What’s cooking for Christmas: Chinese ham and chestnuts

The Noche Buena table would not be complete without traditional Pinoy Christmas food like queso de bola and hamon.

Ham in particular is a versatile ingredient: it can be eaten by itself or with other ingredients, warm and toasty from the oven or cold straight from the refrigerator.

One of the types of ham that Filipinos associate with Christmas is the Chinese-style ham. In Quiapo, two establishments—Excelente Ham and New City Grocery—still make ham from recipes passed on from generation to generation. These hams are comparable to the more popular Western varieties like Spain's jamon serrano, Italy's proscuitto and the classic American ham.

Unlike the typical sweet ham, Chinese ham is a bit on the saltier side. The texture of the meat is firmer and less wet than the usual pineapple variety, but not dry. It does not lack fat or juices. A good sign of freshly made ham is with the bright pink color of the meat, while the color of the crust ranges from golden brown to deep red.

The perfect slice should include the meat, a little bit of fat and a thin sugar crust. The crunchy outermost layer complements the soft and salty pork meat, while the fat gives additional richness and flavor.

In my household, the technique that I have learned from my mother is to first fry the ham, then pour the pineapple glaze over it while it is still in the pan. This method caramelizes the meat and intensifies the sweet flavor of the glaze. This braising technique also leaves the ham moist and tender. Thanks, mom!

Ham varieties

A modest-sized piece of deboned ham from Excelente (on Carlos Palanca Street) weighs around 1 to 1.5 kilos. It comes packaged in the famous red Excelente box, with the pineapple sauce/glaze conveniently packed separately.

The brand's other Chinese ham preparations include sliced with mixed syrup, sliced with separated syrup and bone-in ham, all slightly more expensive than the deboned, which goes for about P1,020/kg. The bone-in ham has added value because the bone can later be used to flavor stocks and broths.

Made using the whole hind leg of a pig, all three types of ham are big, usually weighing 4-5 kilograms.

However, based on past Christmas experience, the bone-in ham is the more cumbersome variety. To maximize the premium price, it is ideal to consume all the glorious meat. But the pork flesh does not easily fall off the bone, and some elbow grease is needed to scrape them all off to eat.

Less premium types of ham include the pineapple sweet ham, the cooked pear-shaped ham and ham from scrap pieces.

New City Grocery, found along Villalobos Street (perpendicular to Palanca Street), is the lesser-known but more economical brand, with a whole leg going for only about P900/kg. Ordering it sliced with or without honey sauce raises the price. The boneless ham goes for P680/kilo. Unlike in Excelente, where hams are available for walk-in customers, it is advisable to place orders in advance.

In fact, on that one Saturday that I passed by, the staff told me that only the few pieces of ham displayed in front were available for purchase and that new orders would arrive the following Wednesday.

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire

Passing through Quiapo, there’s another scent floating around this holiday season. The nutty, burnt and sweet aroma of chestnuts being roasted brings instant nostalgia. There are a number of stalls that sell freshly roasted chestnuts along the streets of Quiapo, with prices ranging from P260/kg to P300/kg.

Now is the best time of purchase a few kilos of ham and roasted chestnuts as traffic going to Quiapo is still bearable and the number of buying patrons still thin.

Once the calendar hits December, prepare to brave the busy alleys of downtown Manila as a lot of people will be heading their for their piece of delicious Chinese-style ham and roasted kastanyas. — BM, GMA News