pannakipunsion idiay ballesteros

On a 2013 pannakipunsion (going to an occasion, or foodie trip for that matter), this time the christening of the daughter of a writer-friend, in Ballesteros, Cagayan, we were feted with the usual local community handaan or sagana, and here’s you’ll find some unusually delicious dishes meant for special occasions, that teased our eager palates. You can see here the traditional pork igado, dinardaraan and adobo; there’s a native chicken adobo, too; and the inevitable pancit bihon. And some more:

Here are some real appetizer—coconut heart/bud (ubog ti niog) cooked in coconut milk and spiced with chili and raw onions and adorned with bits of fried pork intestines/tripe; and the obligatory beef kappukan, of course:

And yes, there’s a veggie, this a dinengdeng, not pinakbet, actually sautéed dinengdeng, of squash fruit and flowers, tarong, sili, okra, with fried pork meat and fat:

The ubog ti niog is the favorite:

And there’s the specialty of the Ilokano writer-poet Jobert Pacnis (father of the christened girl)—ginettaan or sinursuran a bulong ti ariwat (ariwat leaves cooked in coconut milk; ariwat [Tetrastigma harmandii Planch.], ayo in Tagalog, is vine with edible sweet, sour fruit), a sweet and really sour dish to get rid of your suya from all those fatty and meaty pork dishes:

:::::

Read More

nadigo a dinardaraan a kamanokan, "native" chicken blood stew/soup

[Warning: Images of chicken giblet/entrails and blood may be disturbing and/or unsavory to some. Please view with discretion.]

We were done with the adobo and the lauya, and here with the specially set aside ingredients from the kamanokan we butchered, we're going to cook another authentic and unique Ilokano dish made out of a kamanokan: dinardaraan!

A chicken dinardaraan is not a common dish in that mostly, a chicken is usually intended to be cooked into a tinola or lauya, adobo, grilled/barbecued, or with curry or coconut milk. And for Ilokanos, the chicken blood is a delicious add-on in a lauya, coagulated with glutinous rice, it enhances the flavor of the broth. And the more usual way to prepare a chicken dinardaraan (also called sapsapuriket) is to cook it dry, not soupy, with lots of chili and garlic and black peppers, hot and spicy, intended as a special pulotan.

But here, I am about to cook a nadigo (soupy) a dinadaraan, simply because I just want to enjoy its savory soup, and so that I have a plenty of dinardaraan to enjoy (a dry dinardaraan with  the giblet of only one chicken is just a handful but having it as a soup is filling enough).

Nadigo a dinardaraan a kamanokan.

This is chicken giblet I prepared for the dinardaraan: batikuleng (gizzard), dalem (liver), puso (heart), bara (lungs), some silet or bagis (intestines). I also included the chicken's ukel-ukel (testicles, this is a kawitan, a rooster) to add more "nanam" to the dish:

And of course, the dara (blood). I added a little vinegar into it to prevent coagulation and for an added bit of sourness later into the dinardaraan:

Cut the giblet into small pieces; set aside the apro and the ukel-ukel. Prepare the laya, lasona and bawang:

And here, it's ready...

Sauté the bawang, lasona and the laya until brown/caramelized:

Add the cut chicken giblet and stir fry it quickly in high heat. Add salt or patis (or bugguong if you prefer) to taste (and optionally, umami or those ginisa flavoring mixes). Add cracked black peppers, too, of course:

Don't overcook the chicken, taste it to see if it's partially done. Pour in the blood at this juncture:

Stir fry it and mix the blood evenly:

Add some water and simmer. Add some little vinegar if you prefer a sour soup. In this particular dinardaraan, it's somewhat sour because of the vinegar I added into the blood to prevent coagulation:

And it's done. And oh, by the way, I added sili nga aruy-oy (capsicum annuum, siling haba, finger chili) to make this dinardaraan a traditional one with sili:

The soup is so delicious, specially so when I mashed the boiled chicken testicles into the broth it resembled the tasty and sensuous "soup no. 5" (bull's penis and testicle soup):

Spice it more with chili powder or cayenne pepper or with chili fermented in vinegar for that amazing kick!

:::::

More about kamanokan:

• panangisagana iti mailuto a kamanokan, native chicken preparation
• lauya/tinola a kamanokan 
• "native" chicken adobo
• pinapaitan a kamanokan, "native" chicken bitter soup

Read More