Today, April 19, is former President and Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada's birthday. To join in on the celebrations - he always serves the best meals -
margauxlicious looks back to when Chef Jessie Sincioco resurrected his mother Doña Mary Ejercito's recipes, as preserved in the book Maria's Recipes, a copy of which was given to me by the former president when I handled media for his 2010 presidential bid. Chef Jessie, upon request, cooked select recipes to the letter when Mr. Estrada visited the office of the Philippine Daily Inquirer last year.
My story on this visit of former President/Mayor Erap came out in the
September 5, 2013 issue of the Inquirer:
We had a neighbor in Sta. Maria, Bulacan, named Ka Viniang, who made
the most delicious puto pandan. It was moist, with a tempered sweetness
and a somewhat sticky topmost layer. She used to grind the rice with a
stone grinder. Around the mid-2000s, she started to grow weak until she
stopped making puto.
We asked her, why not teach your grandchildren how to make it?
She said that her granddaughter did not like to make puto. She wanted to
be a dancer on “Eat Bulaga.”
Ka Viniang passed away a few years ago and we miss her dearly.
And I regret as well the fact that no one can make puto anymore the way
she used to.
That is why I am joining the call of older and wiser foodies to
write down the recipes of your parents and grandparents. Heirloom
recipes, no matter how simple they may seem, are real treasures.
Last August 22, we had the occasion to taste the heirloom
recipes of former President and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada. Chef
Jessie Sincioco (of Le Soufflé fame, one of the authors of the Filipino
cookbook “Kulinarya” and who now has her eponymous resto Chef Jessie at
the Amorsolo Building in Rockwell) recreated the recipes of the
matriarch of the Ejercito clan, Doña Mary (Ejercito being the mayor’s
real surname)
Highly addictive
Opinions on the former president may differ, but friends and
critics are united in saying that the food at the Ejercito table has
been absolutely delicious. Estrada credits his late mother for this.
“You can no longer find a woman like her,” he says, recalling that she
used to cook a feast every night, for her husband and 10 children, and
served it after the Angelus. Then she played the piano for Estrada’s
father, then the City Engineer of Manila.
At the event, chef Jessie recreated Doña Mary’s Sopa de Mariscos,
where the flavors of the seafood really stood out; Kilawing Librillo, a
not-so-common take on ox tripe; and asparagus wrapped in Jamon Serrano.
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| An Erap Heirloom Recipe: Kilawing Librillo |
The Manila mayor, whose menus always require a beef course,
shared his mother’s Caldereta de Vaca recipe, which chef Jessie followed
to the letter. The result was a very tender brisket and slightly spicy
sauce that was highly addictive.
Another dish the mayor loves is bacalao. Personally, I’m not a fan of
this fish—it’s stiff and dry and so salty! But chef Jessie soaked it,
and the bacalao danced in the tomato sauce and olives.
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| Recipes of Doña Mary Ejercito, mother of Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, executed by Chef Jessie Sincioco: Chicken a la King, Caldereta de Vaca, Paella Marinara. |
There was also Paella Marinara and Chicken a la King. But
overshadowing these two final main courses were the eye-popping and
mouth-watering desserts. Apparently Doña Mary was a respected pastry
chef back in the day; she even made the wedding cake of then President
Elpidio Quirino’s daughter.
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| Doña Mary Ejercito's La Ventana de la Catedral |
Chef Jessie reproduced Doña Mary’s La Ventana de la Catedral.
“It’s just gelatin!” she explained when I ooh-ed and ahh-ed. But it was
oh-so-colorful. She also made a simple Chocolate Fudge Cake that was
beautifully moist, and the silvanas were buttery.
If there is anyone who can successfully remake a recipe, it has
to be chef Jessie! (Her latest project, by the way, is “100,” a
revolving restaurant in Eastwood.)
Heirloom recipes truly live forever. Happy birthday to Former President / Mayor Erap!
