langka/jackfruit and pallang/winged bean dinengdeng

Langka (or anangka; jackfruit) is one of my favorite fruits, not just when it's ripe but most especially when the fruit is yet young and tender which is usually used/prepared as a "vegetable." Young jackfruit as a vegetable is not exclusively Ilokano as it is prepared and cooked in a variety of ways in the Philippines. Bicolanos love to cook it in coconut milk and chilis just like Bicol Express. In the Visayas, it is boiled with pork hocks or knuckles...

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marunggay salad express

The leaves of the marunggay (moringa oleifera) or marunggi, as Ilokanos fondly call it, can be prepared in a variety of ways. Foremost, it is a basic, even vital, ingredient in the inabraw or dinengdeng potpourri of veggie leafy greens, shoots and tops and pods and fruits. Or, as a solo marunggi broth perfect for a nutritious igup or labay. I love it also as a leafy topping in my instant pancit mami. It is also inevitable as a leafy mix in sauteed...

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parda salad

Parda (dolichos lablab; bataw in Tagalog) is unmistakably GI--genuinely Ilokano veggie prominent in Ilocos cuisine, at least, and but specially among simple Ilokano dishes and viands of the almost vegan kind. Parda is versatile in that the young pods of it can go with your usual dinengdeng of green leafy veggies. Its young and/or not so mature beans is also edible and it is as palatable and as promising as patani (lima beans), kardis or pusi, utong,...

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dinengdeng, glorious dinengdeng!

Dinengdeng (also inabraw [although inabraw is more often referred to on veggie leaves, as in inabraw a saluyot or inabraw a marunggi, etc.]; vegetable, fruit and/or leaves boiled/stewed in/with bugguong) is a staple in every Ilokano home or community (be it in his house or in any dining place like in a summer picnic by the river, in a lunch in a pakarso (cogon shade) in the rice fields or farmland,or in a big, festive occasion). It might be the...

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katuday blossoms salad

Katuday (sesbania grandiflora) tree, along with the marunggay tree, and even the alukon tree, is often planted along roadsides in most Ilocos provinces and in front/backyards of Ilokano houses. You know you are in Ilocos or in an ilokano neighborhood if you see one, or a combination, or all, of these staple Ilokano "fixtures:" marunggay tree, katuday tree, alukon tree. If not planted right on the ground, you can sometimes notice "miniaturized" or...

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grilled/tinuno a sili/young chili

What I love about sili, the local chili or green young peppers, besides being made into a dry pakbet (pinakbet a sili, green chilis stewed dry in vinegar, bugguong, garlic and ginger) or as an ingredient in pinakbet or sinigang, is simply grilled, or broiled/roasted as you may prefer to call/term it. Freshly picked green peppers, that's perfect for grilling. So one time, when my potted peppers are again promising some bountiful harvest, I picked...

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sautéed buos/abuos (red/weaver ants) eggs

'Twas abuos (or buos, red/weaver ants) egg-harvesting season when I happened to see this bounty in the public market: For all I know, harvesting this egg in abundance is seasonal as you can't expect any of it in the market all year round. A rarity that's one reason of its being a delicacy and being branded as an "exotica" in Ilokano cuisine. Although, of course, eating ants and insects is not exclusive to Ilokanos and other Pinoys but most of...

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sabidukong/pusapusa/dukep/bagbagkong/ampupuyat, edible wild vine flower

Sabidukong is a vine that grows wild in forested areas, it clings to and climbs tall shrubs and trees. It goes by various names depending on places. It is called sabidukong or sabsabidukong in Nueva Vizcaya, and in most areas in the Ilokandia. It is called dukep in San Fernando City (La Union), ampupuyat in Piddig (Ilocos Norte), pusapusa and/or patpatayok in Batac, bagbagkong in some other places, and even tirintintin in some areas. This edible...

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kilawen a bilis, raw sardine/herring

Bilis is the local sardine/herring fish (family clupeidae) which is usually consumed raw or cooked in vinegar. I like it raw or kilawen (kinilaw). Fresh bilis is prized for its sweetish flesh and oily texture (which is common in sardine and herring fishes). I came upon a fresh bilis catch from Aparri (Cagayan) town and immediately prepared some for kinilaw. Here's my video of the process: I removed head and guts and washed the fish well. You can...

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