Lasang Pinoy 4: It’s All About Pinoy Soul Food

This month’s host of Lasang Pinoy, Minnette of Lafang List, invited us to write about our favorite Pinoy soul foods.

Pritong Isda (Fried Fish), served with sawsawan (dipping sauce) of toyo at dayap (lemon and soy) and patis at dayap (fish sauce and lemon juice). My current favorite dip is bawang-sibuyas-kamatis-patis (garlic-onion-tomato-fish sauce) but we were out of tomatoes.

Soul food can be different things to different people. When I asked my family what I should prepare for this month’s theme, my 9-year old said arroz caldo, my hubby said adobo, and my 14-yo said leche flan. What ended up on our table are two of my family’s favorites. It tickles me pink to see just how Pinoy my kids are even though they were all born and raised here. Call out “Fried fish!” to my children and they’ll come running. We haven’t had fried fish in more than a month because our local stores rarely carry whole fish, and we haven’t had the time to take the 2-hour trip to New Jersey to shop, so they’ve been complaining about being “deprived” (ha! they don’t know the meaning of the word). So when I chanced upon these whole tilapia, I snapped them up, already hearing the delighted exclamations from my kids. And they didn’t disappoint. The fish was gobbled up, down to the last bit of flesh, and naturally, an argument almost ensued as to who gets to make papak (eat it without rice, for which you ALWAYS need permission) after everyone has had their fill. This, along with a pot of ginisang munggo made a snowy November day (15 degrees!) cozy as a fluffed-up down comforter.

Ginisang Munggo/Mongo Guisado (Sauteed Mung Beans), made with hibe/hebe (dried shrimp).

When I think of soul food, I recall the things my mom had me eat and drink whenever I was sick as a child. It could be as benign as am, or rice broth, taken from a pot of rice that’s being cooked — you usually add more water to the pot at the beginning of cooking if you know you’ll need some of it for sipping. Lightly salted, it was a balm to senses dulled by the flu. She would also give me a soft-boiled egg, cuddled in a tiny egg cup, the top broken off to reveal the golden yolk within. Christened with sea salt crystals, its heat would travel down my throat and fuel up my reserves. There’s bound to be nilaga or some other brothy soup or stew to further nourish my ailing body. This my mom would feed me while I lay in their bed, covered with blankets. Though the sickies are a terrible time for a kid who just wants to run around and play, my mom filled those days with caring, and I look back with gratitude and amazement at the attention she lavished on me. Now that I’m older, it’s my papa’s arroz caldo that would usually welcome us home after a long drive from 4 states away. The last half hour of the trip all I can think about is having a bowl of this congee-like concoction, flavored with ginger. We’re not in the door but 5 minutes, hugs and kisses out of the way, than I’m digging into a steaming bowl of this, sprinkling in some patis (fish sauce) and hungrily wolfing it down. My hubby and kids do likewise. Two generations of starving travelers pepped up by a bowl of chicken soup with rice; Maurice Sendak knew this soul food well.

My parents always did — and still do — nurture our bodies with good food. In doing so, and probably without realizing it, they have nurtured our souls as well. Such is the nature of the soul. It can be fed by a number of things, even things as material as food. But not just any food, either. It has to be food that’s served from the heart, one that at times may involve sacrifice, or hardship, or extra effort, or a desire to please. It could be simple or laborious. It is food that brings love to and nurtures both giver and receiver.

I commented on Minnette’s announcement post that our list of Pinoy soul foods becomes ever longer as we continue to live our lives away from our native land. It’s true. Like my hubby, I cherish adobo and sinigang for just this reason. Soul food doesn’t just make you feel good in the here and now. It has the power to conjure up memories long gone. Sometimes just a bite of Chocnut is enough to transport me to my childhood days and to the company of old friends.

In recent days, my soul food has come not even from food itself, but from fellowship with new friends — online friends who met just in the past few months, who don’t know each other that well but for e-mail and chat. As we deal with the aftermath of Yemagate (thanks, Ting!), one young man’s deception and a national newspaper’s attempt to minimize the truth, it is with each other that we find solace and encouragement. The thing is, food bloggers can be a bit individualistic at times — that’s normal. But the past few months have lent credence to the fact that we are a force to be reckoned with, not because of power or name recognition, but because in this community we’ve found commonality, fun, acceptance, and support. The crux of the matter is that it could have happened to any of us. The sad part is it did happen, to two of our own.

Yesterday was Thanksgiving and I have much to be thankful for. We are moving back soon to Cincinnati, closer to Mama and Papa. My hubby just left a department that in the last year made work almost unbearable for him. I look forward to a new kitchen and a new home. Online and off, I’ve been blessed with the company of newfound friends. Those of you that know me well know how I tend to stay within my comfort zone and cocoon at times, but this year has challenged me both as a person and as a writer. In the process of “becoming” I have found that stepping beyond the comfort zone and reaching out to other folks — like-minded and otherwise — are essential, both to building the soul of the individual and the soul of a group. As Lasang Pinoy forges ahead, we continue to thank you all for your support.

Once again we enter the holiday season. Celebrations are afoot and merriment fill our calendars. We will want to raise a toast to bigger and better things…. but for now I am happy to toast the food that brings us together as friends.

Thank you so much for hosting, Minnette!

Lasang Pinoy 4