A minor Philippine mystery plus a bit of trivia: I've often wondered why corned beef is called Carne Norte, there's nothing about it that identifies it with the Northern Philippines. My suggestion is that it derives from something like Carne Norte Americano, since it was a common supply to the US military during the occupation of 1899 onwards. The trivia: Why is local corned beef in round tins but imported corned beef in squarish tins? It's because in countries where corned beef is cooked, like the Philippines, it's always produced in round cans. In countries like the UK where corned beef is generally eaten cold in slices, the square, tapered, tin is used so the meat - which is solid - comes out as a lump that can be sliced.
I have only tried Philippine corned beef once. I honestly expected it to be similar to the Fray Bentos corned beef that I buy in the UK, the delicious kind that Bob describes above. One day when I felt a bit hungry I purchased a small tin of the Philippine corned beef from the supermarket, took it back to my hotel room, and opened it with my trusty Swiss army knife. The tin was full of awful sloppy mush, it went straight into the bin uneaten. Never again...
Should you sucsefully complete this mission then eat the "pork and beans" you WILL self distruct in seconds. Tom
I must say that in my family we tend to buy a can of Fray Bentos and then fry it with onions in the Philippines manner - best of both worlds...
My wife insists on imported Argentinian corned beef, I have no idea why as all corned beef in the philippines tastes the same to me, cook with onions and serve with rice of course, it's edible.... but only just.
Filipino style corned beef isn't bad! I used to have it cooked, served with rice and found it okay. It's not something I would choose to eat as a delicious meal here in the UK, but not bad..
One should also caste an eye on Star Margarine, which is coconut-oil based with a shelf-life long enough to see the Sun turn nova. It was introduced into the Philippines by Proctor and Gamble and a whopping 94 per cent of Filipinos have eaten it. The taste is not such much acquired as battered in with a tyre iron. However, it does make rice palatable, is OK in cooking.
You'll only find butter in medium to large supermarkets. Queensland butter is probably the cheapest. No, it doesn't come from Queenland it's manufacturered in Makati.
You can get Lurpak or Anchor butter in most if not all SM supermarkets, but I have adapted over the years to the sweet Gardenia bread and Star margarine for my toast.
Shopwise in Cubao has quite a good food selection, including McVitie's biscuits. However, no Marmite or Rowntrees Fruitgums.
While that is a direct translation it doesn't help. "Northern Meat" can't apply to the Philippines because there's nowhere northern associated with corned beef or even beef. The term is not used in Spanish.
hi Kuya!!..... i've got six tins of corned beef if you want it, my girlfriend mailed them to me, two months ago, I put the tinned corned beef in my mashed potatoes, corn beef hash mmmmmmmmmmmmm
