Beliefs on Cooking - Fact or Superstition?

All goes well with happy disposition and bright innovation.

Abe V Rotor

Folks at home have a lot of beliefs about cooking. Here are five of the common old practices and beliefs which the younger generation may find odd and strange. I did some research to provide basic explanation to each of them.

1. While rice is being cooked, never stir it, otherwise it will become nakusel (half cooked).
Actually you cannot hasten cooking by stirring it. And never overload the pot or kettle. Remember that rice, especially laon (seasoned) rice rises more than twice its original volume when cooked. Once steam is produced, lower the heat. Rice cooks better in low fire once boiling point is reached. Open slightly the lid or cover to release pressure or prevent the steam from spilling out. This tip applies best when cooking rice in volume, say in an iron kettle (kawa or tallasi).

2. Don’t leave the ladle in the pot, otherwise you will go poor. (Huwag iwanan ang sandok sa kawali, muubos ang kayamanan.)
Two things can happen as a result. Someone comes (or it may be the cat) and finish your ulam, or germs enter and spoil your food. Remember that the air is laden with ubiquitous spores of microorganisms, and that you will also expose the food to many uninvited guests, from house lizard to cockroach - what in the stillness of the night!

3. When re-heating viand, remove the pot cover. (Kung magpainit ng ulam, huwag takpan.)
When re-heating food, remove the pot’s cover. Thoroughly clean the cover before putting it back. The underside of the cover is usually the source of inoculants that cause food spoilage. Here the conditions are favorable to the growth and development of microorganisms, as we open and close the pot, and when the pot is closed for a long time. Underneath the cover is a perfect place for incubation of many kinds of microbes.

4. When cooking crabs and shrimps first bring the water to boiling, then immediately immerse them - dead or alive – to make them bright red.
The conventional technique of cooking crustaceans usually produces yellowish to roan color, whereas instant heat transforms the chitin that makes the exoskeleton into a bright red color, thus making them attractive and appetizing especially if they are loaded with fat (aligi').

5. Certain mungo seeds remain hard after cooking.
While enjoying your favorite dish of “mungo with pork and ampalaya leaves,” all of a sudden you find yourself grimacing with pain after biting a stone-hard mungo seed.

Blame it to no one, but the lazy canny farmer who, instead of harvesting only the mature mungo pods, uproot the whole plant. The hardened seeds come from immature pods mixed with the mature seeds. The starch in the immature pod has been locked up and hardened during drying, making it difficult to soften even under prolonged cooking. To remedy this problem, grind the seeds before cooking.

As a matter of information, mungo or mungbean (Phaseolus radiatus) is the counterpart of soybean in the tropics for its high nutritive value and many uses. It can be made into flour, sotanghon (noodles), lumpia, toge' (sprouts), hopia, curds, and many more products.

Living with Folk Wisdom AVR, UST Manila