In the Philippines, specifically, in the remote regions, sandwiches consist of a bread sliced in half + a bare spoonful of either mayonnaise or cheddar (the gooey kind). You offer a western sandwich to anyone and they’d say, “Ay, ano yan? Ang sosyal naman.” Really. It’s true. It’s not their fault. I don’t even think it is a fault. The farther a household/location from the city poorer (usually) it is. Which brings me to a much more important topic, how can we, the Philippines, with abundant food resources and brilliant chefs cannot create anything that can at least rival Vietnam’s Bahn Mi? Or anything close to a Roti John? Well, I’m making that my mission. (This little tattle made its way and ended up in a discussion about how pathetic our economy has become. I am not even talking about the recent fall of almost the entire world’s economy. I mean, most Asian countries that surrounds the Philippines keeps on soaring leaving us to bite the dust. Most people insist that its not right for our skilled workers to work abroad yadda-yadda…Q: where else are they going to work? This country’s work requirements are too much for the common folk; education wise, experience wise and I-know-someone-in-this-company wise. That we can circle back to lack of attention to proper education, training and substantial pay…)
Geez, for a moment I lost sight of my first task.Geez, for a moment I lost sight of my first task. Okay, calm down. Happy thoughts. Positive thoughts. Think Stewie Griffin…
This is an homage to Jane Sicat. I met her when I was still working at Makati. It wasn’t an instant thing, same as all my other friendships. It started with…well, I actually do not remember how it started. The only thing different is we no longer see each other because we live in separate regions separated by a major island gap and some minor character changes (in my part).
A few years back she invited me to see her (when she still lived there) in Makati for a little reunion. It awkward and fun and served as a closure thing for me and my urban life. What I remember the most was what she offered me when I got there. Recalling that day, it was really a bad start, I though I got the commute handled but it turned out I didn’t factor in the right amount of time it would take to travel from the airport to her boyfriend’s apartment. So when I got there, finally, she made Eggs Benedict and (might have been) a latte. You see, I became fascinated with sandwiches the moment Jane introduced me to Subway (that deli). I knew that there is an entire world dedicated to sandwich alone somewhere but I never knew I’d love it. How can I resist such beauty?
That day made me wanted to do my own spin on the classic Egg Benedict.
1 medium sized wheat bread, halved
2 pcs ham
¼ cup frozen, pre-crumbled white cheese
Half of one yellow sweet pepper
Handful of sweet basil
1 perfectly poached egg
Cayenne, garnish
Procedure. Poach the egg. Fill a deep pot with water, about half the pot’s capacity, add 5 tbsp vinegar. Simmer over low heat. Crack an egg in a bowl. Once the water is simmering gently (remember simmer only not boiling) slowly slide the egg into the pot. The vinegar will allow the egg white to coagulate and form a protective layer on the yolk. Most people don’t bother with it until the egg white is cooked (bright and thick white colour) but I gently, ever so gently swirl the water around the egg to make sure the yolk is coated as evenly as my swirling could muster. Use a slotted spoon and slide in a clean dry plate. MEANWHILE, heat a grill pan brushed with a little oil, first, grill one ham, after about 1 minute top it with the cheese place the other ham on top then flip to cook the other ham. This process will melt the cheese and form a glue to hold both hams together. (As if they need to. I did so because I wanted to melt the cheese without creating much mess. I succeeded.) As the ham cooks, grill the yellow sweet pepper and bread slices. ASSEMBLE. In this order, sliced yellow sweet pepper, ham and cheese and ham, basil, poached egg, bread, cayenne. Enjoy warm.
