Tags: Street Food, Truly Pinoy Food and Drinks
By Anna Valmero
MAKATI CITY, METRO MANILA—Strolling along the busy streets of Pasong Tamo and Buendia here, I came across a hodge-podge of street foods – perfect for those who want to satisfy their craving but are on a frugal budget.
Of all the assortments of food I found —from spicy peanuts, fresh fruits such as watermelon and semi-ripe Indian mango— what captured my fancy was camote (sweet potato) fritters being sold by on his a kariton or wooden cart.
As early as 7a.m., Daniel Aquino and his 12-year-old nephew Marvin park their kariton along this busy street corner, a strategic spot given the bevy of commuters and office workers in the area.
They heat up the big frying pan with brown sugar, which then caramelizes in very hot oil. Moments later, loads of camote, which Marvin sliced and washed, fell into the pan and are coated in the sugar to become camote fries.
This is a unique twist on the more familiar french fries. It also reminds me of my childhood days, when my Mama would promise to make camote fries if I take a nap in the afternoon.
While watching him efficiently peel and slice the camote, Marvin, who is actually from Pangasinan, is in the city on a “summer job” with his uncle to save up for his tuition. He’ll be entering fifth-grade this June.
“Ngayon pong bakasyon dito muna ako para kumita. Yung pera kelangan namin sa pasukan, pag-uwi ko ibibigay ko po kay Mama (This vacation I am here with my uncle to earn some income. We need the money for school, when I get home I will give the money to Mother),” Marvin says.
For his part, his uncle says he has been selling camote fries, banana cue, turon and carioca since he was 13 years old. Now 23 and a family man, this is his main source of income. He sells each pack of camote fries for 11 pesos.
“Kumikita naman kahit papaano sa tubo na P500, pinagkasya namin yun pang-araw-araw. Yung puhunan ko ngayon nasa P2,000 kasi mahal yung mantika at asukal, minsan pati yung kamote. Araw araw naman kami nagpapalit kasi iitim yung kamote kapag hindi bago yun (We earn a profit of P500, which we spend for our daily needs. Today, my capital is P2,000 because cooking oil and sugar is very expensive. We don’t reuse cooking oil because it would make the camote fries darker),” he says.
He also tells me that they make sure to wash the bananas and camote before they end up in the frying pan, hoisting a five-gallon water container.
“Minsan kapag gutom na kami, ito na rin yung kinakain namin. Masarap naman at saka masustansiya kesa kumain ng chichiria (If we get hungry ourselves, we eat what we sell. It’s more delicious and nutritious than junk foods),” he says.
True enough. The George Mateljan Foundation published a nutritional profile of camote, found to be an excellent source of antioxidants, vitamins A and C, among others.
And did you know that camote is a good substitute for rice—and, a healthier alternative, too. Primo Esleyer wrote an article on Iloiloviews.com, recounting his experience of eating camote instead of rice and how he thinks the lowly camote will save us from hunger.
Foodrecap.net offers this camote fries recipe. If you want it a bit spicy, the Overseas Pinoy Cooking blog suggests adding some cinnamon. Now if you are on a diet, Filipina blogger Toni of Wifely Steps.com suggests this recipe for camote fries without the sugar—just melt some butter on the fries for added flavor.
Whether you want it crispy or tender to the bite, camote fries is a worthy, and healthy, alternative to french fries.
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wag ka lang uutot.. hehe , sarap yan kamote fries!