South China Morning Post
Alan Robles in Manila
Sep 05, 2007

Mutiny adds a touch of spice to coup suspects' cookbook

A group of young military officers in jail for allegedly plotting a coup have cooked up a new scheme: a book of their favourite recipes.

The book, Pulutan: From The Soldier's Kitchen, refers to food that goes well with beer and liquor. Released last week, the cookbook lists dishes ranging from the traditional - pork, beef, chicken and seafood - to the exotic - field mice, beetles, rice bugs, frogs and woodworms. The authors rate the recipes - not with stars, but beer mugs.

"Our contributors have tried out the pulutan recipes in this book and stake their honour on them," declare the book's co-authors, navy ensigns Elmer Cruz and Emerson Rosales.

The two were among 300 soldiers and officers who in 2003 occupied the Oakwood Hotel in Manila's upmarket Makati district. Accusing the administration of corruption and calling themselves the "Magdalo" group after a historic revolutionary society, they declared their "withdrawal of support" from the government.

Although they had posted snipers on the roofs and wired the hotel's entrance with explosives, the Magdalos surrendered after a bloodless 19-hour siege.

The authors, along with 52 other officers, have been in military prison since, awaiting the final resolution of their mutiny cases. The pair decided to spend the time sharpening their culinary skills. As they put it in their foreword, "men who have a lot of time in their hands are in a better position to come up with better-tasting pulutan ... take our word for it". To alleviate the tedium of the court hearings, they spent the time swapping recipes with the other accused soldiers.

One Magdalo officer then came up with the idea of compiling the recipes into a book. He approached journalist Ellen Tordesillas, who helped the writers find a publisher and co-edited the book. "I met them while I was covering their court martial hearings", Tordesillas said.

She suggested the writers spice up the cookbook, which the authors originally wanted to title Drunkard's Delight, with anecdotes about their detention. The accused soldiers handed her their manuscript in the form of notes during the hearings.

Asked if the prison guards objected to the project, Tordesillas said one guard had shared his recipe for steamed stingray.

The Magdalo cookbook reflects the various places in the Philippines to which the soldiers have been assigned.

Most of the pulutan take a few minutes to cook, and many are spicy and peppery. One dish rated five beer mugs is crispy camaro - rice insects stir fried with garlic and onions, then topped with a dash of soy sauce and sliced tomatoes.

The book was launched without fanfare last week. The authors could not make it to any signing. They were both in jail.