Pork adobo sa gata

This is my current favorite. I add dessicated coconut to make up for the lack of body of canned coconut milk.

Ingredients:
1kg pork liempo with a good amount of fat (loin)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 tbsp blackpepper
1 head garlic crushed
1 bay leaf
1 can coconut milk
1/2 cup dessicated coconut
water
1 tbsp sugar

1. Put pork, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, pepper, water, and bay leaf in a pan;
2. Boil in medium heat until half the water has evaporated or until meat is tender (You can add more water if longer boiling time is required);
3. Take out the pork from the sauce;
4. Sprinkle sugar over pork then fry until brown in hot oil;
5. Put back in the sauce;
6. Add coconut milk and desiccated coconut; and then
7. Simmer until sauce is thick.

This recipe is also posted in my food blog Bubut's House.

Technorati tags: Filipino+recipes adobo+sa+gata adobo Filipino+food

12 things tourists need when traveling in the Philippines

In 1 1/2 weeks we will be leaving for the Philippines (yeepeeee!)! I have compiled a not so usual list of things to bring, to have, to prepare and what not to prepare for my Italian friend who is coming with us. I know sometimes tourists have no idea whatsoever about what to expect of the Philippines, so I hope this list would make packing and preparation easier.

1. Good mood- If you are coming from US or Europe, you have to bring a lot of good mood. Life is slow and things won't always work out according to plan in the Philippines. Relax.
2. Flexibility- Don't make any concrete plans. Know where you want to go but be prepared that you may not arrive at your destination on the exact day and hour you planned.
3. Open-mindedness- As I mentioned many times in this blog, our culture is different, our body language is different, expect it, experience it,and live with it. The book "Culture Shock" explained it nicely when it mentioned that the Philippines innocently misleads westerners into believing that it is very western but deep down inside it is not. So, at the end westerners feel cheated and angry when they realize that they don't understand Filipinos at all. The thing is, when tourist go to Japan or China, they are mentally prepared that things would be different but when coming to the Philippines somehow they are misled into believing that things are familiar or similar to their own culture but actually everything is just western on the outside but very uniquely Filipino inside.
4. Vaccinations- I am not a doctor, so please consult your doctor about vaccinations. Based on experience though, I would suggest rabies shots. Rabies shots are not usually advised by doctors but in my experience it is necessary for animal loving westerners. There are lots of stray cats and dogs in the Philippines. My husband got bitten by a stray cat that he was foolishly feeding in a restaurant, my Austrian uncle also got bitten by a stray cat that he was also foolishly feeding in a restaurant and my daughter got bitten by a monkey. All three times we had to run around like nervous fools which could have been avoided if we had rabies shots.
5. Thermometer- Okay, maybe you don't have to bring one but please consult a doctor as soon as you get a slight fever. The Philippines is a tropical country so a slight fever could mean Dengue Fever, Typhoid, or other dangerous disease that manifests as a slight fever in its early onset.
6. Mosquito repellent- I prefer to buy mosquito repellent in the Philippines. I have this fear that our Filipino mosquitoes are immune to the repellents from abroad. =)
7. Not so sexy swim wear- Bring sexy bikinis for touristic places like Boracay but if you plan to backpack to the not so touristic areas maybe it's better if you also have a one piece swimsuit. Filipinos are very conservative.
8. Medicines- It's better if you bring your meds, although you can easily buy normal medicines from drugstores like Mercury drug. Contact lens products can also be found easily in big cities.
9. Travel insurance- For me this is a sign that I have become "Swissified". Imagine, I bought travel insurance to go home to my country where I lived for 25 years without any insurance.
10. Jackets- Okay, it is a tropical country but you would need a jacket if you plan on taking an air conditioned bus (to go to Banaue, Bagiuo or Legazpi). Swiss friends who took a bus to Banaue maintain that it was the only time in their lives when they were actually freezing to death.
11. Cash in Peso - Have cash ready when going to the provinces. In Manila you will have no problem at all in using your credit card but in the provinces it is another story. Change your money in Manila, as you may not get a good rate in the provinces. I change money at the airport upon arriving. There are 2 (or 3, I don't remember) banks changing money at the airport, compare the rates first before changing.
12. Travel guide- but remember if a place is not mentioned in the travel guide, it doesn't mean it is not worth going to.

