Noche Buena Series No. 1
Growing up in the States, Noche Buena meant staying up till midnight with the family before gathering to open up the mountain of presents and then feasting afterwards. Right before I graduated from high school, I was fortunate enough to be able to celebrate the holiday season in the Philippines. There, Noche Buena meant attending Simbang Gabi (Night Mass), a 9-day series of masses leading up to Christmas. I remember attending the Christmas Eve service before heading over to a relative’s home and being welcomed with enough food to feed a battalion.
For Noche Buena, some traditional dishes include lechon, ham, keso de bola, some kind of pancit, crema de fruta, fruit salad, and various kinds of kakanin, predominately bibingka and puto bumbong. Every family has their own take on what they like to include. The majority of our family gatherings in the States included a pretty varied menu—the dishes differed depending on what people wanted to make at the time and how much time they had to prepare. If someone was short on time, they could always bring something from Goldilocks or Red Ribbon, Filipino chain restaurants that were easily accessible in the Bay Area. Desserts were always the first to be outsourced since they could be the most time-consuming to make so there was often an ube roll cake or sansrival from Goldilocks tempting me from the table.
The one aspect of the meal we did not take shortcuts on was the display of various meats. The responsibility of this would usually fall on the person hosting to ensure that the meat would be freshly made and eaten straight from the grill or oven. Sometimes, there would be roast chicken or maybe a ham, but there was usually always inihaw na liempo and galbi, a latter addition. I have no idea how or why galbi was added on, but it’s delicious and easy to prep so I can understand why it has become a mainstay.
Over the next week, I’ll elaborate more on some of my food memories and my spin on these dishes. Can’t wait to share with you, and I hope that you in turn will also share some of your memories with us!
🖤Jane