Fiambre, A General Insight

Fiambre is a special salad that originates in Guatemala. Like many other latin american countries, Guatemala has a Roman Catholic majority. Therefore, holidays like the Day Of The Dead are observed there. Fiambre originally started out as a wide range of dishes, brought to the graves of deceased family members during the Day Of The Dead. It was usually the favourite dishes enjoyed by loved ones before they passed on. And so it went on, many families bringing different dishes for their loved ones until the dishes started mixing (probably due to space constraints, a grave is not exactly big). From this constant mixing of dishes (sounds horrible), a salad was slowly created to encompass a range of food that family members liked to eat before they passed on.

Before the Day Of The Dead (1st November), most families in Guatemala will gather to prepare this dish. Each member usually helps to cook or chop different ingredients as it will be almost impossible for one person to prepare the entire dish alone. Fiambre is then consumed for the next two days (All Saints Day comes after the Day Of The Dead) In many cases, it is shared with family and friends celebrating in the same area.

Since this meal is consumed for a period of two days, it is very difficult to serve it hot. Fiambre is almost always served cold. While the ingredients can vary from family to family, it usually includes numerous sausages and cold cuts, cured meats, pickled baby-corn and onions, beets, pacaya flower, assorted cheeses, olives, chicken, and prawns.

Pickled vegetables, such as baby corn, olives, and cucumbers, are a common addition to the salad. Almost any vegetable can be included, and all of the ingredients are usually chopped into bite-sized pieces. Fiambre may be dressed as a whole, usually with different spices or a dressing made from vinegar and mustard. Each ingredient may also be dressed separately, thereby providing more depth to the dish.

Because it is a very personal thing, the ingredients for each Fiambre vary greatly from family to family, with each family traditinally passing its own recipe to the younger generation. There are many different types of Fiambre but they have been sub divided into a few categories. They are:

• Fiambre Rojo (literally meaning red Fiambre, it is given this name as it is prepared with beets as an ingredient)
• Fiambre Blanco (literally meaning white Fiambre, as no beets are used)
• Fiambre Desarmado (deconstructed Fiambre, which originates in Jalapa. A region in south-east Guatemala)
• Fiambre Verde (Green Fiambre. Solely vegetarian and usually comprises of fruits, vegetables, lentils and beans)

Pabellón Criollo, A General Insight

Pabellón Criollo is a Venezuelan dish that contains white rice, pulled beef (Carne Mechada) and seasoned black beans. Many people recognise this as the national dish of Venezuela. From our own personal point of view, it is a simple dish. Yet it bursts with so much flavour, all the way down to the white rice. The secret for making a simple dish such as white rice flavourful is to pre fry the dry grains of rice with salt, oil, onions, garlic and strips of yellow and red pepper. Boil the mixture till its cooked, then pick out all the bell peppers and onions.

There are many variations of Pabellón Criollo. With the addition of fried plantains (tajadas), they are colloquially known as 'pabellón con barandas'. Barandas means guard rail in Spanish. As it is usually joked that the fried plantains act as guards to prevent the food from falling off the plate (which is obviously not true as they will probably slide off along with everything else).

In Singapore, it is not easy to get plantains. Therefore we suggest using slightly unripe bananas (make sure they are quite firm to the touch) and frying (or grilling) them with a generous amount of vegetable oil.

Pabellón Criollo with the addition of a fried egg on top is known as 'pabellón a caballo'. A caballo means horseback riding in Spanish. And this term is used as the egg appears to ride on the dish as if riding on horseback.

A version containing both fried plantains and a fried egg is also common. The dish is then known as 'Pabellón con barandas y a caballo'.

As most Venezuelans are Roman Catholics, many do not consume meat during the weeks of Lent. This means about 6 weeks prior to Easter. Therefore, Carne Mechada is usually replaced with other substitutes such as freshwater fish, shredded capybara (a huge rodent related to guinea pigs) or shredded caiman (a relative of alligators).

What Are Sobarias?

Sobarias are basically brazilian noodle shops selling Okinawan soba. Opened by ethnic Japanese or/and Okinawan brazilians, Sobarias are quite popular in the city of Campo Grande. Which is in Mato Grosso do Sul. The irony is however, that most Japanese brazilians actually live in the states of São Paulo and Paraná. Sobarias sell the brazilian adaptation of Okinawan soba, which consists of toppings such as sliced meat and vegetables. Also available are other 'brazilianised' Japanese dishes such as yakisoba and generic ethnic dishes like beef kebabs and sausages.

Many Singaporeans do not know this, but Brazil has the largest group of ethnic Japanese living outside Japan in the world. Most of them are already third to fourth generation descendants. Many Japanese in Brazil have ancestors from Okinawa too, therefore it is not surprising to find Okinawan food in modern Brazilian culture. Okinawan soba is nothing like the usual Japanese cha-soba or zaru-soba found in Singapore. Okinawan Soba consists of thin or thick, whitish wheat noodles in a clear pork and seaweed broth. Common toppings for Okinawan soba are either thick cuts of pork belly or boneless pork ribs (known locally as soki) and sliced scallions. Sometimes one can find sliced kamaboko (japanese fishcake) included as a topping too. The final touch on this dish is an extremely red and deliciously strong and pungent ginger pickle known in Japan as Beni Shoga.

To have a brief idea about this fine example of latin-american asian culture, check out http://www.sobaria.com.br/ (the website is in Portuguese though)