http://www.marketmanila.com A food blog that talks about food, produce, recipes, ingredients, restaurants and markets here in the Philippines and around the globe. Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:35:34 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/wheres-the-beef http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/wheres-the-beef#comments Thu, 28 Jan 2010 04:37:07 +0000 Marketman http://www.marketmanila.com/?p=10183 A cow or a bull is a wonderful thing. In an ideal situation, she or he meanders along grassy plains or rolling hills, munching on newly sprouted grass shoots, while gently whipping its tail to shoo off some pesky flies. She or he somehow manages, within its four stomach chambers and a bit of magic, to turn grass into utterly succulent steaks... dense nicely marbled hunks of protein that our ancestors many thousands of years ago figured out tasted best when grilled, or later, pan seared and stuck in an oven. The animal's tail is the main feature in stunning soups like Sop Buntot, the rear end in burgers, the shanks in osso buco, the testicles, flank, tenderloin, liver, shoulders etc. in a whole range of delicious dishes that carnivores partake in. And let's not forget milk which then goes onto butter, cream, yoghurt, etc. While many would argue that we have evolved since the "cave man" days (I would argue that some of those caves were more spacious than these new-fangled studio apartments that cost several million pesos), I thankfully would argue that my love of a nice grilled steak is still firmly in place. And yes, I know the arguments against eating too much meat, that they are often raised in less than ideal situations, that they are slaughtered in a manner that would give most folks the chills, etc. I still like my beef. And besides, I think plants have feelings too so as long as we are eating something else, we are eating something else. And now that I have been on a diet for several days, I dream about steaks like this...]]> http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/wheres-the-beef/feed 49 http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/what-lies-beneath-the-surface http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/what-lies-beneath-the-surface#comments Thu, 14 Jan 2010 01:20:41 +0000 Marketman http://www.marketmanila.com/?p=10205 Before you click the jump to the rest of the article, can you guess what lies below this crust of homemade breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, chopped Italian parsley and extra virgin olive oil?]]> http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/what-lies-beneath-the-surface/feed 53 http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/mechado-a-la-marketman-revisited http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/mechado-a-la-marketman-revisited#comments Wed, 21 Oct 2009 02:30:48 +0000 Marketman http://www.marketmanila.com/?p=8937 My first post on Beef Mechado a la Marketman was extremely educational. Not on my part, but on the part of all the commenters that weighed in on the subject matter. In our home, mechado was more like a beef stew with carrots and potatoes, and maybe the pork fat thrown in for flavor. I tried to replicate the childhood version I was familiar with, and frankly, thought I had done a pretty good job achieving what it my mind was a saucy, fork tender and screaming for steamed rice as its life partner stew, here. But in the comments section, a discussion over kaldereta vs. mechado, a detailed description of mitsa or sticking the pork fat into the center of a roast, etc. was really quite interesting. If you go back to the original post and scan through the comments, you will see what I mean...]]> http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/mechado-a-la-marketman-revisited/feed 42 http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/roasted-bone-marrow-on-toast-bulalo-na-pinahid-sa-pan http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/roasted-bone-marrow-on-toast-bulalo-na-pinahid-sa-pan#comments Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:00:27 +0000 Marketman http://www.marketmanila.com/?p=8648 Yesterday, I had my second blood test of the year, in the midst of a crazy schedule for the week, and my results were pretty good. Surprisingly, my cholesterol, HDL, LDL and other key measures are reasonably okay, given my previous history, so I thought I would splurge a little (a lot!) today with this outrageous appetizer unlike no other... roasted bone marrow on toast. Wow!]]> http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/roasted-bone-marrow-on-toast-bulalo-na-pinahid-sa-pan/feed 45 http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/stir-fried-japanese-bitter-gourd-tofu-a-la-marketman http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/stir-fried-japanese-bitter-gourd-tofu-a-la-marketman#comments Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:36:49 +0000 Marketman http://www.marketmanila.com/?p=8509 Some unusually bright green and uniquely bumpy "Japanese Bitter Gourds" were in the vegetable section of the grocery last week, and I purchased two of them to try. Always on the lookout for the novel or unusual, I am so happy that the Dole company keeps trying to innovate and grow new produce items, whether for the local or export market. My body must have been experiencing an iron low or something because I was craving a dish of ampalaya or something equally bitter. Back home, I decided to do a quick stir-fry, and I chopped up a small onion, added it to a hot pan with some vegetable oil, then added a cup or so of lean ground beef and cooked that until all of the moisture was gone from the pan. Meanwhile, I de-seeded and sliced the japanese bitter gourd, which aside from its vibrant green color and unique bumps, seemed exactly like any other ampalaya or bitter gourd to me...]]> http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/stir-fried-japanese-bitter-gourd-tofu-a-la-marketman/feed 40