by Edcer Escudero
WITH credulity and unrestrained amusement rather than alarm, one cannot help but notice the proliferation of small fried chicken outlets or eateries all over the city.
Surreptitiously, they sprouted like wild mushrooms in a little over a year’s time. You can see them along the city’s main thoroughfares and even minor streets, some just a few feet or meters from the sidewalks. Undoubtedly, their ubiquitous presence mirrors the Pinoy gaya-gaya mentality – when one business venture proves successful, others quickly follow.
It’s quite easy to set-up these outlets. All that are needed are gas stove, kitchenware, a few tables and chairs evenly spaced in an open space and presto!, you are in business and ready to welcome two-legged hungry detergents with a keen eye for reasonably priced value meal.
Some outlets are simple L-shaped counters where customers sit on wooden or steel stools. And without much come-on gimmickry, customers appear out of nowhere at lunchtime.
Now, what’s the secret of success? The price, of course. A piece of crispy, golden brown fried chicken, a cup of warm rice, a cup of hot soup plus a spoonful of catsup easily command 25-30 pesos. If one is a naturally light eater, this meal package can keep sustain one till the 3-oclock afternoon break.
Fried chicken regular customers are students with meager food allowances as well as office workers who have AIDS (Acute Income Deficiency Syndrome).
Interestingly, all the fried chicken in these outlets are virtually of the same size and taste. On the whole, however, they taste really good, are crispy, fresh and well-done.
By the way, some outlets are obviously poor copycats of the vastly popular American KFC food chain. There is a CFC, a JFC and an RFC. One outlet calls itself Tsunami Chicken. Other signs simply say Chicken Corner.
Speaking further of fried chicken, let me share with you its origin as told tome by a good friend, Roger Penaloza, who once was into the food business. He is a retired businessman, a former Rotarian and Kiwanian who had a taste of the good life during the 70s, 80s and 90s.
Roger’s version of the origin of fried chicken takes us back to the days of the black slaves in America in the 18th century and earlier when only the slaves ate chicken which their masters call “slave’s meat”. (Incidentally, chicken was discovered in India about 2000 B.C.)
The slaves cooked the chicken the primitive way – heating it over a burning fire. But tired of eating roasted chicken day in and day out, they devised a new way of cooking by chopping the chicken into small pieces, mixed these with herbs, spices, salt before being deep fried it. The result was a crispy, tasty and aromatic chicken dish.
Eventually, the new dish became a familiar item on the white man’s dining table. And the “slave’s meat” had become the master’s delight.
Going back to Roger. He’s now a key member of an exclusive group that calls itself Four Kings made up of senior citizens past 70. Each claims to be king in his line of expertise justified by decades of experience and unique talent. He is the culinary king. A Bicolano, he can prepare Bicol Express faster than you can say bon apetit.
The second king, Joe Pasumbal, for years supervised dangerous underground activities retiring as mining superintendent of a major mining corporation.
The third king is an authority on leadership training and youth character development who retired as the top honcho of the Boy Scouts movement in 2000. He is the training king – Charlie Escudero.
The fourth king is tagged communications guru having been a print and broadcast mediaman since the Sixties. He did ghost speech-writing for politicians and civic leaders for over 10 years. He writes this corner.
