Day after Christmas: Lumpia Queen Abi Marquez has tips on what to do with our leftovers

Let's admit it: Every Christmas, we cook up a storm and prepare quite the feast. So much so that every Christmas, we have a ton of take-home and leftovers.  

Now the question arises: What do we do with them? Throwing perfectly edible food is out of the question, what with so many people hungry, and food waste contributing to climate change.  

Enter Filipina food content creator Abi Marquez. The TikTok star tells GMA News Online she is the main woman in their family kitchen during the Holidays, which means she not only prepares their handaan, it's also up to her what they do with left overs.

Below she shared some food hacks. 

Share with others

Take a move out of the Christmas playbook and share those leftovers, instead of throwing them away. 

“If you have any leftovers, let's say spaghetti, what's stopping you from sharing it with your neighbors, relatives, or other loved ones?" The Lumpia Queen said.

“That way, matitikman din nila ang masarap mong luto!” she added.

Besides, food waste accounts for about 1/6 of of the annual global greenhouse gas emissions from food. When left to decompose in landfills, it produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas that in a 20-year-period becomes "80 times more potent at warming than carbon dioxide," the UNDP said.

So prepare those reusable plastic containers — or better yet, ask your guests to bring their own, so that you all can share your left overs and relish the goodness of Christmas for longer.

Reheat

Filipinos are big fans of the pangat practice, especially when there are too many leftover dishes.

In formal dialogue, pangat is a leftover food that has been reheated multiple times for eating.

According to the multi-awarded content creator, pangat practice is acceptable, as long as it’s done correctly.

Abi emphasized that pangat applies to dishes that haven't been left out at room temperature for too long, haven't been contaminated, and aren't easily perishable, like fruits, dairy, or slightly acidic foods such as spaghetti or dishes with tomato sauce.

“Basta okay pa, go lang! I think this is a good way to reduce waste by consuming leftovers,” she added.

While pangat practice has long been acceptable in Filipino food culture, Abi reminded that it may still pose a risk to one’s health.

“When in doubt, throw it out. For me, it's better not to regret wasting food than to regret the hospital bills from food poisoning,” she said. What's one way to avoid panis na ulam? For pasta, consider...

Segregate and separate

Pasta is among the mainstays of every Noche Buena table. Because it's easy to prep and it pleases most everybody, we almost always end up with too much pasta. So what do we do. 

According to Abi, the key to maintaining the pasta’s freshness is serve it deconstructed, as in the noodles, sauce, and what ever little trimmings you have separated. 

"If you have spaghetti, a tip for getting the full flavor is to separate the sauce and the noodles,” she said.

This way, you can also store them separately as leftovers and we avoid having panis na spaghetti all too soon.  

When serving pasta as leftover, Abi suggests to dip the noodles briefly in hot water before mixing with the reheated sauce.

Store properly and choose correct reheating methods

Proper storage is not limited to pasta. Put dishes in airtight containers, freeze them, and when the time for leftovers come, defrost and reheat. Now this is where it gets confusing for some.

While the microwave is easily your best friend when it comes to reheating, it just won't do for fried dishes. "It's an option, but they won't be as crispy," Abi said. Consider instead to use an air fryer, or an ordinary frying pan if you don't have that favorite pandemic kitchen implement. 

"[Fried dishes are] always more appetizing if they're crispy, di ba?" She continued.

Get creative

Reheating is all and well but where's the fun in that? 

Abi suggests to try and make something new from leftovers. Leftover ham can be transformed into a sandwich by frying. Dicing it meanwhile means you have a new-old topping for salad or for pizza. You can even create the fried rice of your dreams. 

Leftover bread? Make pudding! Tired of paksiw from lechon? Turn it into sisig or sinigang. Roast beef? That's another sandwich right there.

The fruits? turn into smoothies. Anything else? Do something as Abi commonly does—make lumpia!

There are many creative ways to lengthen your Noche Buena’s life and keep it fresh during the holidays, so feel free to do it in your own way. 

Now that you have these helpful tips, there’s no harm in trying these food hacks for a merrier Christmas for you and your loved one!

— LA, GMA Integrated News