Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Food Break: The Tortang Talong
This is probably my favorite dish. I like lots of dishes but this one is my go-to viand, but we have our own recipe for it. Let me share to you this recipe we use.
Disclaimer: We don't really measure ingredients at home, so pardon the lack of digits in this recipe:
Ingredients:
egg plant (shorter ones are easier to manage)
egg (1 egg per eggplant)
flour (1/3 cup per egg plant)
ground pork (1/2 kg would be good for 3-4 eggplants)
pepper
salt
garlic
optional:
carrots, small dices or grated (these will sweeten the mix)
peas
potatoes. small dices (less than 1cm per side)
Procedure:
1. Grill the eggplant until the skin is blackened.
2. Remove the skin. It's thin, so be careful not to peel to the seeds.
3. Set aside the eggplant.
4. In a bowl, mix in all the other ingredients. You shouldn't be able to make balls from the mix. If you can, that means you put in too much flour. To remedy, add egg.
5. Use a wide frying pan and heat some oil. Stay on low heat.
6. Put 2 tablespoons of the meat mix onto the pan and shape it into an flat oval.
7. Quickly add the eggplant by flattening it onto the mix.
8. Add 2 more tablespoons of the egg mix and spread it generously over the meat and eggplant.
9. Increase the flame to a medium setting. Wait for the mix to brown. It takes about a minute or less.
10. Use two spatulas. Put one under the mix and the other on top to secure it. Carefully flip it. Be careful here because the whole thing can break if it's not yet properly cooked on one side.
11. Cook until the second side is brown.
The number of servings depends on the number of eggplants you use. You have the option to use catsup here. (Personally, I don't use catsup.) Best served with hot rice. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: We don't really measure ingredients at home, so pardon the lack of digits in this recipe:
(photo from marketmanila.com)
Ingredients:
egg plant (shorter ones are easier to manage)
egg (1 egg per eggplant)
flour (1/3 cup per egg plant)
ground pork (1/2 kg would be good for 3-4 eggplants)
pepper
salt
garlic
optional:
carrots, small dices or grated (these will sweeten the mix)
peas
potatoes. small dices (less than 1cm per side)
Procedure:
1. Grill the eggplant until the skin is blackened.
2. Remove the skin. It's thin, so be careful not to peel to the seeds.
3. Set aside the eggplant.
4. In a bowl, mix in all the other ingredients. You shouldn't be able to make balls from the mix. If you can, that means you put in too much flour. To remedy, add egg.
5. Use a wide frying pan and heat some oil. Stay on low heat.
6. Put 2 tablespoons of the meat mix onto the pan and shape it into an flat oval.
7. Quickly add the eggplant by flattening it onto the mix.
8. Add 2 more tablespoons of the egg mix and spread it generously over the meat and eggplant.
9. Increase the flame to a medium setting. Wait for the mix to brown. It takes about a minute or less.
10. Use two spatulas. Put one under the mix and the other on top to secure it. Carefully flip it. Be careful here because the whole thing can break if it's not yet properly cooked on one side.
11. Cook until the second side is brown.
The number of servings depends on the number of eggplants you use. You have the option to use catsup here. (Personally, I don't use catsup.) Best served with hot rice. Enjoy!
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Second of a series: Filipinisms part 1 - Making sense of some terms
One of the biggest difficulties I have noticed among my Filipino students is their tendency to transliterate from Tagalog to English. Case in point, they would say "Kill the lights" because one would say "Patayin ang ilaw" in Tagalog. Patayin literally means "to kill".
And thus was born this thing called Filipinisms.
Encyclopedia.com defines Filipinsm as "A linguistic usage specific to or typical of the Philippines, such as Open the light Switch on the light, captain-ball basketball team captain, and viand any dish eaten with rice."
Mind you, these terms may be popularly used in the Philippines, but these are terms unique to the Philippines. So, please, try not to use them when talking to foreigners.
Filipinisms don't end with transliterations. The funnier aspect of this phenomenon is when Filipinos try to put Tagalog expressions into English, or using English terms in the Tagalog context. To many, these terms then become their go-to terms when speaking in English.
Some are terms that came about using popular logic (it may not be straight logic but it could make some sense).
In old Tagalog, there were no terms for toothpaste, picture-taking, photocopying and other activities related to new technology. As these innovations were introduced to Filipinos, what most would encounter would the commercial products related to them. Hence, the toothpaste got to be more popularly known as Colgate. picture-taking was Kodak-an and photocopying was Xerox. So it wasn't uncommon to hear of people going to the store and asking for "Colgate na Close-up" when wanting to buy a tube of Close-up toothpaste. So when they try to speak in English, they'd most likely say, "Can I have these papers xeroxed?"
