Showing posts with label exotic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label exotic. Show all posts

September 24, 2017

buteteng laot


buteteng laot - /bu-te-teng la-otTagalog sea fish /seafood) 1. [n.] porcupine fish \spot-fin porcupinefish (sc.name: Diodon hystrix); 2. [n.] oceanic puffer (sc.name: Lagocephalus lagocephalus). Another species of buteteng laot known plainly as the butete has been banned permanently by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) from gathering, marketing, and consumption, because it naturally contains a toxin called tetrodotoxin which renders the fish unfit for consumption.

Other local common names: 

  •  also spelled as boteteng laot in Tagalog

  •  a.k.a. buktit in Tagalog

  •  butete tunokontagutong, or tagutungan in Cebuano

  •  tagutungan in Boholano and Leyteño [western Leyte]

  •  otit in Waray-waray (eastern Samar)

  •  mosi in Bicolano

  •  tagutongan in Davaoeño

  •  busisi in Ilokano

  •  butbutan in Zambaleño

  •  lukoh itingan or tagutugan in Chavacano (Zamboanga)

  •  dautdotan in Maranao, Tausug, and Samal

  •  buntal in Sinama (Bahasa Bajau of Sulu archipelago)

 

A species of puffer fish considered edible and safe for consumption but has to avoid the internal organs, particularly the liver where a tiny sac of highly deadly poison can be found. As much as possible, only the meat is used in cooking. 

Maypay is a Cebuano name for that tiny sac of highly poisonous glands. It's attached to the liver and would require an expert to safely remove it because even a slightest leak could be very fatal. It's far more lethal than cyanide.

The big-sized liver though is the most sought part of the fish in making the Cebuano linarang with coconut milk. It needs to be an expert to safely remove the tiny monggo-size sac of poison called maypay in Cebuano. It has to be taken out intact because a slightest leakage can be fatal when it contacts the flesh or contaminates the water used in washing the fish.

 

A slight contact on flesh or contamination of the water used in washing the fish could be fatal. Yes, because maypay is far more lethal than cyanide. It could no longer be removed or rinsed off.

BE EXTRA CAREFUL WHEN YOU PREPARE TO COOK THIS FISH.


In my hometown's small fishing village, maypay was used to poison cats that stole food in the kitchen (I felt sorry for the naughty pussy cat)

Porcupine fish can be prepared as tinola (boiled), nilarang tinunoan (boiled with coconut milk and spices), inadobo (adobo-style), pinirito (fried), ginataan (cooked in coconut milk with malunggay or dahon ng sili, and sauteeing first in garlic and other spices the flaked parboiled fish), nilubihan (cooked with grated meat of not-so-matured green coconut fruit), or into Bicolano kinunot (braised shredded fish fillet). 

The fish has to be gutted completely and carefully so as not to burst open any of its internal organs to avoid possibly getting poisoned, and the sturdy spikes around the skin have to be removed by parboiling first the whole fish and then pulling out the spikes using pliers. 


Vegetables commonly used as suitable optional ingredients when cooking this fish into a soupy ginataan or tinola dish are malunggay or dahon ng sili, talong, okra, kalabasa, sitaw, alugbati, pichay, and/or pako.

The big-sized liver though is the most sought part of the fish when cooking a linarang dish with coconut milk (linarang is boiled fish with different spices and salt to taste). You can have this linarang from some eateries in Cebu City and other towns in Visayas.

While in the Tabuh of Bongao, Tawi-Tawi
While in the Tabuh of Bongao, Tawi-Tawi
While in the Tabuh of Bongao, Tawi-Tawi


"Yong mga nagsabi na di daw to nakakalason at nakakatikim na sila, nakaswerte lang sila at magaling yong gumawa ng ulam. Di naman kasi madaling puputok yong maypay pagka fresh pa yong isda. Baka sa susunod kapag masyadong kampante na sila, mamalasin na. Wag naman po. Ingat lang. And I share it here para alam nyo na ano yong isang maliit na bagay na nakakamatay. Yong sa butete iba pa yon. Mas matindi yon. Mas delicate. Pati balat nakakalason."
"It's safer to slice na lang a portion of the liver around the "maypay" at least, 1-inch diameter or more! Wag nang manghinayang sa matatapong kapirasong atay, manghinayang sa buhay!"



