Imaginary Travel Through Food

We can travel to any place with our taste buds wherever we are right at this moment. Pandemic quarantine may have stopped us from exploring but we can always re-create inspired dishes that we fancy from different parts of the world, in the comforts of our own home.

We live in the Philippine countryside 3 hours away from the nearest city. Certain spices may be a bit of a challenge sometimes, but thank goodness for online shopping. It makes it easier to order hard-to-find ingredients delivered straight to our doorstep. Having acclimatized to living remotely and being house-bound for the last several months, sourcing ingredients and providing alternatives to them has become instinctive.

As part of the 30 Day Blogging Challenge by @tegoshei, we are to name 5 of our favorite food.

Kare-Kare from the Philippines

Kare-kare is a Filipino beef stew with oxtail, tripes, and vegetables slow cooked in thick peanut sauce. Annato seeds change its color to a tinted warm yellow while toasted glutinous rice and ground garlic peanuts, often with a dollop of un-sweetened peanut butter make the sauce extra creamy. Pokchoi, banana heart, eggplants and string beans are the main veggie cast for this traditional comfort food.

This dish originated in Pampanga, a province known for being the culinary capital of the Philippines due to Kampampangans' hearty and flamboyant cooking prowess. Kare-kare was derived from kari or "curry," hence its yellow tint but do take note there's no curry in it. History has it that there were British ships who settled in the Philippines and when they ran out of curry spices, they used local alternatives to cure their homesickness. The taste ended up having similarities to satay.

Kare-Kare is best enjoyed with rice and shrimp paste.

Moules Frites from Belgium

Moules means mussels. Frites means french fries. Classic Mussels with french fries originated in Belgium. It is cooked in white wine, salted butter, garlic, onions, shallots,creme fraiche, bay leaves, thyme and parsley. In France, it's also called moules marinières and there are different variations to it. It's a popular bistro dish. During the summer, restaurants offer specials of moules frites served in huge pots.

Dhal Makhani from India

I like many Indian dishes but one of my favorite comfort food would be a bowl of dhal makhani from an authentic Punjabi recipe. It's the dish on the left on the above picture.

Dhal Makhani is a slow cooked stew of lentils (urad dhal) and red kidney beans (rajma) in rich butter and cream gravy.The lentils and beans are soaked overnight. The traditional method of cooking Dhal Makhani in a tandoor clay oven takes 24 hours to cook.

I remember a friend from Bombay told me,

"Don't cook dhal makhani, just buy one from the restaurant."

With the help of a pressure cooker, it is possible to make it at home in shorter time with mung beans as an alternative, if urad dhal is not available. I find it best eaten with a freshly made naan bread or paratha.

Raclette Dinner from Switzerland

Raclette is a semi-hard alpine cheese that is served in thin slices. In a traditional Swiss Raclette dinner, slices of raclette cheese are melted using a raclette grill equipped with mini non-stick pans- one for each person. The melted cheese is poured over boiled potatoes and cured meats or charcuterie. It is best enjoyed with cornichons or pickled gerkins and small pickled white onions. A lettuce with vinaigrette would also work well.

Raclette is derived from the french word racler meaning to scrape. It's a popular after-ski meal and is well enjoyed in cold weather. In restaurants, they have a special heating apparatus where a half wheel of raclette cheese is melted, scraped on one side and poured over while it's still hot. One doesn't need a special equipment to enjoy raclette at home. Pop it in the oven, in the microwave, or on a stove in a non stick frying pan and let your creativity flow.

French Charcuterie and Cheese Platter w/ Wine from France

According to wiki, there are 1,600 types of cheese in France and they are grouped into 8 categories. Given that information, there is so much to explore just with the cheese alone. There are fromageries -dedicated cheesemakers throughout the country. Each region can be defined by their own unique and distinct cheese and dairy products. Surprisingly though, my french husband doesn't even like cheese nor drink red wine, but he would never turn down a platter of charcuterie.

The French Charcuterie is a french culinary tradition. It is a specialized branch of cooking in the preparation and curing of meat products mostly pork - bacon, hams, pâtés, terrines, confits, and sausages. In France, there is a Charcuterie Chef, where they spent their entire education in honing their expertise in cured meats, mastering the dry curing rooms and the art of butchery. The classical french pâté is actually a liver spread made with mixed spices, liquor and other ingredients.

I was impressed when I watched a documentary of a competition for the highest and most prestigious culinary award in the country- “Meilleur Ouvrier de France” The charcuterie chefs displayed their art and methods in presenting their own versions of terrine and pâté. One chef demonstrated his delicately made pâté en croûte, a medieval age technique in encasing terrine or pâté inside pastry or crust as a cooking mould and served cold.

Enjoying a cheese board and a charcuterie platter with friends is a guaranteed fun time of slow eating and more talking.

Bon appétit everyone!

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Thank you for reading. My 5 Favorite Food is the topic of Day 25 of the 30 Day Blogging Challenge by @tegoshei. I decided to pick my favorite from various cuisine. Check out previous posts if you haven't read them yet and please join us in the 30 Day Blogging Challenge:

Day 1 / Day 2 / Day 3 / Day 4 / Day 5 / Day 6 / Day 7 / Day 8 / Day 9 / Day 10 / Day 11 / Day 12 / Day 13 / Day 14 / Day 15 / Day 16 / Day 17 / Day 18 / Day 19/ Day 20 / Day 21 / Day 22 / Day 23 / Day 24