2008 September : Tiny Bites

A summer barbecue with Butter on the Endive

5 Comments Karen HamiltonSeptember 8, 2008

This post chronicles a fantastic day spent with the fine folks of Butter on the Endive. Be sure to check out their recap on what is currently my favourite Vancouver food blog.

As recent entrées to the Vancouver food blogging scene, myself and Owen of Butter on the Endive (which will be referred to as BotE for short) struck up an online acquaintance over the past few months. We thought a joint cooking affair would be a fabulous way to meet each other, and plans were soon laid out for a gastronomic get-together. Our schedules were at odds for most of the summer, but happily, we found time over Labour Day weekend to bask in the sun at Spanish Banks for a pork-tacular barbecue.

Owen was joined by fellow BotE blogmates Mark and Amorita while I was accompanied by my husband. The group was rounded out by friends that were happy to contribute to and indulge in the communal table.

Knowing that our food would be eaten alongside those of an accomplished cook, we defaulted to our tried and true grilling recipes: my family’s Filipino pork satays (recipe below) and a selection of grilled vegetables dressed in a simple olive oil and balsamic vinegar marinade. We also made sure to pick up a handful of spicy chorizo from our favourite West Vancouver meat purveyor, Sebastian & Co.

Owen and crew delivered a spectacular menu: homemade limoncello; potato salad with capers and gherkins; grilled corn on the cob; pork terrine; and 2 cuts of mouth-watering pork that Owen and Mark had on the smoker for hours. The resulting pulled pork sandwiches were worth every minute of the wait.

Dessert was handled by a couple of my friends, consisting of a tasty Spanish olive oil cake topped with pecans and an apple crumble whose leftovers were highly prized.

Thanks to the efforts of Owen, Mark, and Amorita of Butter on the Endive and the contributions of our esteemed friends, we enjoyed a luxurious outdoor dining experience surrounded by the blue skies and sparkly waters of our beautiful city. What a perfect way to wrap up the long weekend.

Filipino Pork Satays (we just call ‘em barbecue)

Ingredients

2 lbs of pork shoulder, or a cut with good marbling
1 cup of 7-up (do not subsititute with Sprite, which will add too much sweetness)
1 cup of soy sauce
1 cup of white vinegar
1 cup of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of whole peppercorns
1 head of garlic, crushed
3-4 green chilies, chopped

Directions

Slice pork into thin pieces approximately 1/4″ thick and roughly 1″ square. I try not to be exacting with the 1″ parameters as I like the pieces to look rustic.
Marinate in a large, non-reactive (ie, glass or ceramic) bowl for 2 – 4 hours in the 7-up. Don’t marinate in a metal bowl or your meat may taste a little tinny in the end.
Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and mix until dissolved / thoroughly incorporated. Marinate for another 2-4 hours.
Place 2-3 pieces of pork on each skewer (soak wooden skewers in water for 20 minutes beforehand). If you are not grilling immediately, return skewers to soak in the marinade until ready.
Grill skewers on direct high heat for 5-10 mins on each side or until meat is cooked through and slightly caramelized, taking care to baste with the marinade to prevent the meat from drying out. Stop basting about 5 minutes before they are good to go.

Categories: Events, Filipino, Food, Recipes

Help us plan our (culinary) excursion to Asia

6 Comments Karen HamiltonSeptember 1, 2008

Photo courtesy of The HouseKeeper (Creative Commons)

Fall is just around the corner, which means that we are finally working out the details of our long-awaited winter getaway to the Philippines. Although I was born in Manila, I was primarily raised in Vancouver, and it’s been over 20 years since I’ve been back to visit the homeland. Can’t wait to introduce my husband to a tropical experience and to rediscover my heritage!

My husband has been doing most of the travel planning thus far. I’ve been more focussed on teaching him rudimentary Filipino than figuring out how to pass the time (since my fall-back response would be “eating”). However, we have gotten this far with our travel agenda:

Christmas – Dec 29: Family quality time in Metro Manila
Dec 30 – Jan 4: Hiking about in Northern Luzon
Jan 5 – 12: Splashing about in the Visayas
Jan 12 – 13: Gambling about in Macau
Jan 14 – 18: Touring about in Hong Kong

Throughout all this, of course, we expect to be indulging in as much of the local cuisine as we can possibly digest. There are culinary tours and food festivals in some of the regions that we’ll be visiting, but we’ll probably peruse the tour packages as a guideline and rely upon our eyes, our noses, and your recommendations instead.

What should we see and eat?

We’ll be booking our round trip flights this week but are still in the process of cementing just what we’ll do in the Philippines and Hong Kong. If you have any recommendations for accommodations, places to eat, and places to see that are off the beaten path, please leave me a comment!

As we figure out these logistics with your help, I’ll leave you with a taste of Asia from my last trip to Hong Kong and Macau.

Rice Paper

The Hong Kong Thai fusion restaurant that ruined me for Thai food in Vancouver. It’s a beautifully laid out venue with an entire wall face of glass that looked out over the harbour. My culinary planner for the week had arranged a 7:30pm reservation so that we could catch the breathtaking light show during our meal.

The food was one of the most memorable of that week. My colleagues had favourite dishes so they ordered plate after plate of Thai food that I had never before encountered (at home, we usually don’t veer far from the pad thai and curries that one normally sees on North American menus). Faves: a crab noodle dish that came highly recommended; the pomelo salad; the beef with red rice; the experience of rolling up my own rice paper roll of roasted duck and guava.

EOD Cafe

Small Makanese restaurant near my relative’s flat in Macau. Simple, homestyle stuff, but I’d take my husband here in a heartbeat.

Tin Hau

Food stalls along Electric Road wink at you from every corner. The best vegetarian dim sum and congee I’ve ever had to date was found in this vibrant Hong Kong neighbourhood.

More about this trip: