AlwaysPartying: Pacquiao Filipino Feast

November 20, 2009

Top, full plate of traditional Filipino food. Bottom left, Lumpia Shanghai: Pork and Shrimp Egg Rolls. Right, Bicol Express: Pork with Jalapeños.

In honor of Manny Pacquiao’s fight last Saturday against Miguel Cotto, the AlwyasHungryNY.com Crew tapped former Filipino Cuisine chef-owner Nancy Cordova to prepare a traditional Filipino feast. The spread included Hand-Rolled Pork and Shrimp Egg Rolls (Lumpia Shanghai), Oxtail and Tripe Stew in a peanut sauce (Kare-kare), and Chicken and Pork Adobo.

One of the night’s standouts was Beef Tapa, rump steak slow-dried for several hours then sliced and deep-fried, sort of a Filipino-style beef jerky. It was a close second to the Bicol Express, a stew featuring chunks of pork cooked with more jalapeños than you would think possible. The intensely flavored dish set taste buds aflame, but a helping of the excellent garlic fried rice helped tone down the heat. Coincidentally, with the opening of Purple Yam and Umi Nom, you need only travel to Brooklyn to enjoy some of these Filipino delicacies.