Food & Grocery Cooking American style

The last time I was in the Philippines, (Cagayan De Oro 2003) I was going to treat my (now ex wife's) family to some simple home favorites, but I had trouble finding certain simple ingredients back then. A couple of *for instances: I had trouble finding dill pickles. I could find all kinds of sweet pickles, but no regular dill pickles. Lots of condiments, but mustard was another rarity in the groceries around the area. Is it like that in Dumaguete, or can I find a fair amount of food ingredients to cook some American or even Mexican style dishes for my fiance's family? What might be some things that are hard to come by as far as grocery items that one might be used to in their own country?

 

Yes you can get dill pickles from naturally Negros and Tortilla's,(not so good from the supermarket) black olives, Chile powder and spices.

 

You can also get the vlasic brand of dill pickles at the lee plaza grocery store along with a very good selection of various spices, but my first choice would be at the robinson mall grocery store.

 

Occasionally, in Lee Hypermart, but don't hold your breath.

 

Thanks, it helps. I don't know how much actual cooking I will be able to do there. I don't really have any idea what kind of kitchen they really have. I doubt they have refrigeration to keep things. They might, but it's been my experience that living in very poor areas that is a luxury that most do not have. I imagine a burner of some sort, most likely gas, and probably no oven to speak of, but they live next to a bakery I think. It'll be interesting.

 

Good luck on your cooking experiments here, it will be easier than you think, but may not taste like what you are use to eating. Bring your favorite seasonings with you in your luggage. Have you ever cooked with wood? Many of the poorer families use wood here, as gas is expensive for them, and wood is collected in their neighborhoods for free . If they can afford or have the electricity an "Roto Own" (convention oven) by Hanabishi is a great substitute for an oven. I think the cost for a unit is about 1,000 P ($20 USD) here. (a family gift for them?) I have even heard of guys making cakes in them, you can probably look it up on the internet to see if may be applicable to your needs.

 

A BIG adjustment for me being use to having plenty of ingredients on hand and access to anything I needed back home, where as here; my Wife seems to only plan for 'the day' and if I am asked to cook I stand blankly in front of an almost empty fridge or freezer pondering what I will knock up using one garlic clove, 1/2 a small onion and one tiny egg tomato...

Back in Oz I use to cook Rice and mix the ingredients, but here they screw up their faces as mixing rice apparently reminds them of vomit, and for me, rice separate to ingredients makes no sense when I have to mix them together to get some taste to the rice and make it edible...

Gas Burners are good value here, paid 1200p for one from Unitop but it rusted out and blew flames everywhere before the year was out, so this time we bought one from Hypermart (1900p) which looks to be sturdier in build but only time will tell if it is a throwaway like those at Unitop. I am hoping to invest in a Gas Oven soon, because Electricity Brown-outs are so often here in the province, especially weekends where the power can be out for most of the day so Gas is more reliable IMO...

Also Hypermart seem to have a wide range of seasonings and herbs but just when you find something you like they stop stocking it, I do believe YanYan Commercial in Dumaguete cater more to the 'Cook' but have not been in there to see what they have on offer, but apparently (I am told) they stock a wide range of items to suit both the Home Chef and Food Businesses...

 

Awesome! Thanks for your replies!

 

It has actually gotten better finding certain spices locally. If you have your favorites (like Cajun seasoning or any rubs) then it would be best to pack a few for your trip. If you look closely at some available spices in places that folks mentioned you can combine various things to get generally what you are looking for, usually with some experimenting. Mustard is not available often and only the yellow variety, not browns from what I have seen.

The thing that usually goes over the best is BBQ...pork and chicken never goes uneaten at our house. Monterey shops have some decent cuts of meat and have worked their way into even the small area of Tanjay. I've experimented greatly with different marinades and rubs for BBQ and most worked out. Grilled seafood works well also; prawns and various shellfish are big hit.

Shawn

 

I usually had more luck finding things like tortillas, Vlasik Dill Pickles, and many other imported American items at Lee Plaza Hypermart. I brought a tortilla press and masa harina from the states to make corn tortillas, as you could not find those there at all. Red tomatoes, which are viewed there as almost rotten, can be difficult top find, but I would gather up several of the little bags of tomatoes at Robinson Supermarket and tell them I wanted only red ones. I would find several green ones with 1 or 2 red ones in the bags. So, they would look at me weird, and open up the bags and give me red ones only. I would also have them chop the big heavy stem off the broccoli and re-weigh it, because I knew I was paying a premium for them stem that I didn't want, I just wanted the tops. I think they got tired of losing money that way and stopped before I had left. They may allow you to do that now, again.
Good luck in your cooking endeavors. I always enjoyed it, but it could be frustrating at times!