Creating flavors

Creating flavors starts with knowing your ingredients. In Filipino cooking, a lot (and I mean a lot) of recipes start with the essentials like sautéed garlic and onions. It is like the sofrito (onion, garlic, and tomato) of Spanish cooking or mirepoix (carrots, onion, and celery) in French cuisine. It is the most basic of flavor profiles. It is the starting point where dishes get their flavor. 

The base flavor is like the drums and bass guitar of a band. It is where music is supported so instruments like the guitar and vocals can carry the melody. 

Now garlic and onions are not the only basis for flavor. Other favorite spices are star anise, cloves, and ginger. These are just the basics to build dishes, and traditional Filipino recipes start off this way from stir-fries to stews. 

These aromatics are then seasoned with salt and pepper to bring out its real flavor.  I wish the internet could do aromas online because this combination is divine. 

As a child, my mom and grandma would always start off a recipe with the same garlic and onions. I would still ask, why do you use the same ingredients for all of these dishes? The answer quickly comes once the garlic is browned, and the onions are sizzling away in coconut oil. Alas! The glorious scent of onions and garlic. In my mind, there is nothing wrong with this at all. 

Start with garlic.

The smell of toasted garlic is one of my favorite aromas. I hope someone bottles it and sells it as cologne. In Philippine cooking, this is almost always the first ingredient that hits the pan. Filling the kitchen with its intoxicating fragrance. Garlic contains a lot of sugars so it would be best to always keep an eye on it.

Onions are next.

Chopping onions can lead to teary eyes, but cooking it out makes tongues tingle with its natural sweetness. Onions goes perfectly with beef, pork and seafood. 

Season with Salt.

Bring out the flavor of garlic and onion by sprinkling sea salt as you sauté these ingredients. Tip: Season as you add ingredients in your pan. 

Add heat with ground pepper. 

Grind pepper from a mill or a mortar and pestle to get the essential oils going.