How to Make MaMonLuk Siomai (Really! Honest!!)

My brother once commented about ten years ago, just as when he was entering the "golden ages" that I am now just entering in (ha ha - an example of my self-deprecating humor), "You know, if someone could only serve people foods that remind them of the memories of childhood, then I think people would be happy." True? What's the reason why do we long for Selecta ice cream in the old "pre-war" label? Why do we say that Selecta ice cream these days do not taste in anyway like the Selecta of old? Why do some say that the Coca Cola of today is nothing compared to the Coca Cola in their tapered sexy 8oz bottles? In connection with this, there was a recent Coca Cola taste test I saw in a website comparing the cane sugar sweetened, bottled Coke from Mexico to the high fructose syrup version in can of the US to a panel of testers based in the US and they preferred the Mexican version more than the American one. Anyway - there is a point I want to make with all this rambling?

Siomai is what I am talking about.

My mother was fortunate enough to have bought this relic from the day when it was still new in 1959. My parents got married on December 30, 1956 and had my brother in November of 1957. My second brother was yet to be born in February 1960 so, this book definitely could be considered my second sibling older than my real one. That relic is the Manila Chronicle Recipe Book.

My mother's 1959 Manila Chronicle Cookbook.
Upper right hand corner bears her signature.

I know this is not an appetizing headline. But this was
Manila Chronicle in its heyday. I think this
story inspired "Kisapmata" that award
winning movie.

Fashioned in the style of the late fifties, the print and ads were reminiscent of the era complete with the society goings-on in the cooking world that involved the housewife one of which was even awarded a prize of a trip to New York with a five-night stay in the Waldorf -Astoria. And mind you this is way before Nora Daza, the accepted matriarch of Philippine cuisine whose first edition of her famous book, Let's Cook with Nora appeared in 1965. The Chronicle cookbook contained ads that described the products and industries available in both local and imported markets. So though it was common knowledge that there were imported products like Amana refrigerators, who knew we had our own refrigerator industry by the name of Del Rosario? I remember the days when I used to read reprints of Superman and Batman comics owned by my brother and made by the reprint publishing division of the Manila Chronicle and in their ad in the cookbook, it said that these were distributed throughout Asia including Taiwan, Vietnam etc. etc. etc. and now, its the complete opposite when we have Filipiniana books piblished by Chinese companies for sale in the Philippines.

Old San Miguel ad in 1959.

And yes, we used to have a consumer electronics industry.

The "Old" Cosmos bottle has no resemblance to
what I grew up with in the '70s. This was
the original design.

This is what I was familiar with.

My fascination with this book is endless. Though age and termites have made this book looking delapidated, the treasures I could see in it, particularly the recipes are endless. Going back again to my brother's theory that one that eats food with particular tastes and aroma from childhood would certainly be a great happy drug; I am drawing you, my readers to this one particular recipe: the Ma Mon Luk Siomai Recipe.

Don't believe it? It's right there on page 84 of the book with the words, "Sponsored by MaMonLuk Restaurant". In fact, this recipe was tried by yours truly for the very first time when I was a teen growing up in my parents house in New Manila (circa 1980s) and comparing its taste with the way MaMonLuk does its siomai now in Quezon Boulevard, I would say that this is true to the original flavor and unfortunately what is now claiming to be the legit made by MML is nowhere true to the taste as I knew it from memory.


Page 84 of the cookbook spills the beans.

See? It's true! It's true!!

The main reason lies in the amount of flour in the mixture. In the current version from the restaurant, it seems that the pork mixture contained more flour than usual that the last time I had it which was last November 2013, I remember just how pasty was the sensation on the tongue as opposed to the meaty taste and feel it should be. But what sets the orignal Ma Mon Luk siomai apart from the rest, especially the newer dimsum chains, is the fact that it was just naked meat. Scallions? No. Ginger? Not even. Sesame seed oil? Don't even think about it. Most recipes would call for these especially the legitimate Chinese cookbooks. But the Ma Mon Luk siomai does not.

Which then leads back to the reason. Historically, the siomai like other things Chinese, including the siopao and pancit in whatever form and flavor were thought of with readily available Chinese ingredients in mind. In China, that is. But when the Chinese immigrant came to the Philippines, it became impossible for them to maintain the Chinese aspect of the food but the cooks were willing to make a compromise by adopting local ingredients in the dish. Thus, the Ma Mon Luk siomai does not contain sesame seed oil or ginger or scalions. The secret ingredients became the slight sweetness of sugar, the barely notceable pungent qualities of pepper and the slight sweet yet zingy taste of chopped green onions.

