered, was tedious.  It comes in four phases: boiling, grilling, marinating and frying.  

Here are the ingredients and what you need to do in every phase:

Boiling Phase
1/2 kilo Pork Neck
1/2 kilo Pork Shoulder/Rashers/Belly
1/4 kilo Minced Pork
1/4 kilo Liver (pork/chicken)
2 cups Water
1 cup Pineapple Juice
4 pcs Star Anise
1 tsp whole black peppers

Combine all ingredients mentioned above in a pot and bring to boil.  Simmer for about an hour or until tender.  Drain and leave until cool.


Grilling Phase:

Slice pork and liver in smaller pieces.  Place in baking pan and put inside the oven.  Grill for 30 minutes or until pork in golden brown and crispy.  Let it cool for awhile and then chop into small bits.

(The traditional way of doing this part of cooking sisig is placing pork in skewers and grilling over charcoal briquettes.  Since I'm doing it my way and to save myself time from putting pork into skewers and using another equipment, I grilled the pork via my oven instead.)

Marinating Phase:
Marinade Seasoning Mix
1 medium-sized onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
4 chili (either red or green), chopped
1 tbsp ginger, sliced into small pieces
2 pcs Bay leaf
1/4 cup Vinegar
1/4 cup Calamansi juice (or lemon juice)
1/4 cup Pineapple juice
Salt and Pepper to taste 
Mix chopped meat and Marinade Seasoning Mix in a bowl.  Keep marinated mixture in the fridge for 2-3 hours. 


Frying Phase:
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 Egg (or you can add more, depends on how many you want)

In a frying pan, fry the marinated pork in a tablespoon of olive oil (or your choice of oil).  Stir every once in a while until pork is golden brown and crispy.  Make a hole in the centre and crack an egg. 

I have a special frying pan for my Sizzling Sisig and it's what I also use to serve this dish.  It's actually a square frying pan for steaks and it's thick, so it keeps the Sisig warm while we have dinner. 

(In restaurants, Sizzling Sisig is served using a hot plate.)

Voila!  My own version of Sisig!  Less fats from pork, less oil, more meat. 

The first time I cooked this, I made sure we had beer at home.  We had this for dinner and my Husband loved it!!!  It may be tedious but seeing my Husband's face lit up the moment I served this was very much worth all the effort.  He even asked me to cook it again the week after.

Bon Appetit!

Food Trip Friday

Musical: CATS (Sydney, May 2010)

Everytime I think about "Cats" The Musical, I'd automatically hear the song in my head:

Memory
All alone in the moonlight
I can smile at the old days
I was beautiful then
I remember the time I knew what happiness was
Let the memory live again

- from the song "Memory" as sung by the character Grizabella (the glamour cat) -

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Inspired by the poems from "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" by T.S. Elliot, Andrew Lloyd Webber created the melody of "Cats" in late 1977. Together with director Trevor Nunn, choreographer Gillian Lynne and designer John Napier, they first opened in London in 1981. It holds the record of one of the longest running musicals in West End history.

 
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The plot is very simple and yet at first it was hard to figure out what was really happening. If you're looking for substance in the story, there really isn't much.

 
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It is about a tribe of cats called "Jellicle Cats" when once a year they get together for a Jellicle Ball. During the Jellicle Ball, their leader, Old Deuteronomy, would make a Jellicle Choice and decide which cat will be reborn into a new Jellicle life.

 
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Other than the thin plot, it was all about each cat telling the story of their lives as told thru their songs and dances.

It was a brilliant and creative production, not like any production I've ever seen. This musical is a feast for those who like dance A LOT. Each sequence is like one big production number. The cast were great! I loved how feline their movements were and how graceful they were when they walk and dance.

A little word of caution though, some "dance numbers" took more than it should be that it was dragging already. My Husband and I almost dozed off at one point.

The songs were a bit of a disappointment. *sigh* Yes, I had to *sigh* because it was a musical in the first place but only two or three songs were really good enough for me. Although I had to commend Delia Hannah (Grizabella) for her rendition of "Memory". For me, she delivered well.

 
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Nevertheless, I enjoyed it and it was entertaining enough. I still believe it was worth seeing it even once to know what kind of production it is. It may have it's not-so-good parts but I believe it is a great production. Seeing the cats in their colorful hair, make-up and costumes (I wonder how long it takes them to put on and get rid off) were a delight to the eyes. Set and light design are two things that won't disappoint too.

We had a triple couple date when we watched last Saturday (29 May 2010) and we had a great time. Chris brought our camera and it was fortunate that we got great seats up front so we were able to take really good shots of the cast.

