It was fast becoming one of my favorite gadgets but I had to put it away in the back of the cabinet. Everytime I saw the box I got chills and felt the phantom pain.
I missed those fine even shreds for the green papaya I was going to serve with my tokwa't baboy(tofu and pork) so here it is out again. It must be a basic instinct to cringe from something that has hurt you so much...
I used my oven mitt to protect my tingling-from-fear fingers, though there is a pair of mitts that you can buy, made of silicon or some newfangled synthetic fiber.
My tokwa't baboy is just your basic everyday recipe: boiled pig ears( you can add pork belly too), fried firm tofu, thinly sliced shallots, vinegar and Pinoy soy sauce, freshly ground black pepper, a little squeeze of lemon. Mine is heavy on vinegar because I've a "sourmouth" -hilig sa asim, as opposed to a sweet tooth ;). We've always had it with shredded green papaya (salted for half an hour, rinsed, drained). The picture is blurry but the taste is divine, to me anyway: it transports me back home.
It's another one of those dishes that scares the uninitiated away...
