Food for the “aliens”

ISCHNOCHITON. Photo courtesy of Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho Fan Page (www.facebook.com/kapusomojessicasoho)

You might be correct with what you are thinking. But you could be wrong, too.

No, I am not talking about food for the extra terrestrial ones, but yes, I am schmoozing about an exotic fave-of-thy-mouth.

Every time I go home to Maydolong, a small town in Eastern Samar, I always crave for “tarukog”.

Tarukogs are marine mollusks that belong to the genus Ischnochiton (or simply chiton) in class Polyplacophora. This is also known as “sea cradles” or “coat-of-mail shells”. But in Eastern Samar,  tarukog it is.

According to Christopher Taylor, an entomologist, “All living chitons share a similar general morphology with a central linear series of eight overlapping shell valves, surrounded by a fleshy girdle that (depending on species) may or may not be covered with small spicules. They live attached to marine rocks where they graze on algae.”

Rather than appealing, the raw, clinging-hardly-to-rocks tarukog is appalling. The light to dark green and black color mollusk, plus the hard as a rock shell valves at its back are indeed disturbing to the eye. However, the still and soundless tarukogs have something, silently to offer. Their scrumptious meat!

TARUKOG IN COCONUT MILK.
Photo courtesy of Lance Abet

I like it best when it is hinatukan (cooked in coconut milk). After the valve shells and innards are removed and cleaned by boiling (there should be a technique in boiling it, to avoid a rubbery chew!), the clean, (now flesh in color) meat is mixed with coconut milk, slice of onion, and black and red bell pepper and a pinch of salt. Solve!

You can try also an adobo tarukog. After boiling and cleaning it, add the usual ingredients for adobo, and boil it again for few minutes. Now you have something to add in your carte du jour!

CHICHARIFFIC TARUKOG
IN A VINAIGRETTE SAUCE.
Photo courtesy of Qoura Bee

Lastly, you can prepare a chicharon tarukog! After the cleaning procedure, deep fry the tarukogs. Prepare your china with coconut vinegar where to dip your roasting chicharon. And for sure, after closing your eyes because of the vinegary taste, you will open your mouth and say, “Oh, momma! Chichariffic!”.

What creates the palatable delights of a place is the peoples’ pride on their delicacies, which sometimes are unique but nevertheless appetizing. I am not expecting that people will create a Tarukog Festival in the future, but at least, be proud of this nature’s treat.

I have had footed different places in the country. Make the most of Ilocos’ tipmost Pagudpod’s coziness. Cross the Visayan Islands. And captivated with the land of promise, Mindanao. In all breakfast, lunch and dinner in those places, never did I meet tarukog in my plate.

This is a must try for the aliens- our tourists and visitors in Eastern Visayas. Well, if aliens (the extra terrestrial ones) would invade the earth, we can probably serve tarukog on their plates, too. And let us see if they will not say: What the heck is this succulent alien food? More!

TGIF.  Have a happy weekend everyone!

Published in Manila Channel, Sept. 7, 2012. (See: http://www.manilachannel.com/2012/09/07/food-for-the-aliens/)

Capiz: the tasty, the yummy, the scrummy

Don’t get me wrong with the title. I am not trying to emulate “the true, the good and the beautiful” slogan of a former First Lady. But consider me guilty because my gush here about Capiz will be the true, the good, and the beautiful anyway.

Turning a blind eye to the conventional gawk of our tourists/travelers- museums, vestiges of the past, beaches, etc. – Capiz has its own way to market its tourism industry- no no (!), not the wakwak, manananggal and the kikik, but its mouthwatering sea foods.

I am not saying the province is poor on the cultural and historical facet. In fact, history tells us that Capiz became the Spanish’s second settlement after Cebu. Moreover, the town of Pan-ay homes the biggest church bell in Asia. Pan-ay was once the capital of the province before it was transferred to Roxas City.

PEALING THE BELLS – The writer and his foster-dad inside the 10.4 tons bell made from 70 sacks of silver coins.

Unsurpassed of course is the province’s reputation as the Seafood Capital of the Philippines. Capiz absolutely deserve the title. The lavishness and diversity of Capiz’s marine life treats vacationers with a variety of sumptuous cuisines- from baked scalloped in garlic and butter, tuna, blue marlin, crabs, lobsters, prawns, oysters and the celebrated diwal ( or angel wings which is endemic in the Panay seas), and I can enumerate more.

Photo courtesy of Ricky Diumayuga for photo 1, 2 and 5

Yes, of course, you can find this in sky-high restaurants, but still, Capiz is over it, because they serve it fresher, if not freshest. Plus, plus, plus, as all travelers would like to hear, the charge is friendlier to your pockets.