Philippine prehispanic writings

Does this mean we were not salvages before the Spanish came? Funny. My Swiss husband said that in school they learned that Magellan was killed by savages. Correction then. Make that savages who can read and write! The Spanish even noted when they "discovered" the Philippines that "there is scarcely anybody who cannot read or write in letters proper to the island Manila." (Pedro Chirino in 1602; source: A page for Philippine Prehistory). This script is called baybayin. Unfortunately, no baybayin documents have survived from before the spanish era (Paul Morrow). Through the years, a lot of fakes have surfaced and have been proven as hoaxes. Hopefully, a few artifacts are standing scrutiny and are now starting to give us a glimpse of the thoughts of prehispanic Filipinos.

Three of these artifacts that showcase early Filipino writings are: 1) The Laguna Copperplate; 2) The Calatagan Pot; and 3) The Butuan Silver Strip. What is exciting is two of these three artifacts have recently been deciphered.

Laguna Copperplate


Found in 1989 in the mouth of the Lumbang river, a subsidiary of the Laguna de Bay, the Laguna copperplate is very exciting because the text mentions dates, names of people and towns that still exist today. This crushes arguments that the artifacts with writings are rare because they were just brought to the Philippines during trade. Obviously, the Laguna Copperplate was made by the inhabitants of old Philippines. It was determined that the date written in the text corresponds to Monday, April 21, 900 C.E.. The translation of the text was facilitated because the writing is related to an ancient Indonesian script called kavi. The text itself is a mixture of Sanskrit, Old Malay and Old Tagalog hinting to Hindu influences even before the muslims arrived. Obviously, there is a lot of the Philippines prehispanic history that is not known.

The Laguna Copperplate was translated in 1990 by Antoon Postma, a Dutch expert in ancient Philippine scripts and Mangyan writing, and Dr. Johann de Casparis, an expert in ancient Indonesian scripts.

Long Live! Year of Siyaka 822, month of Waisaka, according to astronomy. The fourth day of the waning moon, Monday. On this occasion, Lady Angkatan, and her brother whose name is Buka, the children of the Honourable Namwaran, were awarded a document of complete pardon from the Commander in Chief of Tundun, represented by the Lord Minister of Pailah, Jayadewa.

By this order, through the scribe, the Honourable Namwaran has been forgiven of all and is released from his debts and arrears of 1 katî and 8 suwarna before the Honourable Lord Minister of Puliran, Ka Sumuran by the authority of the Lord Minister of Pailah.

Because of his faithful service as a subject of the Chief, the Honourable and widely renowned Lord Minister of Binwangan recognized all the living relatives of Namwaran who were claimed by the Chief of Dewata, represented by the Chief of Medang.

Yes, therefore the living descendants of the Honourable Namwaran are forgiven, indeed, of any and all debts of the Honourable Namwaran to the Chief of Dewata.

This, in any case, shall declare to whomever henceforth that on some future day should there be a man who claims that no release from the debt of the Honourable...

If you want to read more about the Laguna Copperplate, visit A Philippine Leaf

Calatagan Pot


The Calatagan pot is the first pre-hispanic artifact with writing to be found (Hector Santos, A Philippine Leaf). The authenticity of the pot has been questioned ever since it was found in the 1960s in Calatagan, Batangas. Noone had been able to decipher it for a long time, all they know is that it shows a similarity to older scripts used in Indonesia, suggesting that Philippine scripts may have evolved earlier than what was originally thought. Recently, the pot has been deciphered by Dr. Ramon Guillermo of UP Diliman. This success is a significant step in understanding the Philippines vague prehispanic history.