All photos by Edgie Polistico in this blog are copyrighted. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.


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


August 13, 2017

balot itlog manok


balot itlog manok
- (ba-lót it-log ma-nòk; Cebuano delicacy) [n.] boiled fertilized chicken egg

 

a.k.a. balot in Cebuano
balut itlog manok in Tagalog and other local languages

This Visayan delicacy is a new variation of Filipino balut egg that is made with brownish Caber chicken egg. It became popular in Cebu City a few years ago.

This 16-day-old balot itlog manok looks more gruesome than its predecessor duck egg balut. It has more feathers with fully developed legs, head, and beak. 


It started to appear in Cebu City sometime in 2012.

Along with the penoy itlog manok or pinoy, this Visayan balot is now gaining fast popularity in Visayas and in some places in Mindanao. It even reached Lucena City in Quezon province and in Bambang, Manila, probably brought and introduced by the Visayans who moved to settle in Quezon province and in Metro Manila. 

Recently, I found it on the sidewalk of the Alabang viaduct and on Montillano Street in Muntinlupa City.


This Visayan "balot" is more gruesome compared to its predecessor duck egg balut. It has more hairs (feathers) and the legs, head, and beak of the chick appear to be prominently developed already. 


It tastes quite similar to duck egg balut, but the bones are a bit tougher and the hairs are nasty. Next time you dare a foreigner to eat balut, offer this Visayan BALOT instead. Let's see how far we can scare them. hahaha!


By the way, do not dare to offer this to our Muslim brethren because a nasty and gruesome food like this is considered unclean (Haram) according to Islamic laws. Besides, living animals have to be slaughtered in a manner that it has to bleed. Otherwise, you are insulting them.



Related posts:



Penoy



Orange egg barbecue


Pinoy (penoy itlog manok)




All photos by Edgie Polistico are copyrighted. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.




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


June 16, 2017

taguto


taguto /ta-gû-tô/ Binul-anon-Leyteño [western Leyte] and Cebuano dish) [n.] sautéed minced chicken and chilies. 

A fiery hot sautéed minced chicken and chilies.

A native chicken is preferred when making taguto.

A native chicken is slaughtered by cutting its throat, the blood is set aside, then dressed, gutted, washed clean, and the whole chicken is minced including the head, bones, and feet. 

The chicken is dressed. It is done by dipping briefly the slaughtered chicken in scalding hot water then the feathers are pulled off.

The dressed chicken is cleaned thoroughly
 
All the internal organs are washed clean and chopped into pieces, including the gizzard and intestine which are cleaned of their contents. The minced meat and chopped internal organs are sautéed with chopped garlic and red onion. 


Internal organs are washed clean and nothing is spared


The whole chicken is minced including the head, bones, and feet


 

The siling kulikot (bird’s eye chili) is equivalent to the amount of chicken meat.

Adding finely chopped and pounded ginger is optional. Adding some sliced and pounded ginger, would spike the piquancy more that it would virtually burn your lips, throat, and stomach.

The siling kulikot (siling labuyo in Tagalog) are minced similar to that of chicken meat.

The liver and gizzard are chopped into small pieces.
The complete set of ingredients for taguto.

The finely chopped siling kulikot (bird’s eye chili) is added in quantity equivalent to the amount of chopped chicken meat. Thus, if the minced chicken measures 1 liter, one liter of minced chilies is used. 

The minced chilies are sauteed with garlic and red onion.

The minced chicken is added in the sauté.
The dish is seasoned with soy sauce and/or salt to suit one's taste.

