Common Summer Fruits In Ilocos

Ilocos becomes a fruit basket to many endemic and common summer fruits. There are some exotic like the sour fruit allagat and some favorite like sarguelas.

The basket is colorful from the different fruit colors like purple, yellow, red, green, black to orange. Each of the feuit got distinctive taste from sweet, sour and tastless.

And because its some, here are some of the most common fruits that can be found in Ilocos. This fruits are all over the place. Some are being sold in the market though many are just rotting in the branch of the tree.

Kaimito

The tree come only fruits during summer. The round shape fruit become shiny when ripe. During the early stage the feuit is green but when gets ripen it turns to purple, though some remain gree.

It is sweet and juicy. Mostly eaten as it is but some prefer adding some milk. Some want it in blender. It has few seeds in the fruit that can be easily remove. The abundance of the fruit come only during summer that most are wasted under its tree.


Kamantiris/Kamatsili

Some variants call it damortis and in English they call it monkeypod. The ripen fruit pulp varies to white and light red though the skin turns to red from green. Commonly found along river sides but thriving in dry lands. The tree is a kind of big one and the branches have small thorns.

The fruit is a kind of pod. Many of its variants got a harsh taste of fruit even when pinky ripe. But there are varieties that are so sweet and tasty. This is also the kind of kamatsili that birds love to eat. Just like other tree it bear fruit once a year only.

Star Apple Mango

The popular carabao or native mango in the Philippines is the most popular one because of the very nice taste of the fruit.

There is one kind of mango that considered to be best to consume when unripen and just disregarded when fully ripen. This is the star apple mango. The unripen one especially during early stage is slice thinly and dip in bagguong or aramang and the sour taste is just so lovely to mouth. When ripen the skin turn pink and just rotten under the tree.

Chiko

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Also known as sapodilla was introduced in the Philippines through Spanish colonization. Though it said bears fruit twice a year but its the summer  it bear more of this round and brown fruit. Inside the ripen fruit is brown to yellowish. Birds love the fruit. Not all people gonna love the taste that is like sweetened liquor or wine. And during summer, the fruits are all over the area.

Sugarcane Juice, For Sale

Beat the heat of summer season with sugarcane juice-- organic, natural and healthy, no preservatives, no added sugar and other flavoring, only the pure extracted juice from the cane.

The 'in' juice now are commonly found in the streets, trade fair and exhibits and even the malls.

Because its so easy to prepare all you need are sugarcane, extractor and the plastic cups or glass. The vendor would just run down the canes to the juice extractor and get the juice. Well some guys adding some ice cubes to chill it.

Ten pesos per cup.

So many juices in the streets now: buko (coconut), mango, and the flavored palamig but lets try the sugarcane juice. Anyway its packed with the vitamins and minerals direct from fresh sugarcane extract.

And it taste sweet.

Best Way To Cook Small Clams Known As Unnok

Unnok soup

What is unnok? It is a kind of edible small clam commonly found in the shallow and sandy part of the freshwater river or in saline part of the beach where the freshwater and saltwater meets. Ilocano call it unnok.

The color of the shells are usually dark with the combination of brown, black, a little bit of yellow and orange. The flesh inside is white. The sizes are more or less half inch and no more than inch in size.

Fishermen and villagers along the shoreline usually gather this kind of shell (including the so called luslusli) through hands. They dig the sands with hands and gather them at around 2 to 5 inches deep.

HOW TO COOK?

Of course there are many ways to enjoy the clams like salad, soup, grill and even making them as salted condiments.

Our best way of cooking is very elementary, so simple anyone can do it.

Of course this after you wash the shells. Put them in a bowl.

In a pan just boil water. Add ginger  desired amount of salt, season it with seasonings, add sliced onions and tomatoes and wait until it boil. You may add some vegetable leaves like pechay.

When it is already boiling, take off from the stove and put the soup in the shells.

The shells will voluntarily open its shell for easy eating.

Enjoy the taste of unnok.

Crispy Fried Okra

Not the usual snack for your merienda time.

Tired of the usual banana cue, pizza, pansit, hamburger and chichiria for your snack? Try veggie snack, try very crunchy okra or lady finger for your merienda.

Its crispy that it cracks like potato chips in your mouth, its tasty like your French fries and its healthy and nutritious because its vegetable.

Its okra, only with the twist. The same green color and the same taste. But when you bite, its like the chips or chicharon.

Its crispy and fried. But its not just frying. The process called vacuum frying is making the okra crispy without the oil. Only the frying that retains the texture, color and taste. And it can also be good to other rootcrops, fruits and peels and vegetable.

So, the next you need the break of snack, try the crispy okra, I'm sure you will love it. Do not change the habit to snack, just change to healthier and tastier food you eat. Go for healthier and veggie food.

I'm sure anyone will love this.

Dinakdakan

Dinakdakan is an Ilocano food usually tender meat that was initially run in fireto ooze the oil and then slice in thin part and added with the very important ingredient... the brain.

It's not any part of the pork's meat, it should be from the neck to head. Cleaned thoroughly, half-cooked and the partly run to the fire or charcoal.

When in desired size it will put in bowl and just added with desired season to taste, a little bit of salt, pepper to make it spicy, vinegar to suite the taste and lastly the most important ingredient (but optional) the brain of the pork.

Its common the dish is served during special occasions of Ilocano like birthday, weddings christening and special days like fiesta, Christmas, new year among others.

Actually, dinakdakan should only be for pulutan, its the good partner for beer and gin but as ilocano love the dish it is now being serve at special gatherings.

Though the mashed brain is optional but is is one that define the dinakdakan. Vinegar and salt alone can make the dish. But when that special ingredient is added it become extraordinary.

Sea Urchin Festival Of Ilocos

In the coastal town of Santiago Ilocos Sur they started the festival for sea urchin. They call it "maritangtang festival".

The ricci de mare of Ilocos is gaining popularity and market.  Well people just believe its a good aphrodisiac.  Of course its the unique taste of yellow to orange roe that really captivated them.

The celebration includes the contest among fishermen from 6 coastal barangays of the town. The contests are biggest sea urchin and the heaviest which got 5 grams this year.

Then there's the cooking contest that brought local recipes among the fishermen. Well, the very common steaming and eating as roe are the very popular thing for them. Cooking is unusual.

But they come up with good dishes that includes Lumpia with Maritangtang that won the grand prize.

The Maritangtang With Paria (ampalaya) got the second prize and many of the judges appreciated the dish because of combining the roe and bittergourd leaves.

Other dishes are "maritangtang soup" and "sea urchin con cardis".

The festival was initiated by board member Gina Cordero and town Mayor Josefino Miranda. Sponsored by provincial government through Governor Ryan Singson.

The provincial government lauded the festival as it wants to establish seafoods centre in the province. 

Healthier Noodles With Vegetable Twist

miki

            Have you ever heard of “mikilungay” and “mikikalabasa” and “mikiampalaya”?

            In Cabugao, Ilocos Sur, Nemia  Sinabal is making not just a twist of noodles but it is making healthier and nutritional. Well, it’s simply adding the nutrition of vegetables like malunggay (moringga) and the kalabasa (squash) and ampalaya (bitter gourd) in her noodles through her Nimia’s Miki.

            No preservatives. Healthier packed with the nutrition value coming from these vegetables. This is not a noodles, its super-noodles.