Is it not great to be alive in these festive holidays? The aroma from the neighborhood barbecue greets you late in the morning. The kitchen still has that greasy feel to it from much frying, boiling and laughter from your aunts. The sky is of sweet buttered cream. Everywhere you look reminds you of food.

Mom would be in a state of extreme agitation if there's no round-shaped ingredient in the New Year's meal. So she would ask me to go to the Nabua camarin to buy "tinuktok" -- an exotic meal made of catfish and a ton of affordable ingredients. This "tinuktok na ito" is a tasty soup that builds up as soon as you try the catfishball. Catfish is a tasty treat because of its exotic and distinct taste. Mix it up with flour and minced coconut then you will never weep again for things forever lost. Hehehehe.

INGREDIENTS (small serving)
For the catfishball
- 1/4 kg of catfish meat (boil the catfish and shred off its meat)
- 1/2 kg of young grated coconut (Tagalog, buko; Nabua, lukadon). You still need to grind this grated coconut to pulverize it to smaller granules.
- 6 cups of flour
- enough white pepper
- salt to taste
- 1/2 cup onion
- 5 cloves of garlic, minced
- enough fresh parsley
- enough dried oregano
- 2 eggs

For the soup
- kakang gata (coconut milk) from one coconut
- 2 grams of ginger
- a knot of lemongrass
- 1/4 cup leeks
- 1/4 cup onions
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- enough black pepper

PROCEDURE
1. Mix all catfishball ingredients to make it like a dough.

2. Make small fishballs about a circumference of a one-peso coin. Then set aside.

3. Mix all ingredients of the soup base in a big pot.

4. Put on oven to boil.

5. On the first boil drop the fishballs one at a time. Then let it boil for 15-20 minutes.

You will notice that the balls will become a little buoyant. Anyway, to be sure, wait for 20 minutes and serve while hot.

TIP: To make your soup a little tastier, try dropping the head of the catfish in the soup before it boils.

There you go. Set your New Year's table with the Hot Ginger Tea (http://expertscolumn.com/content/hot-ginger-tea-salabat-flour-balls-new-...), few rounded fruits, salted eggs, Dunkin' Donut munchies, the reliable pansit bihon and a good heart to thank God, then you have a traditional New Year's feast.

Happy New Year!