Wednesday, October 26, 2011
I KNOW for a fact that this particular well-loved dish is very popular all over not only because of its ease of preparation but because of it crispy-ness, crunchy-ness, and of course, being meat in particular!
Maybe I would be right to say that this could be one of our many signature dishes because it can be found in almost all major upscale restaurants, lowly eateries and carenderias. And if we have celebrations, small or big, this is always present in our tables, especially if we don’t have the “real” letchon.
Growing up for many of us, I can always say that this is one food we look forward to when we go out for our “family” eating sessions. Why? Because this is fool-proof. We know what this is already and we don’t need to think twice. Just like when we order caldereta, fried chicken, barbeque, menudo or pancit.
And because of the availability of the meat, with less hassle to prepare, we tend to cook this in a jiffy. I know some would just marinate the meat in salt and pepper. Some would marinate it in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, sugar and pepper to bring out the maximum flavor.
Whatever and in any way one does it, we will always end up with a crispy and crunchy on the outside meat and hopefully, still juicy on the inner part. Using the turbo cooker is also one way of making this dish less greasy. But it dries the meat, so I would suggest that if it is turbo-cooked, it has to be consumed right away or else the meat becomes tough.
Through the years, I learned and seem to like the way this particular dish is done with a little variation or changes. I like to boil the meat in a little soy sauce, lots of garlic, black pepper, a little sugar and water. I would let it boil till the meat is tender. Pressure cooking it shortens the time of preparation.
The piece of meat (liempo) would then be drain of its liquid or pat dry. With very hot oil, deep frying the meat until it becomes golden brown is all that is needed since the meat is technically done. Slicing it into bite size pieces would be next, although most of the time it does not need to be because hungry mouths are already waiting with their plates full of steam rice, fork and spoon on hand.
Dipping it in catsup is great, but being Pinoys, we love it with soy sauce/vinegar/sili/garlic dip. Who can deny the fact that even with this dish alone, lunch or dinner is already an all-in-one meal?
We also get to see this dish particularly in plated meals. Something like tapsilog or longsilog. Can we call it kawalisilog? This would be great because aside from the letchon kawali, there would be egg and sinangag, with a little atsara on the side.
For the more lunch or dinner type of meal, this come with steamed rice and a side dish which can be an egg roll and some atsara or coleslaw. And maybe some soup as a starter, too.
I prefer the part of the meat where there is a little fat and more skin. Yummy! Having the letchon sauce or sarsa is also a good accompaniment to this particular dish.
This is really making me hungry! So, ‘til next week. Enjoy life, eat well and live well!
(Email: evsd@yahoo.com; Website: www.potsnpans1976.weebly.com)
Published in the Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro newspaper on October 27, 2011.
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