Filipino dishes are tangy but tasty

[PrincessSaDagat]

Filipino dishes are tangy but tasty
Howard Seftel
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 3, 2007 12:00 AM

With their exotic Malay, Chinese and Spanish melting-pot roots, Filipino dishes can seem dauntingly inaccessible, even to ethnic-food adventurers.

Eggroll Lumpia Factory doesn't make many allowances for non-Filipinos. It's a low-charm joint with seven small tables.

Behind the counter sit eight steaming chafing trays (the lineup changes daily), the contents of which get spooned into three sizes of plastic foam cups ($3.95, $4.95 and $6.95). This is hard-core ethnic fare. But different can be fun and tasty, and with the $3.95 containers experimentation won't bust any budgets.
Proprietor Gene Avendanio steered me to sinigang. There's a lot going on here: tender chunks of pork (and an occasional fatty one) are stewed with turnips, green beans and tomato in a terrific tangy sauce.

That tanginess - sour, and a bit sharp - is a Filipino hallmark. You'll taste it again in a lip-smackingly tart shrimp soup, stocked with squash and noodles.

I adored giniling, which reminds me of a Cuban dish called picadillo: ground beef tossed with peas, carrots, potatoes, green peppers, raisins and quail eggs. Pork mechado showcases pork riblets in a wondrously flavorful tomato sauce with real spicy bite.

Ginataang langka is certainly different, but it grew on me. The featured ingredient is unripe jackfruit - imagine a starchy artichoke - teamed with a bit of pork and smothered in coconut sauce.

With other dishes, well, perhaps you have to be Filipino.

Embotido are deep-fried pork disks, whose depths you'll plumb after one bite. The fish cake is an acquired taste I haven't acquired. Upo, a Filipino winter melon cooked with ground beef, is surprisingly bland.

Details: 2986 N. Alma School Road (southwestern corner at Elliot Road), Chandler. (480) 855-6756.

[lumine]

filipino dishes are indeed tasty. and we, filipinos, love to experiment new dishes.

[queen]

Haaay. Samot mi ka excited manguli sa Pinas for the Christmas holidays, Sea Princess. Gutom ko dah!  I only have quaker oats for breakfast, green apple for lunch, and a hearty Thai food for dinner. When pa kaha ko mahuman ani nga pag-antos?   

[lumine]

Haaay. Samot mi ka excited manguli sa Pinas for the Christmas holidays, Sea Princess. Gutom ko dah!  I only have quaker oats for breakfast, green apple for lunch, and a hearty Thai food for dinner. When pa kaha ko mahuman ani nga pag-antos?   

hapit na, rose! makakaon na jud ta pohon inon-on na tulingan. speaking of tulingan, season daw ron according to my sister, tag 35 ang kilo.

[hazel]

hapit na, rose! makakaon na jud ta pohon inon-on na tulingan. speaking of tulingan, season daw ron according to my sister, tag 35 ang kilo.

paborito nimo tulingan lumine? ... sus, adto ka sa Denmark kay ako auntie naay stock sa ref...hehe lami na kaayo kay kapila na gi init.

[lumine]

paborito nimo tulingan lumine? ... sus, adto ka sa Denmark kay ako auntie naay stock sa ref...hehe lami na kaayo kay kapila na gi init.

yes, haze! lamia man oy!

[Happy]

lamia bitaw filipino foods oi, dili lang ko kamao moluto, tapulan man gud ko sa una, hangtud karon tapulan lang gihapon 

paborito nimo tulingan lumine? ... sus, adto ka sa Denmark kay ako auntie naay stock sa ref...hehe lami na kaayo kay kapila na gi init.

wala lagi ko hatage ni ate hahaha, pero naglata siya baka atong pag-adto nako perti intawon nakong kitkit sa bukog, plus ginamos nga sinilian

[buenavista]

lamia ana oy,paborito jud nako inun-unan.pag-ule nako ngdala jud ko ginamos ug bulad hapit ko sakpi sa airport.

[Happy]

hapit raman kaha gen, ok ra to 

[buenavista]

mao jud,lusot man!usa ka bulan intawon kinaon nako,nanagko na gud ako mata hehehe

[Lorenzo]

Americans love eating diniguan. Everytime I invite my buds over to a house party--or any Filipino party my parents make---all my friends love to mix the diniguan with the rice--haha. Filipino food, is indeed addictive, says my gf.

[Happy]

Dili jud ko ganahan dinuguan oi, ambot lang jud.

[slackware]

Although I belong to the INC community pero kusog kaayo ko mokaon ug dinuguan! hahahahahaha!

[hazel]

Although I belong to the INC community pero kusog kaayo ko mokaon ug dinuguan! hahahahahaha!

dili diay mokaon ug dinuguan ang INC ghost? pareho diay sa seventh day adventist.

[slackware]

dili diay mokaon ug dinuguan ang INC ghost? pareho diay sa seventh day adventist.

dili gyud!

[hazel]

lami raba ang dinuguan isagol sa puto...pero di ko ganahan sa bohol style nga ka luto labi na butangan ug saging...

[slackware]

lami lagi na dinuguan! lami kaayo ipulutan ug mag inom!

[hazel]

lami lagi na dinuguan! lami kaayo ipulutan ug mag inom!

ganahan ka, naa ko dire sa freezer...(gipadalhan intawn ko sa akong amahan) ako ra pud kuot-kuoton aron dugay mahurot...

[Happy]

grabe dinuguan ni hazel, made in Ormoc 

[hazel]

grabe dinuguan ni hazel, made in Ormoc 

dili oi made in Dimiao, Bohol! gi himo ni while na mista sila, pero dili Bohol style ang ka luto...kun dili, waray style! yummmy!

[Happy]

Dinuguan, waray style, made in bohol 

roundtrip tibuok visayan man hahaha

[lumine]

haze, katilaw kasa pochero sa ormoc? lami no?

[Sigbin II]

Dugo-dugo.  Mmmmmmmmmmm.....

[hazel]

haze, katilaw kasa pochero sa ormoc? lami no?

yes lumine! it taste like heaven.