Here are some other commercial terms used as common nouns:
Chicklet - chewing gum
Coke - soft drinks
(feel free to suggest more)
Have you ever wondered what the Tagalog is for "pedicab" (that 3-wheeled contraption that is a bike with a sidecar)? It's traysikad (pronounced as try-see-khud). The term is actually a mash-up of "tricycle" and sikad (to pedal). Since part of its origin is already an English term, many would use the new Tagalog term to refer to it in English and say, "Let's ride the trisikad here."
There are also the classic terms that were created based on real English terms. For example, people do "tuck in" shirts, right? So Filipinos coined tuck out to mean that one has "untucked" the said shirt.
In referring to periods of time, Filipinos like saying next next week instead of "the week after next". The number of "next"'s would reflect the number of weeks hence. So three weeks from now would be next next next week and so on. This is also applicable to months, years, decades, centuries, etc.
When referring to people, there the:
Oppositor - someone who opposes
Senatoriable/Presidentiable - someone who could be a senator/president
Tutee/Advisee - as opposed to tutor or adviser
Sewer - one who sews
(Feel free to add more here too.)
Amused yet? There are more. The next one will be about terms whose origins I am not sure of.
And thus was born this thing called Filipinisms.
Encyclopedia.com defines Filipinsm as "A linguistic usage specific to or typical of the Philippines, such as Open the light Switch on the light, captain-ball basketball team captain, and viand any dish eaten with rice."
Mind you, these terms may be popularly used in the Philippines, but these are terms unique to the Philippines. So, please, try not to use them when talking to foreigners.
Filipinisms don't end with transliterations. The funnier aspect of this phenomenon is when Filipinos try to put Tagalog expressions into English, or using English terms in the Tagalog context. To many, these terms then become their go-to terms when speaking in English.
Some are terms that came about using popular logic (it may not be straight logic but it could make some sense).
In old Tagalog, there were no terms for toothpaste, picture-taking, photocopying and other activities related to new technology. As these innovations were introduced to Filipinos, what most would encounter would the commercial products related to them. Hence, the toothpaste got to be more popularly known as Colgate. picture-taking was Kodak-an and photocopying was Xerox. So it wasn't uncommon to hear of people going to the store and asking for "Colgate na Close-up" when wanting to buy a tube of Close-up toothpaste. So when they try to speak in English, they'd most likely say, "Can I have these papers xeroxed?"
Here are some other commercial terms used as common nouns:
Chicklet - chewing gum
Coke - soft drinks
(feel free to suggest more)
Have you ever wondered what the Tagalog is for "pedicab" (that 3-wheeled contraption that is a bike with a sidecar)? It's traysikad (pronounced as try-see-khud). The term is actually a mash-up of "tricycle" and sikad (to pedal). Since part of its origin is already an English term, many would use the new Tagalog term to refer to it in English and say, "Let's ride the trisikad here."
There are also the classic terms that were created based on real English terms. For example, people do "tuck in" shirts, right? So Filipinos coined tuck out to mean that one has "untucked" the said shirt.
In referring to periods of time, Filipinos like saying next next week instead of "the week after next". The number of "next"'s would reflect the number of weeks hence. So three weeks from now would be next next next week and so on. This is also applicable to months, years, decades, centuries, etc.
When referring to people, there the:
Oppositor - someone who opposes
Senatoriable/Presidentiable - someone who could be a senator/president
Tutee/Advisee - as opposed to tutor or adviser
Sewer - one who sews
(Feel free to add more here too.)
Amused yet? There are more. The next one will be about terms whose origins I am not sure of.
Monday, April 13, 2015
Filipinos and English
Can Filipinos in general speak English very well?
That would be 'yes' AND 'no'.
It is true that the Americans practically educated the Filipinos. Historically speaking, they established the existing educational system. Given that, one would think that Filipinos should be great at speaking their language.
There are many who can speak English well, especially among those who have the financial capacity to afford the expensive schools. There is a vast majority, however, who find it difficult to speak English.
Case in point, go to any public school and choose any student not endorsed by his/her teacher and conduct an interview in English. Even those in the higher sections, even Section 1, would be too shy to participate in the said interview. Why they simply have no confidence in themselves.
While it is true that English has been taught to Filipinos from their very first formal lessons, many do not practice the language. How come? There are English movies shown in the Philippines. There are many books in English. English lyrics fill the airwaves. How then can these people not be exposed enough?
