saluyot a napakbet iti lubeg, lubeg-soured saluyot stew

Pinakbet a saluyot soured with lubeg fruit.

The ubiquitous saluyot, besides being a staple ingredient in a dinengdeng, is also preferred by pinakbet-crazy Ilokanos as a pinakbet a saluyot solo--pinakebbet as in stewed dry with bugguong juice and soured with either suka ti basi (sugarcane vinegar) or with any souring agents like green mango, pias, salamagi and others. Also called tinimtim (tinimtiman a saluyot), this saluyot dish is great with steamed rice or as an appetizer to go with fried fish or grilled meat and oily meat dishes like adobo.

I tried souring my pinakbet a saluyot with lubeg (Syzygium Lineatum), a very sour fruit similar to lomboy (duhat), a plum or a cherry the variety of which is said to be indigenous in Cagayan especially in the town of Lallo (Lal-lo) where it was even processed/made into a wine, Lubeg Wine.

Lubeg fruit.

When I cook tinimtiman a saluyot, I want it dry or with only a hint of thickened broth. It can last for days or even weeks if you put it in a refrigerator, like all true pinakebbets, and its taste and texture, its saltiness is more enhanced and pronounced and it becomes more palatable as it lasts longer. Dry, and perfectly soured, that is. This time, I'll use lubeg fruit. I was lucky to have this fruit when I went to Lallo, but the truth is that I bought it from a roadside talipapa along the national highway in Nassiping in Gattaran town.

This is the first time that I cooked pinakbet a saluyot with lubeg. I did it with naata a mangga, pias, naata a salamagi, vinegar, even with perres (kalamansi, dalayap, lemon).

I put in some chopped onions, crushed garlic and ginger in a pot, the lubeg fruit, and the saluyot leaves. Then I poured in pure bugguong juice (I used bottled bugguong, sinegseg a bugguong with fermented fish in it would be great but it's not available at cooking time). I didn't add any water. The saluyot leaves' unrinsed water will be enough, I let just the bugguong to cook it dry.

Cook the saluyot slowly, decrease fire. You won't worry of overcooking it as while it cooks the longer, the souring agent will blend more, the saluyot will be just as tender because of its slippery properties. Just be careful not to burn your pinakbet when its liquid is diminishing. Put off fire when there's only little broth underneath, to act as a kind of "sauce" into the pinakbet.

Pinakbet a saluyot cooking, almost done. See the lubeg fruit fused beautifully with the saluyot? 

The sourness is great, the lubeg pickled the saluyot perfectly and it has considerable amount of sweet-and-sour goodness. 

That's it! I paired my lubeg-soured saluyot pinakbet with fried tilapia. Boy, was I so filled!

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Technology Has Made The World Fat

(from Tech Crunch)

by GREGORY FERENSTEIN

Dinengdeng nga uggot ken sabong ti kabatiti, uggot ti paria, nalaokan iti narnar (nagasagas a tukmem).

The world has paid for the luxury of Angry Birds with its health and looks: a new report finds a strong link between technological advancement and expanding waistlines. According to economic think tank, The Milken Institute, a country the size of America will add 4.2 million Spanx-wearing citizens for a 10% growth in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). “The main culprit is the knowledge-based society,” states the report, “more processed foods, a greater amount of ‘screen’ time (watching TV, using computers, playing video games, etc.), decreased energy expenditure, and/or higher consumption of snack foods have all played a role.”

Around the world, obesity rates have shot up higher than the population’s blood sugar. China’s has more than doubled (2.5 to 5.7) in 6 years; India’s has almost tripled (0.7 in 1998 to 1.9 in 2008). But, that doesn’t hold a bacon-flavored candle to American exceptionalism: the U.S. is the Burger King of global obesity at a whopping 33.8% of the population.

The economic and human toll is astronomical. 2.8 million adults die each year from Obesity and weight-related diseases. It accounted for $147 billion in medical costs (or 10% of total spending).

The impact of technological advancement, however, is an average effect. The slender French are only mildly affected by iPhones and Xbox’s because they eat much smaller portions (even though they eat a higher proportion of fats).

Over the past 15 years, consumption has been supersized by 150-250 calories a day, and 300 calories in the U.S. Calorie consumption was dramatically more predictive of obesity than information technology investment. Controlling for calories, exercise, and type of consumption (booze, fat, veggies), Milken estimates about a 1.4 percent increase in obesity for every 10 percent increase in the share of the economy invested in ICT.

Exercise as simple as walking can make a big difference in reducing obesity. But, why stop there? Be ambitious. Go for a six-pack and have your whole business join a CrossFit gym. Or, you can just always order the growing line of mainstream Spanx-wear from the comfort of your well-worn chair.

***

Avoid obesity, eat more vegetables the Ilokano way!

Dinengdeng a saluyot, uggot ken sabong ti kabatiti, nalaokan iti narnar ken gamet.

Ensalada nga uggot ti kamote.

Kinilaw a pako.

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pancit chronicles, episode 1: batil patung @ triangle's panciteria, tuguegarao city

Pancit batil patung a.k.a Pancit Tuguegarao (Triangle Panciteria version)

Pancit batil-patung is Tuguegarao City's most loved food and arguably Cagayan's most famous delicacy and the province's (and yes, Cagayan Ibanag's/Itawes') own noodle pride in the list of famed Philippine pancits (like pancit malabon, pancit habhab, pancit molo, pancit lucban, etc.). So much so that pancit batil patung is also called "Pancit Tuguegarao" or even "Pancit Cagayan" and "Pancit Ibanag" (although of course, the equally famous and sumptous Pancit Cabagan of Cabagan, Isabela is also an Ibanag pancit, for that matter).

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