Calatagan Pot translation:

Sinikap sabihin ni ina

Para sa iyo mahal kong anak

Kumain ka sa aking dulang

Dibdib ko ‘tong mabango

Doon ika’y mabasa

Tulad ng bulaklak

Click here if you want to read the paper of Dr. Ramon Guillermo and here if you want to read more about the Calatagan pot.

Butuan Sliver Strip



Found in Butuan in the mid seventies inside a wooden coffin by treasure hunters. The script is also similar to the ancient Indonesian script, Kavi. Unlike the first two artifacts mentioned, the Butuan Silver Strip have not yet been deciphered. But isn't it exciting to think that there were many different kinds of scripts used before the spanish arrived suggestive of a rich prehispanic culture?

Click here if you want to read more about the Butuan Silver Strip.

Butuan Silver strip photo from www.bibingka.com
Laguna copperplate photo from Wikipedia
Catalagan pot photo from A page of Philippine Prehistory

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Many flight deals offer really cheap flights and this is considered a vacation fringe benefits part. This includes las vegas flights as well as new york flights.
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Technorati tags: Baybayin Prehispanic+Philippines Calatagan+pot Laguna+copperplate Butuan+silver+strip prehispanic+philippine+script

Banaue Rice Terraces

Carved by the Ifugao's 2000 years ago, the Banaue Rice Terraces is really a wonder to behold. Often called the "eight wonder of the world", the terraces have been carved largely using simple wooden tools. The Ifugao's simple equipment did not stop them from building a highly elaborate and sophisticated irrigation system. It is said that their length, if put end to end, would encircle half of the globe.
Unfortunately, the once vast terraces are slowly deteriorating due to a number of factors:
1. Giant earthworms that erode the soil;
2. Ifugao families selling their land to move to the lowland;
3. Young Ifugaos choose another profession other than rice farming;
4. Variety of rice used in the terraces is of the traditional variety. It has a long maturation and therefore farmers could only plant once per year;
5. Tourism.
Recently, the Terraces had been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Let's hope that helps.

In Batad (about 1 hr tricycle ride and 3-4 hours hike from Banaue, depending on how fast you are), one can still see amphitheatre-shaped rice terraces that are unspoilt.

Accomodations:
Native Village Inn - about 40 minutes from Banaue

Further reading:
As an ancient way of life crumbles...

Technorati tags: Banaue+rice+terraces Cordillera Ifugao+Province

Fluffy pancakes

Due to the absence of hotcake (pancake) mixes in Switzerland 4 years ago, I was forced to invent my own pancake recipe. When I arrived, there were only 2 groceries feeding the whole Swiss population of 8,000,000, Coop and Migros. Thanks to the EU, Switzerland was forced to open it's doors to new groceries and new kinds of foods, like the American pancake (vs the french crepe which is paper thin)!. Now, it is possible to find pancake mixes in Coop and Migros but I don't need it anymore because I have found the perfect pancake recipe.

Pancakes are made from flour, baking powder, eggs, milk, salt and butter. When you prepare pancakes using a pancake mix, you would need to add eggs, milk and butter. This means that when you buy a ready-mix, all you are buying actually is flour, salt, baking powder and the recipe!

Injected by the Americans into Filipino cuisine, pancakes have become a big Filipino favorite!

Pancake

11/2 cup flour
3 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tbsp vanilla
2 tbsps oil
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk

1 tbps oil for frying

1. Beat all ingredients together with an electric mixer (or by hand if you want) until smooth.
2. Heat non-stick frying pan add 1 tbsp oil.
3. Using a tissue paper spread the oil evenly into the pan (also remove excess oil).
4. Cook about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake.

Please check out my food blog Bubut's House for more recipes!

Technorati tags: pancake hotcake pancake+recipe hotcake+recipe Filipino+food