20051013

manila: salcedo market, pt. 4:...and the cooked.

market salted eggs

of course, not everything is still hopping or twitching at the market. many local specialties can be found, including a large variety of preserved and pickled items, from fruit and vegetables, to meat, fish and eggs, including the salted eggs pictured above (that photo is for oslo foodie, who will appreciate a fine display like that).

market smoked fish and salted eggs

market quesong puti

there is also a vendor who sells the only handmade fresh mozzarella i've seen in manila, along with several who have a nice supply of carabao (water buffalo) milk, and artisinal quesong puti, the local white semi-soft cheese made from carabao milk and wrapped in banana leaves.

market tofu and smoked ham

soy items like tofu and taho are in abundance as well. however, the biggest draw to the market is the cooked and prepared foods, whether it be specific items or set meals. there are plenty of tables to enjoy your meals there, if you can't wait to take them home. although you can get everything from australian beef steaks to vietnamese spring rolls, the most prevalent items seem to be all manners of pork, and barbecued fish. next to the tofu, you'll see a man slicing up a log of swiss-style baked ham. i'm not sure what makes it swiss-style, can anyone enlighten me? it seems to be an omnipresent item these days.

market lechon

lechon, or roasted pig, is always popular, and can be had by the kilo or in rice plates. there are also takeaway containers of lechon paksiw, which is chunks of tender pork meat stewed in a tangy, liver-enriched sauce.

market prichon

the current trend in parties is to serve roast suckling pig as prichon (a contraction of prito + lechon for "fried pork"), where fried roasted pork meat and crackling is rolled in an eggy crepe with spring onions and hoisin sauce, not unlike how peking duck is served.

market hito

hito, or catfish on skewers.

market grill

grilled tuna jaw and blue marlin belly.

market barbecue

various meat items on sticks, and fish parts. mmmm. my descriptive power is deserting me. (hey did you notice in the previous photo that girl is grabbing her breasts? apparently my attention span is waning, too.)

market puto bumbong

i also rather happily found a man making and selling puto bumbong, a sweet rice cake that is normally found only during the holiday season. violet-hued glutinous rice (pirurutong) is soaked and ground, then dried and stuffed into tubes of bamboo that are set upright onto a steamer, and cooked until soft and fluffy.

puto bumbong

it is then served with freshly grated coconut and muscovado sugar.

although the holiday season is usually heralded in the philippines by the horrific strains of christmas carols incessantly played on the radio from the first of september, i normally try to ignore it. however, with delicious holiday treat already in the marketplace, i'm starting to feel a bit festive.

12 comments:

Hi Santos,

OMG...those eggs! I'm in shock!

BTW...thanks for posting the photo of the puto bumbong. When I was in the 7th and 8th grade, my best friend's mother (who was Visayan) used to make this for us in the mornings. We used to top the puto bumbong with a little butter, some sugar and lots of grated coconut. I really miss eating that and haven't had it since. *sigh* Thanks for bringing back memories.

you and me both, oslo foodie!

i admit that i prefer the dyed salted eggs because they're so pretty :ˆ) of course, they don't add any special taste.

hi reid! i remember you asking about puto bumbong before, but this is the first i've seen it made. lucky you that you regularly got a homemade version!

Hi Santos - Awesome photo's and report! Just awesome!

Aaaaah I can't wait to visit!

How's the crowd naman?

Hi Santos - when your page opened in my browser I sort of jumped back - you need sun glasses to look at those eggs! The color is amazing. The market looks like so much fun.

Swiss Rolls here a strip of sponge cake with cream and jam spread on it and then rolled up. So I guess Swiss=Loggy

evil prince--ha. and you thought it was chicken.

milgwimper--luckily i actually have a kitchen and sometimes even time to play with some of the produce when i'm there!

hi kirk! you should go to the philippines, you'd have a blast.

hi toni! i was there at 10am-11am, and the crowd wasn't that bad, there was only one bottleneck by the one of the produce stalls, but otherwise very manageable. it wasn't a payday weekend, so that might make a difference. however, the aisles are very wide, and everyone seems very relaxed and relatively polite, so even if there were more people, it might be okay.

hi cathy! it was great. very relaxed for a market. it reminded me of the hollywood farmer's market, which is also cooked food heavy, and doesn't get going until later in the day. no one's really in a hurry.

anthony--maybe it's rolled with cream and jam....

Gorgeous colors, Santos! I've never seen eggs anything close to that fuschia. They seem as if they could glow in the dark.

hi milgwimper--i know i'm fortunate, so if i can share a little happiness with you, so be it :)

hi elise! isn't that a vibrant colour? it's fantastic. it reminds of those dyed eggs you find baked into loaves of portuguese bread. or am i thinking russian?

Hi, I really love your blog!
I live in Manila and I'm Japanese.... I wish I could introduce Pilipino dishes in my blog more like you! :D

hello garandee! i like your blog, the chicken tinola looks great. i need to add you to my list of blogs. thank you for coming by and leaving a message :)

I really like your blog and I really appreciate it. I am just craving of those foods and this coming week I'll be there to visit also in this beautiful market. Keep on sharing!

eiyah @ salcedo market