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📰 In this issue:

• 🍲 Sunday Snacks — interesting food reads!

• 🍍 Events —writing workshops

• 🥟 A Food Idea

• 📖 Give and Receive 20% off

• 📱 Send me a text

🍲 Sunday Snacks

Here are some interesting links to nibble on this Sunday!

🥃 Distillation and Mezcal History in Mexico: Indigenous or Foreign, Agave or Coconut by Alvin Starkman — Because a number of you enjoyed the Filipino Mezcalero, here’s an article written by a mezcal tour operator. While the author acknowledges the Filipino mezcalero theory, he also cites recent academic evidence to assert the pre-Hispanic (and therefore pre-Filipino) roots of mezcal distillation.

🍻 History of San Miguel Beer “Iba and may pinagsamahan” by Ambeth Ocampo — Speaking of adult beverages, here’s a video by one of my favorite historians who tells us the story of San Miguel, one of the most recognizable Philippine brands, using vintage video clips and photos. So much history in each sip.

🍚 The Old Kiyyangan Story by Stephen Acabado and Marlon Martin — What if our belief that the Ifugao rice terraces is 2000 years old turned out to be an old tale? Acabado busts this myth. A collaboration between archaeologists and Ifugao descendant communities, this 15-minute video shares the role of the Ifugao in Philippine history.

❤️ Learning to make pandesal, the everyday rolls of the Philippines, is a labor of love by Arlyn Osborne — Through personal narratives and snippets of culinary history, food writer Arlyn Osborne pays tribute to the most loved Philippine bread, the pandesal. Recipe included.

🍍 Food Writing Events

✍️Pleasure and Politics: Food on the Page with Ligaya Mishan — This is a three-hour class to explore the craft of food writing as means to convey pleasure, poetry, and social commentary with renowned food writer, Ligaya Mishan. She wrote this beautiful essay on the legacy of Doreen Fernandez in 2019.

✨Food Literature with Micky Fenix — This live-streamed talk will cover Philippine food literature and history, as well as stories from Doreen Fernandez’s life. Micky is the President of the Food Writers Association of the Philippines and Chairperson of the Doreen G. Fernandez Food Writing Award.

🥟 Siomai Recipe

A major influence on Filipino cuisine, the Chinese were among the first traders and settlers in the Philippines. Instead of returning home on a long and treacherous sea voyage, Chinese traders chose to settle in the Philippines and eventually intermarry with the locals.

Similar to Spanish food, Chinese dishes in the Philippines have morphed into a localized version, incorporating local ingredients and tastes. One of my favorite side dishes and street food is siomai dipped in soy sauce and chili oil.

Here’s a recipe I pulled from an out-of-print cookbook called My Angkong’s Noodles written by the late Clinton Palanca.

• 180 g shrimp, peeled, chopped coarsely

• 450 g ground pork

• 1/2 cup chopped water chestnuts of singkamas

• 2 tbsp soy sauce

• 1 tbsp rice wine

• 1.5 tsp sesame oil

• 1 tbsp finely chopped ginger

• 2 tbsp finely chopped green onion

• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

• 1 egg white, lightly beaten

• 2 tbsp cornstarch

• 30-36 wonton wrappers

• Grated carrots

1. In a bowl, combine all the filling ingredients and mix by hand. Throw the mixture against the side of the bowl for about a minute. This aerates the mixture and gives it a bouncy texture when cooked.

2. Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of a wonton wrapper. Gather the edges up around the filling, pressing lightly to create a “waist.” Smooth the top with a knife moistened in water. Top with a little grated carrot if you wish.

3. Prepare a steamer. Line the bottom of the steamer tray with greaseproof paper (punch in a few holes to allow the steam to go through) or cabbage leaves, and arrange the siomai on top. Don’t overcrowd. Steam for about 15 mins.

If you end up making it, send me a photo. Enjoy!

📖 Get 20% off your next order

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Give your friends 20% off their first order, and when they complete their purchase, you’ll get 20% off too!

📱Send me a text

I’ve been thinking of ways to build a closer connection with the people who follow Filipino Food Crawl. I’m happy to share that I now have a community text number so you can directly reach me.

All you need to do is text 917-708-7247 and you’ll receive a prompt to sign up. To make it easier, the button below will let you text me in one tap or click.

Those who join get exclusive content such as recipes and trivia, secret sales and offers, and a special place in my heart. ❤️

📱Quick Survey

Can you help me choose a name for this newsletter?

1. Sunday Saing Newsletter

2. Sunday Silog Newsletter

3. Sunday Sinangag Newsletter

4. Sunday Salu-Salo Newsletter

I chose words that relate to breakfast because the idea I want to convey is that this newsletter is a way to begin the week with interesting food reads and “what’s cooking” in the Filipino food scene.

Tell me what you like the best by replying to this email.

🌍 Bonus Link

As a reward for making it until the end of this newsletter, here’s a bonus link: Rizal in San Francisco by Ambeth Ocampo

In this fascinating talk, Ambeth speaks about heroism in today’s context and retraces Rizal’s US trip, from San Francisco to New York, using Google Maps.

He quotes Rizal saying:

“I visited the largest cities in America with their big buildings, electric lights, and magnificent conceptions. Undoubtedly America is a great country, but still has many defects.”

What do you think about this quote?