I remember myself arguing with my father who enjoys pestering me in the kitchen by volunteering to cook with me, which I didn't allow because he'd eventually meddle with my city- cooking style versus his Ilocano way of preparing food. Papa, by the way, was that parent who woke up early to prepare our baon for school. Then, there's my brother who does the best stews, thick- sauced Caldereta, and that killer Sinigang, but consistently criticizes my well- loved Adobo just to annoy me. In the end, he'd crave for my pasta dishes and on- the- go meals. My mom, well... she enjoys eating what the three of us create (yeah, she's so careful and sweet with the criticisms), but I must say that I should give her credit for those desserts she made, the California Maki she rolled, or the banana cakes and cheesy potatoes she baked when I was younger.
Here in Singapore, even in the lack of the usual Filipino ingredients available, I must say that there is quite a number of good foreign stuff in the market which excites me all the time as they aid in really bringing out the taste of the dish. I'd experiment a lot until I give the food a Pinoy touch. My housemates and I then settle everything in the dining table.
Just recently, nostalgia hit me as I recalled this one dish which I got to taste in Pampanga during a field training in my previous company. My Kapampangan colleague had me taste for the first time a viand that they call Sipo Egg. Until now, I have no idea why it's called Sipo but I did recognize some quail eggs and mixed veggies in a creamy ensemble which tasted great with rice. I never got to try it for the second time in any restaurant in Makati, or probably, I haven't been to a place which actually serves this authentic Kapampangan dish in the metro.
I told myself: "I'll come back to Pampanga for that (and Sisig, haha!) or perhaps attempt to cook that..." However, for some odd reason, this didn't materialize!
I told myself: "I'll come back to Pampanga for that (and Sisig, haha!) or perhaps attempt to cook that..." However, for some odd reason, this didn't materialize!
So after a year, and with this nostalgia of that creamy and delectable memory, I made a version of Sipo Egg and prepared the following ingredients:
- Sliced carrots
- A cup of shrimp
- Diced celery stalks
- Diced turnip
- Chopped baguio beans
- Nestle cream
- Green peas
- Diced luncheon meat
- 20ish hard- boiled quail eggs
- Butter
- Ginisa Mix
- Onion
- Cornstarch dissolved in water
- A bit of evap milk
- Salt and pepper to taste
Now, that's a lot of stuff, right? I did the usual drill of sauteeing the onion with butter and added the luncheon meat and shrimp. When the shrimp was already a bit brownish in color, I put the rest of the veggies. After a few minutes, I added the Nestle cream, water, cornstarch, and the quail eggs. When it boiled, I just poured like two tablespoons of evaporated milk and then added a dash of pepper, ginisa mix, and salt.
Here's the outcome:
RESULT: My housemates loved it! The three of us managed to have great amounts of the Sipo Egg served over steamed white rice! Verdict? AWESOME!
This is my first time to blog about my kitchen- related activities, although it's been really like a feast every week or so in our dining table. I guarantee more posts about my daring adventures in the kitchen. The thing is, I really am taking the art of cooking seriously now more than ever!