We have many reasons why we travel- to unwind, relax, escape from all kinds of glitches, and finally finding ourselves. Will not a nibble of this luscious, succulent marine sumptuousness complement it all?

I had visited quite a few tour destinations of the country- from Ilocos’ timpost Pagudpod to the Land of Promise, Mindanao- but Capiz takes a special place in my heart. Is not there an old adage saying that the nearest organ to one’s heart is the stomach?

Well, Capiz just captivated mine.

Truly, goodly and beautifully, Capiz, that tasty, yummy and scrummy province will be part of my itinerary again, soon.

Published in Manila Channel. August 18, 2012.

Unfolding Underwear Folding

Why wear underwear, in the first place?

Well, there are a dozen and one reasons I heard from friends- from usual to bizarre. Like: to support that hanging thing there; to make your package more appealing; to hold the urine after urinating; to make sex exciting; to promote foreplay when making love; etcetera.

Most, if not all people I know wear one, for different reasons; some maybe the same or different from the ones mentioned. But seriously, why do we cover our thing? Does it make sense? Oh well, the thing is, we are wearing it. Whether it makes sense or not, it doesn’t matter. For if it doesn’t matter anyway, why would our mothers require us to wear it, as early as when we are still in preschool, eh?

Even in history, it is still unclear as to when the people wear undergarments was. It is said that loincloth was considered the earliest undergarment as some archaeologists suggest through dig remains that dates backs thousands of years ago. Maybe, in the far west. But in the Philippines? How come that some of our forefathers, when the Spaniards came, were wearing g-strings made from selected leaves and uway? Maybe they can’t afford loincloth.

That was the primitive society of course. Now then, since all of us will agree that we do wear one, next question is: do you fold your underwear?

That’s a silly question, one might think.

One might even be reminded of Patricia Lorenz’s “Life’s Too Short to Fold Your Underwear”. Conversely however, not a word from Lorenz discourages us to fold our underwear.

Why fold it anyway?

Well, if your closet like mine is not so spacious, doing so will save space.

Likewise, when travelling, not only that it will save space, it will also give you a sense of assurance, if ever by accident your bag dispatched its zipper, and everything in your bag fell of the floor, gee whiz(!) [it happened to me once at NAIA!], at least your underwear will not flaunt in exhibition. Worse if your underwear is not that so presentable due to its loosened garter!

So here is how I fold mine.

PS. Underwear Day is celebrated in the US on the 22nd and 23rd of August. See, even underwear have their Day aside from wash day!

Published in Manila Channel. August 17, 2012.

On Bisayan wine: A barrel of laughs, vino en vidrio and cheers!

I keep at least ten different bottles of wine in my room. Oh,oh, I am not a drunkard, much less a roué. But I drink occasionally.Bevitore saltuariamente.

I am wont to get a bottle of wine, especially during my travels. I had sipped the expensive (but not necessarily classy)- merlot, white zinfandel, white grenache, cabernet sauvignon, sangiovese, shiraz, chablis, etc;  and also swigged to the less expensive, but not necessarily tawdry wines.

When I went to Vigan a couple of years ago, I tasted for the first time, their celebrated rice wine, called basi. It is worth to note that it’s one of my top favorites, clobbering those strange, opaque varieties mentioned. However, I still choose vino de coco(coconut wine) over it.

The Bisayan (i.e. Eastern Visayas) tuba avers to be the finest, if not the best wine made from coconut. Not only because the region yields the second largest volume of production (next to the Davao region, 2005 PCA report) of coconut, but because history tells us that tuba is part of Bisayan’s modo de vida.

When the Spaniards footed the Islands, evident to the Pintados people are their gleeful virtue (which the Filipinos as a whole share), thus the name Bisaya- from the root word saya, meaning happy. And in every social gathering, tuba is at the center of conversations and laughter. The Spaniards themselves, both the missionaries and conquistadores, couldn’t say no to inviting spirit of tuba.

During family occasions and even occasionless nights, tuba gathers everyone in telling tales, cracking laughter and chance of bonding. Lately however, the patronage to this traditional drink has been fading, for reasons like the inability of local tuba producers in product innovation to match the growing competition of liquor industry.

Quite the reverse, lately I was introduced to the new vino de coco product in the region. Boy oh boy, the flavor is refined and classy! I am certainly conclusive that this is a sure-fire! Surely, this is the beginning to regain tuba’s glory.

Wine is renowned as heart healthy. And in moderation, it may be a help in trimming weight and reducing forgetfulness. Likewise, it may boost our immunity and help prevent bone loss.

With friends, we share a barrel of laughs. Alone, we exclaim, vino en vidrio!

Aside from the mentioned, we drink wine for varied reasons.

Whatever the reason is, Isalud!

Article published in Manila Channel, August 19, 2012.