Tinungbo, Cooking Rice In Bamboo

Tinungbo is an early Ilocano way of cooking rice. There could never be any race or tribe to cook rice like this but this traditional way of cooking have been here particularly to the race living in the northern part of the Philippines. Well, of course, when it comes to survival, you may have experienced cooking rice the way we cook it.

Tinungbo is simply cooking the rice using the bamboo. That's it, no more than that. No secret ingredients and no special way of cooking the rice. Just like you are not just using the rice cooker or the pan to cook the rice. There is bamboo variety called 'bolo' that best suit to cook the rice grains. The bolo bambo have thinner skin which help the rice to cook faster.

Secret Of Ilocano Pinakbet

Think of vegetable and the best vegetable dish to come to the mind of Filipino is pinakbet. This culinary tradition has been part of everyday living of early Filipino table.  Pinakbet is a Filipino food so famous in the Philippines.

Ilocano own and distinct taste comes in two things: first, using the bagguong (fish sauce) instead of salt; second is using the bagnet (deep-fried pork meat) instead of just meat. Bagguong is not a surprise ingredient for Ilocano pinakbet because almost all their dishes required this as tastier.

Ingredients: common locally grown vegetable is a must and that include eggplant, okra, string beans, squash, bagguong, bagnet, ginger, onions, garlic, tomato and 1 cup of water.

Preparations:  Fry the garlic, onions and garlic.  Add the vegetables mixing together.  Add water and then the bagnet.  Put some salt and seasoning and tomato then bring into boil.  Serve while it is hot.

Though bagnet is highly recommended for the distinctive taste of the meat but because its availability in every day is only in Ilocandia, you may opt to use chicharon-bulaklak (pork cracklings) as substitute. But if it’s still not possible you can use the stereotype pork meat. Or better yet, use lechon as meat part of your pinakbet—just don’t include the sauce.

Enjoy.

Ramanam.

How To Make The Best Kilawen

Ilocano food, Kilawen

Kilawen is an Ilocano favourite recipe served from a raw/half cooked meat of goat, cow, pork and fish. Usually it has lots of onions, onion leaves, pepper, ginger and other spices. The meat is cooked not by fire but through the acidity of organic vinegar or juice extract of citrus fruits like calamansi.

But speaking of kilawen, it’s most kin is goat’s milk.

How Okra Can Help Against Diabetes?

What we eat is how healthy we are.

It's better to better to eat vegetable.

But do you like okra?

Okra is one of the not so popular vegetable in the Philippines. Not popular because kids and some adults just don’t like it because of its slippery juice or extract and the taste just so ordinary.  Okay, maybe this is one of many reasons why okra or lady finger vegetable or English term—is  seldom served in the table. 

However there are some dishes that okra is must, for instance, pinakbet (vegetable mixes). Pinakbet will not be complete without this elongated green veggie.   

Another popular dish is the grilled okra which is easy to do because, well, it’s grilling. One famous dish is the Okra Salad.

Now let’s talk how okra can help you with your diabetes.

Hmm, can it really help to cure the diabetes?  Well, not everybody know this fact but based from an article I read in one magazine, okra or the lady finger can be a good medicine against this one of the most feared disease in the world.

If so, what should we do with okra?  Should we eat the vegetable not cook?  Or could be it the boiled roots or leaves that can heal the disease.  The answer is not.  But yes, it’s the vegetable fruit that can become the medicine.

How? To lower the blood sugar in our body, you need to harvest the fresh okra fruit.  Sliced the fruit and soak it overnight in a glass of water.  In the next morning, drink the water where the lady finger was soaked.  Do this every morning and with the prayer, this maybe the answer of your diabetes.

photo is mine

Sweet Coated Peanut

What comes to your mind when you speak of peanut—of course, the famous peanut butter. Perhaps, the star among the products made from this root crop.

What about other products like the sweet coated peanut? Have you ever had this? Did you like the sweetness and the yumminess of the food?

The town of Santa Lucia in Ilocos Sur’s number agricultural product is peanut. So aside from the usual boiled peanut we like to munch, peanut butter is one of the homemade delicacies they include in their One Town One Product. But of course, one product that they are selling is the sweet coated peanut.

Here is one of peanut delicacy that you would love to have in your relaxing time or when you are writing in your laptop or just playing app game in your mobile.  We called it ‘sweet coated peanut’. 

Ingredients:

3 cups of peanut peas

2 cups of sugar

2 cups of water

A little bit of margarine

Vanilla and salt.

Preparation:

Mixed thoroughly all together the peanuts, sugar and water. 

Cook and until syrup becomes sticky. 

Mixed the vanilla. 

When the sugar is coating in the peanut, minimized the heat. 

Add the margarine and don’t let stop mixing until the hotness cools down.

Serve.

Peanut will always be one of our best finger foods.  I mean finger food when we pick the food with our fingers and directly put it into our mouth and then chump it.  The peanut is one of the classic food of our finger food.

Okra Salad

Okra is rich in fiber, vitamin B6 and folic acid.  And according to a mazagine I read in magazine, these substances can help to destroy the diabetes strain in our body.  Yes, this green veggie which is slippery and elongated can help with our wellness.

Wanna try it? What? You don’t like the taste.  Okay, maybe we can do it like in the famous dish named Okra salad. You don’t like how it slip into your tongue, oh you can deal with it. Just think of okra that is full-packed of minerals and vitamins that can make you healthy. Isn’t that big reason for you to  love okra or lady finger.

Here’s what you need. You will need vinegar, brown sugar, iodized salt, pepper, sliced tomato, and sliced onion and do not forget the young okra vegetable.

Preparations:  Put water in the pan and bring into boil.  Cook okra but try not to overcook to not spoil the taste.  Then soak the cook okra in the vinegar mixed with brown sugar, pepper, and the salt.  Do not forget to add the sliced tomato and onions.

No sweat cooking, that is easy.  Does it taste good? It really tastes good, believe me.

Ube Overload

ube rootcrop

Ube or purple yam might just be a low profile root crop from the hill side of the remote areas. But you may also want to know that this thing is one of the coolest product now of Ilocandia.

The transformation… the hairy and weird crop in purple color come products that is so yummy, appealing, bubbly and so important ingredient to other amazing foods.

Thanks to the town of Sugpon, Ilocos Sur who made this as their One Town One Product or OTOP. The potential was revealed and the break for this unknown thing was given and now it just became a superstar food.

Purple Yam Overloaded

ube halaya

This is ube halaya, the best delicacy made from this rootcrop. The color is natural, the taste is natural and the nutrients ar natural. Halaya is the fusion of the mashed purple yam added with powdered milk, sweetness from sugar. No doubt about this, halaya is the star in the party when serve in the table. This could be gone in 60 seconds. Hey, it’s appealing.

ube wine

Speaking of wine—try ube wine. I know you haven’t heard this wine before, so with many of reader of this blog. But this not so popular wine through the fermentation might hit in market if only given the right processing and marketing. Why? Because it’s unique, one of a kind tastes of purple yam as wine. A violet drink in the clear glass is an amazing moment.

ube powder

Ube powder. Oh yeah, this is not a good, this is an ingredient. But I have a question; have you ever taste an ube ice cream? If you are a Filipino, sure you do because this has been a favorite from the ice cream makers in the country. This is because of this powder is the magic of that delicious ice cream.

You see, ube powder could go a long way: ice cream, cake, donuts, juicers… and many more. Thanks to this powder of violet.