The blossoming of foodporn

One of the stars in the universe of Ilocano vegetables. Perfect for a sour type of dinengdeng. Remove the sticky stamen (which resembles matchsticks) and soak a handful in salt and water while preparing to prevent oxidation. Put a tablespoon or two of bagoong Pangasinan in two cups of boiling water, simmer for a few minutes then strain. Heat back the bagoong broth, add a pack of tamarind powder or sinigang sa sampalok mix or dried kamias (bilimbi). Rinse the banana blossoms plus a handful of saluyot leaves and plunk into the broth until cooked but firm.

Recipe: Vegetable Soup

I almost named this dish Sopa de Jowa because the quantity is meant for two people.

An alternative take on the sopas we came to love during stormy days. Cheese (especially the generic grocery Cheddar), once melted into the soup, makes up the white liquid that is the main characteristic of sopas. Thyme and bay leaf push the tang up one level. Be liberal on the choice of vegetables you add (no, not saluyot please), or the pasta to include. Substitute shallots, onions or any other aromatics for leeks if you can’t find any. Add chopped sausages, ham or chicken breast to feed your better Omnivore, and double up the recipe for a group of four.

Recipe: Squid Salad

The wife and I are big fans of seafood, and would not gripe about its high price in our landlocked abode. Our coastal birthright would probably explain it. This salad is an adaptation of the sauteed kurita caught fresh from the South China Sea, from a bag of octopus waybilled to my in-laws’ house.

PS. You can add siling labuyo to heat things up.

Sisters act

Night trip back again to Manila and I was sleepwalking to The Sisters outlet when our bus made a stopover at Bantay, Ilocos Sur for the quintessential Ilocano pasalubong, Royal Bibingka.

The Sisters, if there is ever a provincial equivalent, is Ilocos’ Superbrand, alongside Vigan-based Mom’s. Don’t mistake it for a religious order though, like I did a few years back. They once offered Royal Bibingka as one big pie which made for a herculean feat just to slice through its gooey diameters.

Unlike the bibingka we Tagalog imperialists came to know, Royal Bibingka is made of bellaay, a glutinous rice powder sourced farther north in Cagayan and Abra. A box of 16 small cakes (they look like Portuguese doces) cost 90 pesos. I had to restrain my low EQ from opening the warm boxes on my lap. Its cheesy aroma pierced through the stale air and tamed the harsh, tobacco landscape we have passed for hours. The rice cake is so sticky, you could use it to hold the universe together.

Enough of the histrionics. I ate four.

Recipe: Spinach and tofu soup

And you thought all I would post is about Ilocano food.

Not for the queasy ones, this soup. If you are keen on building protein, like I was a year ago, everything must be tofu or tuna or soya and this soup should be perfect. The tofu’s texture may put off the average tongue–like Chinese green tea this probably is aquired taste. I wonder what would happen if I deep-fried tofu first before plunging it in soy water?

Off to Vigan tonight anyhow.

Huli Ka!

If it is endangered, contaminated, naturally toxic or was procured from dubious sources, there’s a chance that the food is illegal. Beef from mad cow disease-infected countries for instance. We were able to receive some contraband steeped in sukang Iloko and ginger. Mayubyub, which are Samaral (Siganidus) fingerlings, have been banned on Ilocano tables. My hypothesis is that these are stock of the collateral damage during dynamite fishing.

Is there any illegal food in your place?

Recipe: Pinakbet

The real, or to quote Laguna’s buko pie producers, d’original pinakbet is not a saute aromatics then fish paste then vegetables procedure, which is the typical pakbet sold in Manila canteens.

The root of the word is pakbet, or wilt, which is what the vegetables should look like when cooked. Make sure that farm-fresh vegetables are used for a sweet pinakbet that even ampalaya’s bitterness is tempered. Otherwise, its taste can be as harsh as the Ilocos sand dunes.