inabraw nga alukon/alukon leaves stew

Alukon or alokon (allaeanthus glaber; also called bungon and baeg [in Pangasinan]) is more known for its flowers or flowerettes as a popular "mix" in some vegetable dishes, notably buridibod or in the simple dinengdeng, and in the quintessential pinakbet. But besides its more popular flower, the leaves of the alukon tree is also edible and is equally great for that perfect dinengdeng of leafy veggie medley, or as a solo inabraw nga alukon (I used...

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patani ken sabong-karabasa, lima beans and squash flowers stew

Yet another dinengdeng!  Yes, and this is a part of what would be a series of posts dedicated to the venerable Ilokano vegetable dish dinengdeng. And this time, it's a medley of my favorite dinengdeng goods: sabong ti karabasa (squash flower) and patani (lima bean, also called java and burma bean), and with the ever-crisp pallang (winged bean). The patani here is the white "flat bean" variety and not the rounded or "fragrant" ones. This...

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pokpoklo salad

Pokpoklo (also pukpuklo). A traditional Ilokano summer seaweed delicacy (pokpoklo is abundant during summers; also popular throughout the Philippines, and in Hawaii and Japan). Best as an appetizer. Preparing it as a salad is simple. Just wash, rinse, to get rid of any bit of dirt or sand clinging in the morsel-like weed. Then toss it with fresh tomato slices. No need to put salt as this is already salty courtesy of saltwater (seawater). You can...

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ballaiba/balleba, eel grass, tape grass, ribbon grass (Vallisneria) salad

There are some websites on and about the Ilokano (people) that feature the supposed traits and characteristics of a true, genuine Ilokano, ala-"You're a Filipino if....," and one goes that "maysaka a pudno nga Ilokano no nakasida wenno nakaramankan (wenno ammom ti maipapan)  iti ballaiba." You're a truly G.I. (genuine Ilokano) if you know ballaiba, especially if you've eaten it. But what the heck is this ballaiba (also balleba, ballayba)? First,...

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more squash dinengdeng

Here are some more dinengdeng a karabasa (squash/calabash) from past cooking escapades. I am re-posting these photographs from my old blog and certain web forums (that explains the watermarks). I want you to take note of the "buto-buto" (that's the stamen, that resembles something, hence, the obvious name) in the flowers which I don't take out in the muri process (read my previous post on dinengdeng a karabasa). I took these shots with the seemingly...

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bugguong, made in oman

(This was written and blogged when I was in the Sultanate of Oman, of which during my brief stay, I craved for bugguong (fermented fish/fish paste) like no other. In that particular place, Sohar City, where we used to stay, no bugguong was in sight. At that particular time. But nowadays, I was duly informed that a newly built big supermarket/mall has rows of bottled bugguong paste in its "Asian" section, to the relief of the many homesick Ilokanos...

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bitter is better: papait salad appetizer

The papait (mollugo oppositifolia) is popular among bitter-loving Ilokanos who has the distinct and rather unique taste preference for something bitter--the more bitter, the better, which translates to the Ilokano's fondness for the "native" paria (the "Ilocos" variety: round [or oblongish] and smallish) or for the more exotic wild bittermelons or balang a paria or paria ti bakir/bantay. And yes, to our love of the authentic Ilokano goat/cow/carabao...

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