The chicken blood is added then seasoned with soy sauce and/or salt to suit the taste and then stirred continuously on medium fire until cooked.


The liver and blood are added towards the end of cooking to keep them tender and from getting overcooked.

The chopped gizzard is included

Taguto is often served as sumsuman (hors d'oeuvre) in drinking sessions and is extremely fiery hot. 

So called taguto because the tiny pieces of bones would crack little sounds and the usual reaction of the eater is to cluck through one’s teeth known as taguto in Cebuano.

This enormous amount of siling kulikot makes the pulutan last long and for everyone to go slowly in devouring the dish.  For sure, everyone will have a fair share of protein and will surely swig his tagay every after bite.


The piquancy (chili heat) of taguto is so intense it would virtually burn your lips, throat, and stomach, the sensation that would initiate you to warm your body and stay awake in the cold night or rainy day.

Taguto is considered a body warmer. It will keep you warm in the cold of the night and on rainy days. Usually taken as pulutan with the bahalina (aged coconut wine) when having a night swimming picnic at the beach. 

Sorry if this makes you think "na para bagang ayaw ipakain at pinagdamutan ang gustong mamulutan." It seems, but you are wrong. We acquired the taste, and we love it. Of course, when you got the taste, you will surely love it too. 

Watch the TAGUTO of Inopacan, Leyte featured in GMA7 episode of Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho (KMJS). Published in Youtube on Jun 19, 2017.This was made possible through the food research of Edgie Polistico and the people of Inopacan.

Now you have reason to forget the Bicol express of Bicolandia and the palapa of Lanao as the hottest dishes in the country. Here comes the TAGUTO of Leyte

There is this later variation of taguto that uses tuno (coconut milk) which causes the milder effect of chilies. Instead of using all the bones when mincing the chicken, only the soft bones of the breast part and neck are included, and more often the intestine is excluded being it is a very tedious process to clean the chicken bowels. This version of taguto is a bit soupy and is alternatively called as the halang-halang manok tinunoan (spicy hot chicken in coconut milk).


All photos by Edgie Polistico are copyrighted. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.


Related posts:

November 1, 2015

dugyan


Dugyan (photo credit to The Philippine Star)

dugyan - /dug-yan/ (Palaweño fruit) [n.] red durian (sc.name: Durio graveolens)

Unlike the usually cultivated durians of Mindanao, the fruit of dugyan is smaller in size, weighing less than a kilogram with sharper and longer spikes on its thick coat. It is yellow-green when unripe and turns bright yellow to yellow-orange when ripe. 

The Durio graveolens of Palawan (photo credit to Lindsay Gasik's blog, Year of the Durian)

When fully ripe, it opens while on the tree, showing its distinct bright red lipstick flesh that would eventually fall to the ground. 

With its distinct lipstick-red flesh, the dugyan, an endemic fruit in Palawan, is said to be an entirely different species from the typically-cultivated durian that we see in the market. The smell and taste are not repulsive and nauseating. It is almost creamy, but not so sweet. 

In the Philippines, this rare variety of durian is found only in Palawan though similar other red durian varieties can also be found in Borneo, Malaysia, and Thailand 

Dr. Virgilio Loquias, the durian expert of the Philippine's Bureau of Plant Industries, holding a red durian of Palawan grown in BPI-Davao. Photo taken during Lindsay Gasik's search for durians in the country. (photo credit to Lindsay Gasik's blog, Year of the Durian)

Related readings:
  • Philippines Durio Graveolens
    Philippines Durio graveolens - Lindsay Gasik's blog (The Year of the Durian) about the red durian in Palawan with Dr. Virgilio Loquias of the Philippine Bureau of Plant Industries.
  • Preserving indigenous fruits - an article from The Philippine Star business section that features dugyan.


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




June 6, 2015

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)



All photos posted by Edgie Polistico in this blog are copyrighted. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.


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


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