12noon. A most sacred hour for Filipinos. Everything stops; offices close; and, it’s a very rare occurrence if you find your concerns being addressed. Rarer still if your concerns are being handled by someone very accommodating.
And so I find myself in line at a cafeteria after being told by an office clerk to return after lunch. After pointing to the chicken, rice and banana combo meal, I head for the cashier and paid for my meal. It was peak time at the busy cafeteria and the only way I would be able to eat my lunch sitting down was to share a table. After quickly scanning the room, I politely asked a group of young office girls if I could have the empty seat at their table. They were done with their meal and were slicing up a big piece of cake. They smiled at me and gave their consent. Soon I was concentrating on my chicken when one of the girls asked if I would care to have some of the cake. Not wanting to impose, I decline the offer with a smile. They continued with their chatter and I, silently, with my lunch. Then one by one they stood up to go but before leaving the table, one of them, smiling, turned to me and begged that the group be excused to leave me as I finished my lunch. I smiled in return and nodded to them.
As the cafeteria continued to be filled with hungry people, a young man, smiling, comes up to my table and asked politely if he could have one of the empty seats. After getting my confirmation, he gets ready to dig in but pauses and looks up at me saying “kain tayo po”. Roughly translated, it’s an expression were the speaker politely offers to share his meal. In turn, I said “sige” to signal for him to go ahead with his meal. Happily he brings up a spoonful of rice to his mouth. As I stood up, I begged him to excuse me for leaving him at his meal. He smiled in return and nodded to me.
Satisfied, I make my way out of the cafeteria and move on back to the office with my business at hand. More than that, I was glad to note that Filipinos have yet to adopt the cold and indifferent nature of most western culture when it comes to sharing a lunch table with total strangers. And trust a Filipino to offer a portion of his humble meal every time.
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It is funny how certain cafeteria food continues to remain a best seller. Be it in a fancy building or at the corner turo-turo (literally to mean “point-point” – because you point at the food you want). One mainstay, aside from the ever reliable adobo, is a red-orange colored dish of sauted ground pork whose serving proportion is increased with the addition of vegetables. What makes it appealing to cafeteria patrons? It’s quite filling and best of all it is cheap. What goes in such a dish? Consider trying out the recipe below. I am sure it will be a hit and might even put ideas into your mind to open your own turo-turo.
Giling-Giling sa Turo-turo
2 Tablespoon asuete seeds
4-6 Tablespoon cooking oil
½ k ground pork
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 potatoes, cubed
2 carrots, cubed
¼ cup green peas (canned or frozen)
Salt and pepper
Optional: Raisins
Procedure:
1. Heat up the oil in a pan and add the asuete seeds. Heat on low and stir until the oil becomes red-orange. Stain the oil from the seeds. Discard the seeds.
2. Add the red-orange oil back into the pan. Saute the garlic and the onions.
3. Add the pork and sauté until cook. Press on the pork to ensure that there are no big lumps.
4. Add the potatoes and a little water. Cover and stir the mixture from time to time until the potatoes are a bit tender.
5. Add the carrots and continue to cook the mixture until the potatoes and carrots are tender but not mushy.
6. Season with salt and pepper and toss in some raisin.
7. Serve with lots of steaming rice.
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