That was yesterday, today I'm hanging around at home and I'm gonna update you on the food situation and my supper plans.
Below is a picture of some of the things I pulled out of my fridge and off the shelves at my apt today. Starting with the fruits and veggies on the right, there's some Ampalaya (Bitter Gourd), Talong (Eggplant), two Balagay pods (Winged Bean) resting on top of Petchai (Bokchoy). Still on the countertop, are a few pieces of okra (from my garden), papaya, calamansi (a sour citrus fruit) and some fresh chilies. Behind the gas stove, is the milk (here we call powdered milk simply "milk", and milk we call "fresh milk"). To the right of the milk is a loaf of the only brown bread purchasable in Roxas, and Kamorose, the only rice that is'nt completely de-hulled (fibre is an issue). Monggo beans, red sugar (unprocessed sugar with big yummy chunks of molasses), and, not to be forgotten, the assin (rock salt). Some tea, a bottle of San Miguel oyster sauce and langaw makahang (spicy vinegar).
There's a huge variety of fruits, veggies and fish available at the market at rock-bottom prices. Food for a family of three for a day costs as little as 100 pesos (2.50 cdn). Veggies are especially cheap because they grow so easily and yet nobody seems to actually eat them (except the farmers themselves). A typical meal for a small family consists of a at least two cups of rice, along with a fairly small quantity of fish, usually fried, or boiled in a thin sour soup with chilies, ginger and some tamarind sour base. If the fish is fried or barbacued, then it is generally dipped in a mixture of vinegar, soy sauce and calamansi.
Unfortunately for my taste buds, the favorite spices here are salt and sugar. My upstairs neighbour is Indian and he dropped by with some awesome goat-curry last weekend. Anyhow, so here's what I'm planning to make for supper tonight:
Mung Bean Soup: Begin by boiling the beans for about 20 min, until they begin to soften, but are not quite done. Drain the excess water (save it), and then fry some garlic (like 3 cloves) and return the beans into the fried garlic, and fry this for a few minutes, then return the water. Add some squash, chillies, salt and pepper and simmer until the squash is tender. Adding some slices of red bell pepper towards the end gives the soup a really good flavor. Serve it hot.
Talong Salad: This salad is really spicy and tasty. Begin by toasting some asian eggplant (the long skinny ones). You can do this by popping the eggplant directly on your gas burner and rotating them until the outside is charred all around. Let them cool (I dunk 'em in cold water) then peel off the skin. Add some cane or coconut vinegar that has been soaking with garlic, ginger and hot peppers (you can make this yourself). Also, add lime, and salt, then top with your choice of red or green onion, tomato or sweet peppers.
¶ 3:09 p.m. 0 comments
In this post, I'll give ya'll a little more info about my town, Roxas City, and what a typical boring day in Roxas City is like.
The archipelego of the Philippines is divided into three general regions: Luzon, the northernmost island encompassing Manila, the southernmost island called Mindanao, home to the third largest city and supposedly the nicest, called Davao, and between these, many smaller islands that and are collectively known as The Visayas. The Roxas City where I reside is the capital of a farming province, called Capiz, on an island called Panay, located in the western half of the Visayas. Check out this map.
Roxas is to the Philippines as Springfield is to the United States, it's a pretty typical town. It's the self-acclaimed seafood capital of the Philippines (kinda redundant), so there's plenty of oysters, mussels, prawn, squid and all kinds fish, selling for really cheap. On the downside, it means there's hundreds of fish ponds, swampy water, and mosquitos that love my bony ankles.
A typical day for me here in Roxas involves getting up as the roosters begin to crow at around 7:00 then having some toast with jam, with a slice of papaya on the side. Then I head to work by bike around 8:15. After work, I'll typically stop by the market to buy some veggies or fish for supper. I chat it up with my buddy who sells halo-halo (lit: mix-mix), a sweet snack made of ice, condensed milk, sugar + all kinds of jellies, tapioca, ube (a purple tuber), melon. When I get home, I water my garden, then make supper. Afterwards, I'll go to the beach and have a beer with some friends, slackline or sit around the apt reading and maybe check out the stars.
OK. So I'll begin by putting ya'll up to date: 1) I've been living in the Philippines since August '04, 2) I'm still alive, 3) I've got a stomach ache and no plans for tonight. Right now my coworkers are feasting on my buns (the ones I bought because I have a stomach ache).
Second. Numbers. It's 12 hrs ahead of Montreal time here. It costs about 1300 canadian dollars to fly here. About 85 million people live in the Philippines (add 1 million for every year of catholicism). My phone number is 63 (three six) 621-2526 - i don't know exactly what to dial from NA.
I've added a few pictures too. ¶ 10:41 a.m. 3 comments