There are many reasons. Some say English is the language of the rich. Those who speak English well must've been able to afford the big expensive schools. Those who dare to speak English well in public places get to be stared at with increduility. Some say "we are in the Philippines. Speak the local language." What that "local language" is -- well, that still depends on where you are physically since there are several languages spoken in the country. Tagalog is popularly acknowldged as the national language but the Visayans will have a lot to say about that issue.
In response, I'd say, "how about going global?"
From my experience as a teacher, one reason I see is sheer laziness. Kids see studying as a chore to be done -- a kind of work that is more often too tedious or sometimes even difficult. Since English is a subject in school, they don't want to learn it because they already have a language. It doesn't matter that they will eventually use English to find a good job. Immature shortsightedness just tells them that having to learn English is not a fun thing to do. And it boils down to the lack of the love for learning. If you love to learn, it would be fun. To these kids, learning isn't fun so having to learn English another things they'd have to suffer through.
Another apparent reason that I see in my students is the sheer lack of support from home. Their parents grew up not wanting to speak English, so no one encouraged them to speak the language. They believe they can get by with the English they learn from local TV shows, music and the movies they watch. Yet they do not watch enough English shows or movies nor do they appreciate enough English songs. No home support, little exposure -- a detrimental combination for learners of a new language.
Personally, I am not a rich person. My family is not rich. But I grew up in a household that valued education. As a child, I was exposed to Mary Poppins, Little House on the Prairie and Star Trek. We had books in volumes, of which I especially like the Reader's Digest collection, including the condensed books anthologies. In school, I wasn't a popular girl because I'd rather spend time in the library reading rather than playing. I never really appreciated Tagalog songs because I found English ballads more relatable. I got into good schools because we were able to get scholarships.
So here we are with me, the English major who isn't rich. How did it all happen? I never really liked stereotypes. I'm hardly the conventional Filipina. I worked around the conventions. Can you?
That would be 'yes' AND 'no'.
It is true that the Americans practically educated the Filipinos. Historically speaking, they established the existing educational system. Given that, one would think that Filipinos should be great at speaking their language.
There are many who can speak English well, especially among those who have the financial capacity to afford the expensive schools. There is a vast majority, however, who find it difficult to speak English.
Case in point, go to any public school and choose any student not endorsed by his/her teacher and conduct an interview in English. Even those in the higher sections, even Section 1, would be too shy to participate in the said interview. Why they simply have no confidence in themselves.
While it is true that English has been taught to Filipinos from their very first formal lessons, many do not practice the language. How come? There are English movies shown in the Philippines. There are many books in English. English lyrics fill the airwaves. How then can these people not be exposed enough?
There are many reasons. Some say English is the language of the rich. Those who speak English well must've been able to afford the big expensive schools. Those who dare to speak English well in public places get to be stared at with increduility. Some say "we are in the Philippines. Speak the local language." What that "local language" is -- well, that still depends on where you are physically since there are several languages spoken in the country. Tagalog is popularly acknowldged as the national language but the Visayans will have a lot to say about that issue.
In response, I'd say, "how about going global?"
From my experience as a teacher, one reason I see is sheer laziness. Kids see studying as a chore to be done -- a kind of work that is more often too tedious or sometimes even difficult. Since English is a subject in school, they don't want to learn it because they already have a language. It doesn't matter that they will eventually use English to find a good job. Immature shortsightedness just tells them that having to learn English is not a fun thing to do. And it boils down to the lack of the love for learning. If you love to learn, it would be fun. To these kids, learning isn't fun so having to learn English another things they'd have to suffer through.
Another apparent reason that I see in my students is the sheer lack of support from home. Their parents grew up not wanting to speak English, so no one encouraged them to speak the language. They believe they can get by with the English they learn from local TV shows, music and the movies they watch. Yet they do not watch enough English shows or movies nor do they appreciate enough English songs. No home support, little exposure -- a detrimental combination for learners of a new language.
Personally, I am not a rich person. My family is not rich. But I grew up in a household that valued education. As a child, I was exposed to Mary Poppins, Little House on the Prairie and Star Trek. We had books in volumes, of which I especially like the Reader's Digest collection, including the condensed books anthologies. In school, I wasn't a popular girl because I'd rather spend time in the library reading rather than playing. I never really appreciated Tagalog songs because I found English ballads more relatable. I got into good schools because we were able to get scholarships.
So here we are with me, the English major who isn't rich. How did it all happen? I never really liked stereotypes. I'm hardly the conventional Filipina. I worked around the conventions. Can you?
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