Recreating Dishes From Netflix’s Somebody Feed Phil
Aside from Korean dramas and American series, another reasons why I subscribe to Netflix are food documentaries. As a foodie, I naturally enjoy learning about them. They interest me because I got to explore cultural cuisines and street dishes around the world.
One series I stream in Netflix is Somebody Feed Phil, an American food and travel documentary series presented by Philip Rosenthal. Each episode follows Rosenthal touring the cuisine of the episode’s featured city, and spotlights charities and non-profit organizations that operate in the region.
In this blog, I listed down some of the dishes I remember and recreate them at home.
Tteokbokki of Seoul
The “Seoul” episode once again unlocked my fangirling to Korean street food. The Tteokbokki Phil bought and ate at Maboklim Wonjo Halmeonijip Tteokbokki made me want to make this dish again. Tteokbokki is a simmered rice cake that is spicy, sweet and savory. Most commonly, you’ll find it being sold on the streets. It’s known for being a very affordable and filling snack.
Cà Phê Trứng of Saigon
The “Saigon” episode of introduced street beverages like Vietnamese Coffee. Did you know that there are three of them in Vietnam? One of them is the egg coffee, which sounds strange if you hear them for the first time. I was already familiar with Vietnamese Egg Coffee before but it was when I watched the episode on Netflix that I appreciate the creation of Vietnamese coffee.
Gatsby of Cape Town
Gatsby, a gigantic submarine sandwich that originated in South Africa. It’s a snack I learned from the “Cape Town” episode. Gatsby began when a food shop owner wanted to serve a quick but filling meal to his workers. He filled a large round loaf with every food he could put and made sure that he could feed the workers with just one sandwich. Because of its huge size, one of the workers declared the sandwich a “Gatsby smash”, hence, the owner named it Gatsby.
Tepache of Oaxaca
I’m no drinker but since I’m an explorer, I wanted to recreate a drink I discovered in Somebody Feed Phil. The “Oaxaca” episode of the said food documentary introduced a Mexican fermented drink called Tepache. It is made pineapple rinds and sweetened with piloncillo or brown sugar. So, next time, we won’t be throwing away peelings of pineapple. We can turn them into an non-alcoholic drink.
Shakshouka of Tel Aviv
I first knew Shakshouka when I ordered the dish at an Arabic restaurant in our province called Calorgies. I got to learn more about it when I watched how it is made by the locals in the “Tel Aviv” episode. It is said that Shakshouka originated in North Africa after tomatoes were introduced to the region as part of Columbian exchange. It’s a dish of poached eggs in a sauce of tomatoes. It’s just as simple as that and, yet, people get addicted to it.
Singapore Sling of Singapore City
I was on the “Singapore” episode of Netflix’s Somebody Feed Phil and I discovered another attractive drink from this Southeast Asian city. The Singapore Sling is a gin-based cocktail developed by Ngiam Tong Boon, a barista at Long Bar in Raffles Hotel. By that time, it was socially unacceptable for women to drink alcohol in public so Ngiam made the cocktail look like fruit juice to enable women to drink it.
Lohikeitto of Helsinki
In the “Helsinki” episode, I discovered another gem that, I think, I should cook and eat at home. I found out that Finland and other Nordic countries have this amazing soup called Lohikeitto. It’s made with salmon chunks, carrots and potatoes. It’s guaranteed to warm the souls during the Finnish winter days. There may be no winter in my country but that isn’t stopping me from making this creamy and hearty soup.
Smørrebrød of Copenhagen
I already know that open-faced sandwiches really exist. But I saw the “Copenhagen” episode and discovered that Denmark make fancy open-faced sandwiches by combining cold cuts, cheese or spread and garnishes and name them Smørrebrød. Basically, the selections for toppings are endless for Smørrebrød. That’s why I was able to make ten varieties like herring and avocado hummus.
Crostini of Venice
When there’s an open-faced sandwich with buttered rye bread as a base, there’s also an one that uses toasted baguettes as base. You’ll find this, of course, in the land of Bruschetta. However, the “Venice” episode taught us that a Crostini doesn’t have to have tomatoes as toppings all the time. You can have everything in the world like Pesto Feta.
Egg Cream of New York City
One American drink that will make us, Asian people, have questioning eyes is Egg Cream. Despite of the name, it contains neither an egg nor a cream. It’s a drink that mixes chocolate syrup, milk and soda water, which is kinda similar to ice cream float. Sadly, the drink is now going to the memory lane. It’s good that I still learned about Egg Cream through the “New York City” episode of Somebody Feed Phil.
Falafel of Tel Aviv
Usually, croquettes are made of mashed potatoes. But in Mediterranean cuisine, these deep-fried balls are made of chickpeas. In fact, this street food, called Falafel, takes a special place in Israeli cuisine as it is considered to be Israel’s national dish. It’s an ultimate street food in Israel as you can find it in every street corner. It’s such a shame that I only got to learn Falafel recently when I watched the “Tel Aviv” episode of Somebody Feed Phil.
Boxty of Dublin
The “Dublin” episode showed me how popular potato fritters or potato pancakes are, not just in Dublin, but in the whole country of Ireland. It’s their way of utilizing leftover mashed potato and grated raw potato. It is pan-fried until golden and crispy on the outside. They are locally called Boxty. An old Irish rhyme actually says, “Boxty on the griddle; boxty on the pan. If you can’t make boxty, you’ll never get a man!”
Cod Cake of Lisbon
Bolinhos de bacalhau is a Portuguese dish that is commonly referred to as cod cake or cod fritters. I discovered cod cakes in the “Lisbon” episode of Somebody Feed Phil. I actually have no plans of recreating this dish because this kind of fish is unusual in my country. But, coincidentally, after watching Somebody Feed Phil, I saw packs of frozen cod fishes in SNR like as if they’re telling me to cook this Portuguese delight. And here I am, telling you how to make one!
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