When everybody starts to party, we start to work… that is more or less our battle cry inside the kitchen. Working as a full time chef in one of the oldest restaurants in Metro Manila, especially if you’re doing night shifts, would pretty much eat up all our time, as we spend it preparing and dishing out dinner for our clientele. What’s left to us are the wee hours of the night, so what do we do? We drink!

Our executive chef, who is very appreciative of our work, sometimes throws in a few cases of beer, and if we’re lucky enough, he concocts an intoxicating cocktail or uncorks a bottle or two (or maybe four) from his collection. Of course a nice drinking spree is not perfect without pulutan (something you munch on while drinking) or what we Filipinos accept as appetizers when at a bar and grill.

Recently we celebrated Valentines’ Day, and for most of us in the business it’s the busiest day of the year. Afterwards, my boss prepared two cases of San Mig light, let it sit in ice as we finished our shifts and voila! Nothing beats an ice-cold beer after a hard day’s work!

As for the pulutan, we have this section in our chillers that we call the pulutan corner. Often stored there are leftovers from buffets or the excess from cuts of meat and trimmings of fish, which we normally save for nights like this. For tonight, it was rib eye, which had been left over from a recent function, re-marinated and popped over a hot grill then served with Heinz 57 steak sauce on the side. We also had some garlicky sweet and crispy-skinned smoked longganisa (I’ll tell you what brand next week) paired with extra-hot Pinakurat, a suka tuba (fermented coco nectar that has turned into vinegar) which he bought during a recent trip to Davao City which made a great match for beer.

Halfway through our beers, my boss brought out a bottle of lambanog from Quezon Province for us to sample. A serving of dried fish bones helped chase it down. That was a very bright idea from the Visayas region, to actually make money off the remnants of fish! It tasted salty and sweet, as though it had been dipped in patis, dried, and then brushed with a little caramel before packing; the texture was chewy and crispy at the same time because of the bones. This did well with the lambanog, which was really sweet because of the soaked raisins.

While we downed more beer and pulutan, the chitchat became more interesting (perhaps even wilder). Jokes got funnier and funnier as the alcohol started to take effect. At the end of the day, there is nothing more calming than having a few drinks with good buddies at work, enjoying each others’ company and just relaxing while savoring simple, unpretentious (maybe even lutong lasing) pulutan to match our drinks.

Pulutan has no borders, and there is a slim chance that it won’t go well with an alcoholic drink that you would like to enjoy. Here is a simple recipe that can be prepared in advance; just bring it out of the freezer and subject it to a little pan frying when your barkada suddenly drops in on you, bringing a few brews.

Express Beef Tapa

500 grams beef with little fat (you can also use leftover beef/lamb roast)

3 tbsp finely chopped garlic

1/8 cup patis

1/4 cup vinegar

2 tsp roughly cracked blacked pepper

2 tbsp sugar

chilies, if you like it hot

dash of salt

Procedure:

1. Slice beef thinly (tapa cut) and pound a little to tenderize.

2. Marinate beef with the rest of the ingredients for at least an hour.

3. Place marinated beef on a hot pan and let the water dry out, turning sides from time to time until it reduces, the natural oils come out, and it becomes more like a sauce.

4. Don’t let it dry up too much as the liquid left in it will give more flavor to the beef and help it maintain its moisture and tenderness.

If you have any pulutan dishes or perhaps a concocted drink of your own, let everyone sample it. Send recipes or suggestions through toto_erfs@yahoo.com