Home is Where the Food Is
1:03 PM
As an expat who misses the Philippines and had the last glimpse of it five years ago, the closest to feeling the warmth and comfort of home is the food!
I remember arriving in this foreign land, alone, not knowing how to cook. Like most of you, I was pampered by our kasambahay (housekeeper) and was blessed with a mother who prepares warm meals. I didn't appreciate it back then, the luxury of coming home to find a hot pot of sinigang waiting for me after a long work day. Not to mention waking up in the morning with the scent of garlic from the sinangag. There I was, with my can of Century Tuna (a local brand of tuna ). I would have different flavors every day and would replace it with Lucky Me pancit canton some days. I survived these for a few months, but as my homesickness grew along with my craving for lutong bahay (home-cooked meal), my mother's cooking, my immediate cure was a trip to the closest Filipino restaurant across the block. The tastes of pinakbet with inihaw , kaldereta, and the kare-kare in palayok drew me closer to home. Each flavor brings with it a certain memory of an event, of a certain someone, of a childhood friend whom I used to share the food with or a place that means a lot to me.
Sinigang Photo by: Lito Flestado |