Philippine Food Illustrated: June 2015

June 6, 2015

tindok

tindok - /tin-dok/ (Cebuano fruit) [n.] a giant plantain (sc.name: Musa paradisiaca var. magna).

Other common names

a.k.a. tandok in Cebuano
tenduk or tunduk in Teduray, Lambangian, Dulangan, and Manobo

giant plantain - English

pisang tanduk - Malay (Malaysia)

We found these few pieces of tindok banana in the grocery section of SM Makati in Ayala Center of Makati City way back in 2009.

A very long and large variety of cooking banana fruit.

Its digit is about a foot long or more or about the size of a man's arm. Elongated and commonly a bit curved in form with a thick green banana peel.

The length and size of this banana are even more than that of Margette's arm.

Yes, the one she is holding weighs more than a kilo, and it is priced quite expensive in 2009. The sticker says it is from Dole, a clue that most likely this came from Mindanao.

The tindok plant bears a bunch of fruit that only has around three clusters (piling, sipi, or hand of bananas) in a bunch (buwig) with very few to less than a dozen of digits (daliri or piraso) in each cluster. The bunch would start to sprout at the tip of the banana stem as one big inflorescence (puso ng saging) and would open to bloom only once to produce a few to several digits. Afterward, there will be no more inflorescence (puso) hanging at the end of the bunch. Thus, it also called as "saging na walang puso" (banana with no hanging flower).

Tindok fruit is rich in potassium and starch and is only good when cooked. Green tindok (unripe) is commonly steamed or boiled with its peel intact. When cooked, it is peeled and eaten as a substitute for rice as the main source of carbs or starch.

The pulp of unripe tindok can also be sliced thinly and deep-fried into chips.

Chunks of rare ripe or ripe tindok can also be added as vegetables in boiled bulalo or nilaga similar to saba banana.

Others would have the tindok fruit grilled or broiled, usually sliced lengthwise and served with a spread of peanut butter, fruit jams, or margarine sprinkled with sugar (or press on a bed of sugar).

Below are photos of tindok posted by my friends on Facebook and they are worth sharing here:

A trunk of tindok with a bunch of giant fruits - photo credit to Aveen Acuna-Gulo's FB account

This one is captioned with "Per Datu Leticio Datuwata, some fruits grow to be 4 inches in diameter - photo credit to Aveen Acuna-Gulo's FB account

A pile of tindok at the Bagsakan, Valencia Public Market, Valencia City, Bukidnon - photo credit to Aveen Acuna-Gulo's FB account

A bunch of tindok by Child Andrade Peteros of Hindang, Leyte - photo credit to Child Andrade Peteros' FB account

This giant plantain is commonly grown in Southeast Asian countries, and can also be seen now, though rarely, in Africa, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean.

Personal notes:

Tindok is not a giant lakatan. Jiggy Manicad of Unang Balita (GMA News Online) mistook tindok as giant lakatan in his June 5, 2015 news report "Puno ng saging sa Bulacan, nagbunga ng 'giant lakatan'

Pakbol

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For more about Filipino food, see this Philippine Food, Cooking, and Dining Dictionary. It is OPEN and FREE.

kinilaw nga sasing

kinilaw nga sasing – /ki-ni-law nga sa-sing/ Cebuano, Boholano, Davaoeño [southeastern Mindanao] and Misamis occidental [northern Mindanao] and Romblomanon raw dish) [n.] peanut worm in vinegar.

a.k.a. kinilaw nga saypo in Boholano and Surigaonon
kinilaw na tasing in Cantilangnon (Cantilan, Surigao del sur)

This is a raw dish of cleaned sasing (peanut worm) steeped in vinegar with spices and seasonings.

The inverted sasing worms. So called "peanut worm" in English, because when the worm is inverted it resembles that of emptied peanut shell.

To prepare, the peanut worm is washed clean then each worm is inverted inside out by pushing a bamboo stick from one end and through inside the body. Once inverted, the worm is cleaned thoroughly of its muddy contents.

