“Here he is. Looking for balisa’a?”
“You bet — where?”
“Not today. I can bring some tomorrow.”
“So they’re not out of season or anything like that?”
“Of course not; they just don’t sell as well as the other shells, so we rarely bother.”
Now that was a surprise. I love Manila clams, and had always assumed that their sporadic availability at the market was due to bad or rough weather, seasonal fluctuation, or simply someone beating me to the stuff (my main suspect: restaurant purchasers). Still, I was right about balisa’a not being in season. The clams my suki proffered the next day were pitifully minuscule, which probably accounts for those in the know not insisting on balisa’a at this time of year when they are not yet at their prime (I looked it up; since they breed in the summer, that would be around December).
And so I learned something new today. It cost me ₱60, but for those clams I took home it was fatally costlier. As atonement, I will not post a recipe. I will, however, leave you with this:
Yup, that’s fried chicken cutlet. But don’t expect a recipe for that anytime soon — or ever: there is just no way to make chicken breast palatable. This is known, so Lord knows why I even try.
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