A Scientist in the Kitchen

Each town in the Philippines has it’s own town market called palengke or mercado, depending on the vernacular. I read a short story once, that “for every hundred yards, there are also a hundred different sights, sound and smell” in the palengke. Well, it is true. The palengke supplies the town’s need for meat, fish, vegetables and all sorts of goods. It usually divided in sections, one for meat, another one for fish and one for vegetables. There is also a dry goods section where you can buy pots and pans, clothes and anything you need at home. The produce come from neighboring farmers as well as from far places especially the vegetables that don’t grown in the area.

The picture below shows the typical vegetables you find in the palengke. Mix them all up together and you would come up with a wonderful vegetable medley!

Vegetables according to numbering:

1. pechay (similar to bok choy)
2. green papaya
3. string beans
4. biter melon/ampalaya
5. eggplant
6. kangkong
7. a pack of vegetables for pinakbet
8. okra
9. taro
10. shrimp paste
11. squash
12. patola (can’t remember what’s the English term)
13. radish
14. garlic
15. onion
16. tomatoes

Vegetable Medley

3-4 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1 onion, sliced thinly
2 tomatoes, sliced thinly
100 grams pork meat, cut into strips
2 tbsp soy sauce

Sliced vegetables:

eggplant (talong),
squash (kalabasa)
sweet potato (kamote)
string beans (sitaw)
bitter melon (ampalaya)
any other vegetables

salt and pepper to taste

Saute garlic in oil till it is almost brown. Add the onion and mix till translucent. Add the tomatoes and saute for several minutes till tomatoe is soft enough to flatten. Mash the tomatoes while cooking it. Add the meat and saute till meat is cooked. Add the soysauce to brown the meat. Add the squash and saute for a few minutes. Add water, around 2-3 tbsp at a time so that the mixture won’t dry. Add the sweet potato and string beans to stir fry everything. Add more water to cook the sweet potato, a little at time. When sweet potato is almost half done, add the eggplant. Season with salt and pepper, according to taste. When eggplant is done, remove from fire and serve immediately.

To add more flavor, put a tbsp or two of fish paste when you add the eggplant.

For a more authentic vegetable medley, there is dish we call pinakbet which originated in the north of the country, the Ilocos Region. An enganging account of cooking pinakbet can be found at Burnt Lumpia.

PS - Don’t forget to submit your entry to “To market, to market” which I am hosting. It will be a wonderful collection of markets from all over.

Another PS -Great cooks are a cooking at the Great Cooks blogroll. See you there!

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A riot of shapes and colors, wish I had the chance to cook all of them!

How does your local market look like? Is it outdoor or indoor? Is it a night market or opens during the day? Do you have a market day, when everyone brings the fresh produce for the week?

A typical market in the Philippines

Each farmer’s market has a charm. From local produce to stalls to markets, there is always something to look forward to. Hence, whenever I go to a new place, I visit the local market as much as possible. What better way to know the delicacies of the place than where these come from? What better way to learn about the local culture than to attend market day?

A fruit stand in Maharashtra, India

Here’s how you can enter this event:

1. Blog about the local market where you buy your food. Include a picture of the place (e.g. your favorite stall, a local delicacy, a seasonal produce). Talk about the sights and sounds. Mention the location of the market as well as the local name/equivalent for “farmer’s market”. For example, in Tagalog, a marketplace can be called palengke, mercado or pamilihang-bayan. You can also blog about a market you have visited in other places.

Sausages in Quebec

2. Only one entry per blog.

3. The post should include a link to this post.

4. Once you have written your post, email me at mgccarrillo AT gmail DOT com. Include the following:

* Your Name
* Your hometown/region and country
* Blog name
* Blog URL
* Post title
* Post URL

Please include “To Market, to market” in the subject line so I don’t lose your email.

5. Submit your entries by March 1, 2008.

Vegetables in Pike’s Place, Seattle

Lobsters at Pike Place Market in Seattle

or

Lobsters sold at the Puerto Princesa market in Palawan?