The inverted worms are washed again thoroughly on seawater, drained, and then seasoned with vinegar spiced up with chopped onions, ginger, sili (chili), and salt to taste.

The complete ingredients of kinilaw nga sasing in Pagadian City, Zamboanga del sur. It uses sukang tuba (commonly sold in plastic tubes), luy-a (ginger), sibuyas pula (purple onion), siling kulikot (labuyo chili), calamansi (Philippine round lime), biyasong, and tabon-tabon fruit.

In southern Mindanao, such as in Pagadian City and other coastal towns in Zamboanga del Sur, a tabon-tabon fruit (sc.name: Hydrophytune orbiculatum) is used to season their kinilaw nga sasing. In this part of Mindanao, tabon-tabon trees and fruits are plenty.

Extract of scraped tabon-tabon fruit and extracted juice of calamansi and biyasong lime make the kinilaw nga sasing more delectable

The kernel of tabon-tabon fruit is scraped off, mixed with a little amount of vinegar then squeezed and the extract is mixed in the dish. It is even made more delectable by adding calamansi juice and extracted juice of native lime called biyasong.

Adding vetsin (MSG) is optional, but not recommended.

A young Maguindanaon couple residing near the sea of Pagadian City, Zamboanga del sur prepares kinilaw nga sasing.

Sasing is an exotic delicacy and is considered an aphrodisiac by the locals. It is leathery and tough but crunchy. It has to be chewed well to savor the essence of its true flavor.

Kinilaw na sasing is highly sought as a pulutan (food served in drinking sessions) in coastal villages of Visayas and Mindanao. It is a perfect pair for tuba (coconut wine) or ginebra (gin).

Sasing (Youtube video)

Related posts:

sasing (saypo)

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For more about Filipino food, see this Philippine Food, Cooking, and Dining Dictionary. It is OPEN and FREE.

sasing

sasing – /sa-sing/ Cebuano, Boholano, Davaoeño [southeastern Mindanao] and Misamis occidental [northern Mindanao], Waray, and Romblomanon worm/seafood) [n.] peanut worm (sc.name: Sipunculus nudus).

a.k.a. saypo in Boholano & Cebuano
saypo in Surigaonon
tasing in Cantilangnon (Cantilan, Surigao del sur)

A kind of sand worm or sand burrower of the family Echiurus that burrows under sandy clayish soil of the sea shore.

Sasing burrows in moist sandy-muddy ground along the shore and river deltas. A hole like this is a sign that peanut worm is just around under the sand.

It is an exotic delicacy to some Pinoys. Often eaten as kinilaw nga sasing where the cylindrical body of the worm is inverted inside out and washed thoroughly. The cleaned inverted peanut worm is then dipped in spiced vinegar and munched.

Sasing has a crunchy leathery texture and has to be chewed thoroughly to savor its flavor.

It is considered an exotic delicacy and as an aphrodisiac to some Pinoys when they visit places where sasing are found.

The worms are washed clean then inverted inside out by pushing a bamboo stick from one end and through inside the body so as to clean its muddy contents. The inverted worms are washed again thoroughly, drained and then seasoned with spiced up vinegar to become a kinilaw nga sasing.

So called peanut worm in English because when it is inverted, the inner side of the worm would look like an emptied peanut shell.

Although sasing worms live and feed in the sandy mud shores, some Filipino Muslim (followers of Islam faith) do not consider peanut worm as unclean or filth to be among those forbidden (Haram) in Islamic laws. Nevertheless, this exotic worm should be served with caution to Muslim or any followers of Islamic faith, so as not to offend or insult them

Sasing (Youtube video)

Personal notes

I read an old news feature of GMA Network news that some folks of Inopacan, Leyte believed sasing has curative powers against tuberculosis and anemia. Inopacnons are fond of it and would love to take kinilaw nga sasing as their pulutan with their tuba (coconut wine).

Related posts:

kinilaw nga sasing

See Index of Entries here.

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