The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients.

1 kilo pork, chopped
1 1/2 tablespooon white sugar
Black pepper to taste
1 - 2 tablespoon salt (original recipe is 2 tbsps but I used 1 tbsp.)
Desired amount of chopped green onions
3 eggs
4 tablespoon cornstarch

Procedure.
According to the original recipe, combine the first six ingredients then add the cornstarch to combine and incorporate some more.  I would prefer to put all of them in a mixing bowl and using a hand mixer, beat them in a medium speed to really combine all ingredients making them sticky.  Once sticky, you can stop beating the mixture and divide into balls wrapping each one with the dumpling wrap leaving top sides open.  Once everything is wrapped, steam all for twenty minutes and once cooked, let the dumplings rest for five minutes before serving with soy sauce and kalamansi or the juice of kumquats or calamondins.

 

How to Make Fishballs (魚丸)

In case you don't know, I'm in the Philippines right now as I write this entry. Because I'm back in the Bicol provinces where the internet is very much a scarcity, this entry may not even get to my readers until I get back to Manila Anyway, I'm still very much existent and the blog is very much alive.  

Streetfood in Manila. This man is
frying some fishballs which is
what today's entry is all about.

Today's entry is dedicated to street food. What composes street food is very much dependent on what people consider cheap, readily available and most of all, palatable. It must be convenient and therefore easily transportable even readily consumable right after it's bought. And over the years what is classified as street food has changed. Sushi, for example started as street food but also a snack though it could also be a meal depending on the size. And who could have thought that caviar was once considered food of the masses for it was sturgeon meat that was prized and not the eggs. Now both are considered luxurious items although the eggs are far more expensive by weight. Thanks to overfishing and the hype of caviar being paired with the ever lovely glass of the bubbly, it's practically about two hundred dollars for a spoonful, merely an ounce of the beluga when sold at end markets like Wegman's or Agatha e Valentina.  

Sushi - streetfood?! Really?!  Yes - way back in
Imperial Japan when these were first
concocted.

And who knew that the ever humble fish
egg would become a status symbol?

Fish balls is one of the grand daddies of the street food world. Unless we are going to run out of any white meat fish soon, I really don't see how we can run out of it and the price would run amuck like what happened to sturgeon caviar. With climate change and its effects on fish migration and breeding patterns, this might one day become a reality; but for the meantime, it's one of the cheapest, tastiest and most reliable street foods money can buy. And it's versatile too. Aside being served as is, it can be served as soup when boiled in water with sauteed ginger. Likewise, it's a vital ingredient in pansit and fish or seafood congee.  

This is what fishballs look like.

This recipe teaches you how to make them. With a kilo of white fish meat, some flour and green onions and carrots, you are on your way to make this delectable snack.  

To those in my audience who cannot think of the
unthinkable - well, the above is an example of
streetfood - Barbecued Chicken Intestines
(a.k.a. IUD - as it looks like an
Intrauterine Device)

And what about Barbecued Pigs Ears?

Authentic Chinese Fishballs  

• 1 kilo white meat fish fillets  
• 1/2 cup cornstarch (or half flour half cornstarch mix)                                       
• 1 tbsp green onions finely chopped  
• 1 tbsp carrots, peeled and finely chopped  
• Salt to taste (optional) 

Procedure.  

1. Wash the fillets and set aside on a colander to drain most of the water.  Slice the fillets into small pieces. 
2. Combine all ingredients in a mixer bowl and mix using a medium speed until the fish is finely macerated and the resulting fish mixture resembles that of a stiff paste.  The beating process is important to incorporate some air into the mixture making the resultant fish balls light and airy. 
3. Oil both hands and above a ready boiling pot of water, squeeze part of the mixture with one hand as the other separates it with a small spoon dropping it in the boiling water to cook for about five minutes. 
4. Drain and store in refrigerator or freezer until further use. 
5. To fry the fishballs, simply thaw some and fry until puffed.  Whether to fry until brown or not is a matter of personal preference.  Serve with dipping sauce of either vinegar with chilies or a sweet sauce composed of soy sauce, sugar, salt, water the flour or breadcrumbs as thickening agent.