inasar a kakalkalap a tilapia

Inasar is tinuno, that's grilled or broiled over hot coals. And yeah, right, these are tilapia fish just caught using a tabukol (fish net) from a pond..... .... cleaned, and skewered at once and put on over eager embers. And the result is this, inasar a tilapia served on a banana leaf covered make-shift table, with nakalamansian a bugguong (bugguong squeezed up with calamansi) for a dip, and of course, steaming steamed...

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haldinat

Sardinas. Canned sardines. Goes so well with almost every vegetable you can think of, and many more. Good with green papayas, chayote, gourds (kabatiti, tabungaw, tangkoy), banana blossoms (sabunganay or susop), young jackfruit/breadfruit (langka or anangka, rimas, pakak), boiled beans (balatong, utong, kardis [pusi]), even with green leafy veggies like spinach, camote, kangkong, petchay, and the like. And aba (taro) and pikaw (wild...

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dinengdeng a bunga ti singkamas a naalseman iti palali/jicama fruit soured with catmon fruit

Throwback from 2013, here’s bunga ti singkamas (jicama fruit or pod) again, after my singkamas buridibod, now, we’ll have dinengdeng a singkamas a naalseman iti palali, soured with palali fruit (also called catmon in Tagalog and Visayas regions). I prefer to sour singkamas pods, usually with young tamarind fruit. But this time, I’ll try it with the equally sour palali, since I can’t find any juvenile salamagi fruit around: Cleaned,...

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ipon, once more

This is ipon, tiny fish, but this is actually the fries of the goby fish, or in some instance, that of the anchovy fish. Some non-Ilokano folks mistake it as hipon or small shrimps (aramang, alamang in Tagalog), due to mispronunciation or the way it sounded to them. It is also called dulong in some Ilocos places (not the big and rare, and as a result, expensive, ludong). Ipon for some is considered an Ilokano "exotic" food or a kind of delicacy...

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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,...

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brunch idiay santa teresita

Brunch? That’s breakfast and lunch, coined/rolled into one. Usually, that’s when you eat at 9AM-10AM. But it’s actually an early lunch. Or a late breakfast? Take your option. But this one thing we partook in Palagao, Santa Teresita, Cagayan is a legit “brunch” because we did it at about 9AM. And it’s a heavy one. Coffee, plain white rice, eggs, and there it is–naalseman a kapiged! And that brandy (I poured some on my black coffee (not shown) and...

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pinabelllad a balatong

Pinabellad or pinablad, boiled, or literally, enlarged. One time, n a rather cloudy day with bits of rainshower, as in cold day, quite unusual on the onset of summer but a perfect day to boil some balatong because pinablad a balatong is usually a great appetizer on rainy or cold days. This is just plain pinabellad a balatong sauteed in little cooking oil and garlic and onions, and then topped with some greens, marunggay and uggot ti kabatiti: The...

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