4/9/2006 - Lenten Goodness

The Christian season of Lent is not exactly a time associated with the act of good eating, despite the fact that this is the time when we recall the Institution of the Holy Eucharist, the transsubstantiation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ.  Indeed, in keeping with its focus on sacrifice, it is a season for cutting down on life's pleasures through the practice of fasting and abstinence.  Fasting means eating but one full meal in a day; abstinence, on the other hand, calls for the avoidance of meat (specifically: beef, chicken, and pork) and other carnal delights. 

Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and practically all Fridays of Lent in the strictest households are times when fish is the protein source of choice for the season for Catholics in this part of the world.  Of course, you have to understand that fish, in this particular case, acts as a generic term to denote all kinds of seafood.  As the late National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin put it in his Almanac for Manilenos, the practice of consuming seafood and vegetables during the season of atonement has given rise to a number of deliciously creative recipes.

Those in Spain and Portugal developed the delectable salt-cod dish we know as bacalao ala Vizcaina which is most savory when served with crusty homemade bread and the classic potato omelette.  We have the Provencal bouillabaisse and another fish stew served with the magnificently garlicky aioli.  The vegetarians can be thanked for numerous dishes and local cuisine has given us the soupy suam (vegetable stews) of Central Luzon, bulanglang (a soupy dish made with fresh-picked veggies), and vegetable guinataan (stews cooked with coconut milk).

In recent years, local restaurants have been offering various Lenten specials from fish and/or shrimp sandwiches to a pizza topped with fried squid.  Some more recent innovations include: 

Fat Crab: This Zuppa Cafe specialty features aligue (crab fat)-flavored rice topped with squid balls, crabstick chunks, spring onion, and kalamansi.

Cool Ninja:  Another Zuppa Cafe treat, this one has crab strips tossed with nori in a wasabi-flavored mayonnaise and served over soy-flavored rice.

Tofu Steak: This recent offering from the Kitaro chain has breaded kinugoshi-dofu (silken tofu) with a mushroom and carrot-infused teriyaki sauce.

Whatever you're eating this season, keep in mind that you are commemorating the Ultimate Sacrifice that freed us from our sins.

4/10/2006 - Untitled Comment