Traveling through Time

Passport & Plate - Hardinera

Philippines | Tuesday, March 11, 2014 | 5 photos

Ingredients
For the meat:
1.5 kilos of whole pork shoulder, preferably a fatty cut
125 grams of tomato sauce
¼ cup of vinegar
¼ cup of soy sauce
2 pieces of pork broth cubes

For the décor and flavoring of the meat:
1 small can of pimiento
1 small can of Libby’s Vienna sausage
2 hardboiled eggs
1 small can of pineapple tidbits
2 whole sweet pickles, diced
½ cup sweet pickle relish

To add during cooking:
1 onion, minced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
grated cheese, to taste
½ cup of breadcrumbs
1 small can of liver spread
leftover sauce from initial cooking of the meat
7 eggs
salt and pepper to taste

 

How to prepare this recipe
Will make 3 to 4 loaf pans.

Preparing the Meat: Cook the meat in the tomato sauce, vinegar, soy sauce and broth cubes for about an hour, or until the meat is tender. Ensure that there is always enough liquid so that it will not burn. Add water if necessary. Remove from the pan to cool and set the sauce aside. Cube the meat into ½ inch pieces, and making the fatty parts smaller.

Preparing the Loaf Pans: There will be ingredients for décor, and for mixing. Allot at least two slices of each kind of the items below for decorating: Vienna sausage, pimiento, pickles and hardboiled egg. All should be sliced about thumb-sized (except for the egg which should just be sliced), but thin and flat. Set aside and prepare the loaf pans by lining them either with banana leaves, parchment paper, or plastic. This will facilitate easier removal from the pans. Butter these and decorate the bottom with the prepared items. Set aside.

Preparing the Other Vegetables: Now prepare the rest of the ingredients. Drain the pineapple tidbits. Dice the sausage and pickles (about the same size of the pineapple tidbits). Mince the pimiento.

Mixing Everything: To the cubed meat, add the pickles (diced and relish), minced pimiento, drained pineapple, and diced sausage. Mix well. Dilute the liver spread with some of the sauce from the meat to make a thick paste. Then add to the meat. Mix and set aside.

In a big pan, sauté the onion and garlic until tender. Add the meat and mix well. Add cheese and bread crumbs, almost to the texture of a meatloaf. Add some of the sauce set aside initially if needed to moisten the meat more. Lastly, add the beaten eggs, about 3, until thoroughly mixed.

In the prepared container, fill each with meat until almost full. Then top with a beaten egg and allow to egg to fall through the meat cracks. Cover with foil and steam for 30 minutes. Flip on a plate once done. The rest may be refrigerated or frozen, then steam again before serving.

 

The story behind this recipe
I was young and tasked with the job since I was the only one home with our grandma. Hardly a foodie at this age, I thrived on fast food fried chicken But my Lola Belen was insistent. She was 77 and echoed woes of the old on how she needs to pass on this recipe, “Lest the dish disappear from our family and just remain a memory.” With all the grumbling and sighing a 9 year-old can muster, I got to work. I typed the recipe she dictated, sans measurements. “Estimate it. You will know.” She said.

The printed copy was filed into our notebooks of recipes and tucked away, serving no use. My Lola would still spoil us with food coming from her kitchen when we visit her, like most grandmas do. And like all people do, she eventually passed away.

We missed Lola Belen dearly, and going back to Quezon Province was not as happy as it used to be. We began to miss what made our house in Lucban a home: the food, how it was prepared, and how we used to share meals. It was that time the notebook was opened. A couple of tries and so-so meals, my mom finally nailed her mother-in-law’s recipe down to an exact science. The recipe had measurements for most of the ingredients, and this has replaced the recipe in the old notebook. Finally, we had it. Every bite of the tender fatty pork, the crunchy pickle, and the cheesy pate, all ensconced in that pretty little picture on a plate. We had our Lola Belen’s Hardinera.

Now that I am old enough to cook and a self-proclaimed foodie, I feel saddened that it was the only recipe of hers that I have noted down. There is still her embutido, chicken pastel and bola-bola. All recipes are available on the internet, but none will ever be as delicious as hers. I know I will eventually discover her other recipes, through relatives’ recipes and perhaps my unwavering belief that my memory will serve as the best guide and critic. The great thing is, I now cook my lola’s hardinera like she used to, without measurement, like she told me to.