Cats The Musical in Sydney till 13 June 2010 at the Lyric Theatre, Star City.




All photos by Chris & Ibyang Sanchez, copyright 2010.
Canon 7D, 17-85mm IS USM Lens.

My Little Experience with iPad

After so many delays and false starts, the iPad has arrived in Australia.  Finally, it is here!

Apple lovers and gadget enthusiasts flock the Apple stores (there is a new Apple Store in Bondi Junction Mall that also opened last Friday) to have a look and feel of this new gadget.
 
We arrived at the Apple Store in George Street around 7pm and there was still a line outside.  We thought the queue was for those buying iPads so we bypassed!!!  We were there only to look and try it out so we confidently walked right in---and no one called our attention--so I guess, we just got lucky.

Lucky too that we got an iPad to try right away.  Believe me, everyone was taking their time fiddling with it.  The Husband tried it out and his first reaction was "Ang bigat ah" (it's heavy).  It was 680 grams (more than half a kilo) and your hands may feel the weight after just a few minutes of holding it.

It was bigger than I imagined.  I knew it was about 9.5 inches but it was way more better than using an iPod Touch or iPhone for typing, watching videos and playing games.   I liked that I didn't have difficulty typing in words on the iPad, my already small fingers fits in the keys!

A bigger screen means bigger words...bigger tweets!  Hello there tweetmates!

We found this very useful application called Epicurious which contains tens of thousands of recipes, organised thematically and searchable based on ingredients or keywords. You can even search based on what you have in the fridge The app creates a shopping list based on the recipes you’ve chosen and, once you’re back in the kitchen, it makes it easy to follow the cooking instructions on screen.  The good news is that the Epicurious is FREE! :)

We found a lot of Adobo recipes! :)

We tried playing the Marble Mixer game.  It was fun because it's two to four players.  I imagine playing this game with my 9-yr old cuzin Patrick.

We also tried reading the very interactive "Alice in Wonderland" e-book.  A great reading experience for kids and kids at heart.  Another free application.
Bigger images!!!!  "A Wife's Charmed Life" looks better in the iPad doesn't it?  Hehe.  Shameless plug, I know.  I'm just sharing the experience and fun with you. :)

For someone like me who is not an Apple fanatic, this is the only Apple product (to-date) that I saw myself using the minute I learned about it.  For the past months, I've found a lot of reasons why iPad can be more useful to my lifestyle and the possibilities of what I can do with it in relation to my work, blogging, photography and love for reading. 
 
During Saturday lunch with the Husband, I asked him if it is a good product and he said "Yes, but it is not a need for me so I won't buy it."  Then I asked him if it will be something good for me to have and he replied, "Yes, you actually need it more than I do."  That's nice to hear, I'm glad my Husband supports me with what I do and my interests.  With that, I told him maybe he can give it to me as an advance Christmas present.  I told him I'll leave it up to him on when he wants to give it to me---"Surprise me!" was what I said.  So we'll see what happens. 

Treats From Lindt Cafe

Since the start of the year, Chris' (the Husband) team had been working on several international projects. He would sometimes have a project with their international branches and he would have to work with them, in sync with their hours. Sometimes, that would mean he would be working in all wee hours of the morning because he'd need to exchange emails with people overseas. This does not occur all the time and a project usually lasts for a week or two only.  
Last week, his team surprised him with a gift. Chris was shocked and touched. The card they gave him amused me.

Since they can't find a card that says "Thanks to a Special Designer", they improvised by erasing the word "teacher". Still, I found what they did to him very sweet.  

What's more sweet were the treats they gave him...a bag full of Lindt goodies.

A box full of chocolates from their Connoisseurs Collection. 24 bite-sized chocolates to be exact.

 
Lindt's Connoisseurs Collection:
Dark and Milk Almond Roche, Citron Noir
The Truffles: Mint, Milk, White, Dark and Pistachette
Carmelita, Macchiato, V.I.P., Passion, Macadamia and Gianduja

Cute chocolates but rich with flavors. Lindt's chocolate (as in the their cocoa) is just exquisite.

Other than chocolates, their gift included a box of Delice!!!!! They're my favorite!!!!!

It's been awhile since I've had them and have hung out at the Lindt Cafe. I've been thinking of paying Lindt Cafe a visit soon but was just very busy. But I guess, the universe heard my longing and voila! Delice treats!!!

 

The gifts made my Husband very happy...and it made the Mrs. happy too!

For locations of Lindt Cafe, click here.