Shrimp ceviche

Gaiety and spontaneity are trademarks of most Filipino societies. Being very sociable, camaraderie is at the heart of many relationships. Perhaps it also comes from the nature of our traditional occupations - farming and fishing. Our ways of living rely on being with others, helping and sharing in the labour and the harvests.

This camaraderie is even more apparent when unwinding after a day or night’s toil. It is then when beverages come out. And when there are spirits, of course there is pulutan!

For January, Ting Aling at World Class Cuiscene is graciously hosting Lasang Pinoy with the theme Let’s Wash it Down with Booze!! That, dear friends, is another way of saying you don’t have to be a drinker to indulge in drinking food.

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This was another IMBB of many options. So many noodle dishes, so little time!

For this month’s theme, Amy chose Use Your Noodle to make us think and improvise around a food article beloved the world over. I am already looking forward to reading the other entries during the round-up.

It is still cold even in this tropical country. There are nights when one wishes for a nice steaming bowl of something, anything to keep down the chill. Oh the possibilities one can think of! But then a hearty noodle soup was right up there on top of the list!

Although it wasn’t easy choosing my entry for the month, I knew I wanted something I haven’t had for sometime like mami (pronounced ‘mah-mee’). This is a noodle dish innovated by a migrant Chinese entrepreneur who started out very humbly in the late 1900s then was so successful he was able to build up a chain of eateries in Manila. In fact, the word mami is a combination of his name, Ma Mon Luk and the word for noodle - mi. Kirk over at mmm-yoso!!! has even had an encounter with his descendants in the US and writes about it in Asian Noodles - I Want My Mami. What Ma Mon Luk pioneered has since then become very popular and can now be found almost everywhere - from respectable restaurants, makeshift eateries and even as street food!

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New research, old conclusion. Well, old to my Lola.

A study conducted by the University of London shows that eating more than five (5) servings of fruits and vegetables each day significantly lowers the risk of stroke. I think my grandmother knew that from way, way back. Well, or something like that. Fruits and vegetables were supposed to help us grow healthy and prevent heart ailments. Didn’t we know that there was this child who refused to eat his vegetables and grew up sick and died of a heart attack? Hmmm… No old wives’ (or grandmas) tale, it seems.

From the BBC, Fruit and veg ‘cut stroke risk’:

“Lead researcher Dr Feng He said a diet including lots of fruit and vegetables was also likely to further reduce the risk of other forms of cardiovascular disease, and some cancers.”

With all the nutrients in fruits and vegetables, it seems that one is the most crucial in preventing stroke:

“However, the researchers suspect that potassium may be the most important factor in preventing stroke.

“Professor MacGregor said: “We know that if you give people additional potassium it lowers blood pressure.”

Aha! So it’s been identified, it’s that specific! If Lola was alive, she’d be pleased and say “Didn’t I say so?!”

Photo courtesy of the BBC.