Inihaw na Mais (Roasted Corn)

I had my roasted corn last 2008 when I traveled to La Union. It is sold on every bus station and along national highway of Pangasinan, Tarlac and La Union especially if it's in season. The way I discovered roasted corn sold between street of Blumentrit and España is a bit of coincidence. Here's what happened. I passed by Blumentrit corner España Boulevard one day when I saw a customer ordered a raw corn and asked the vendor to roast it for him. The fruit stand vendor peeled the corn clean then slipped out a small pot filled with hot charcoal underneath the fruit stand. From there, the vendor slowly roasted the corn in less than ten minutes. I was really amazed knowing that there's such fruit stand that can literally roast your corn on the spot. After a quick observation from the previous customer, I duplicated the same step of ordering the corn. 

The roasted corn on the picture above is a Japanese Sweet Corn variety.  Local corn variety turns tough or quite dry when roasted but Japanese Sweet Corn retains a measure of moisture even if it's roasted for more or less than 10 minutes. The taste is sweet with combination of smoky flavor. An eight and a half inches of roasted Japanese Sweet Corn sold between España and Blumentrit is a healthy alternative snack for P20.00 per piece.

Turon

A lot of information in the internet would tell you what Turon is. It refers to a snack with sliced bananas and brown sugar  wrapped in  lumpia wrapper then deep fried. Let us see which among the Turon sold at Blumentrit and Josefina St offers the best value for your money.

Picture 1: (Top) Turon sold at Blumentrit corner P.Florentino St. (Bottom) Turon sold at Josefina St. corner P. Florentino St.

The sample I bought at Blumentrit is literally coated with hardened brown sugar caramel. It's a premium deal if you ask me for P10.00 per piece. Your taste buds can pick up occasional taste of  sweetened langka (jackfruit) while chewing.  Picture 2 shows exactly how the lumpia wrapper was wrapped three times making it extra crispy.

Picture 2: Turon sold at Blumentrit: The entire Turon is almost one and a half inches in width. The thin banana slices is evenly distributed on both ends.

A minimalist approach in preparing Turon is found along Josefina St corner P. Florentino St. for P6.00.  The sample I bought at this place is not as sweet as the ones that I bought at Blumentrit. It has the same length just like the previous sample but the banana slices is placed right at the middle. Here's something amazing. They sprinkled white sugar on the banana slices before wrapping it up. No wonder there's no trace of sugar caramel around the lumpia wrapper. The crunchiness is average.  It's obvious that the slices of banana is wrapped just once on a single piece of lumpia wrapper. (see Picture 3)

Picture 3: Turon sold at Josefina St: The banana slices is quite thicker but not as sweet.

Sweet and Spicy Anchovies (Dilis)

Sweet and spicy dilis packed on traditional paper bag.

Sun dried anchovies is a common food found almost everywhere. It's a type of food that almost everyone reading this post grew up eating sun dried anchovies (dilis) as a part of normal  Filipino cuisine.  A fish known for its ridiculously small size requires no complicated preparation.  You basically cook everything with the gut, gills,tail and head intact. Frying it requires proper timing and right amount of heat from the stove. Removing it from the frying pan too early will make the "dilis" tough or gamy. Frying it further will also make it taste bitter. 

This is a P10.00 sweet and spicy anchovies measured on a jigger glass

Aside from being part of main meal, the sun dried anchovies (dilis) is also a common snack sold along the streets. I bought a sample of sweet and spicy anchovies (dilis) from the same food cart that sell sweet and spicy squid at Maceda St. Since the sweet and spicy anchovies is sun dried, you would expect a texture that's quite dry and gamy after it cooled off from frying. It's sweet from the caramelized brown sugar with a mild bite of spice from the chili at the end. The sample of sweet and spicy anchovies that  I bought is perfectly done with no bitter aftertaste. It has less odor than its dried squid counterpart. 

A closer look at the sweet and spicy anchovies

Pork Barbecue

A TV host from a cable TV show once said, that, there’s nothing more delectable than a scent of a meat that turned brown. I definitely agree with that. Starting at 3P.M., Blumentrit  and P. Florentino St. becomes smoky avenue. Scent of grilled meat, fat and innards ascend in the air signaling customers that the barbecue stand is open for business.

I didn’t try grilled innards this time. I bought one piece of pork barbecue on each barbecue stand in Blumentrit and in P. Florentino St corner Tacio St. The pork barbecue at Blumetrit traditionally grill their barbecue sweet compared to the pork barbecue sold at P. Florentino St. corner Tacio St. which has dominant soy sauce, garlic and a bit of spicy taste. You can check my previous post on Isaw to see how the meat and innards is prepared.

 

(Top) Pork Barbecue sold at Blumentrit for P10.00 per stick. (Bottom) Pork Barbecue sold at P.Florentino corner Tacio St. for P12.00.

There’s no perfect barbecue around my place. You can’t have the size and the taste you want on the same stick. Gravy and dipping enhances the taste of the barbecue. Unfortunately, spiced vinegar is the only option bundled with your grilled meat on both barbecue store.