If you have noticed, I have a new design. For this, I thank Wilson, my techie friend.
It was Wilson who introduced me to blogging… err… it was blogging that introduced me to Wilson. Oh well. Whichever way - either the chicken or the egg came first - doesn’t change the fact that Wilson is certainly the guy behind the creation of this blogsite.
If not for Wilson, I wouldn’t be here blogging my blues and thoughts away and sharing/exchanging comments with my readers out there. If not for him, I wouldn’t have met new friends online and offline, nor discovered more things I thought I knew but did not in fact know about.
Who would think that a techno-challenged mom like me who knew nothing more than sending and retrieving emails in the internet would someday be a blogging mom? Cool. Yeah. My kids initially showed repulsion about my getting into blogging. But to my amusement - they even now suggest topics for me to blog about. And I think they also love it when I feature them in my posts. Hehe.
So for all the joys that blogging has brought me, and for this new design, maraming salamat, Wilson!
(Note: Wilson Chua is the president of Bitstop Inc. a company based in Dagupan City which provides various computer technology services in Pangasinan and other parts of the country and has been operating since 1989, making it one of the pioneer companies providing such services in this city.)
Now, on to a gastronomic topic.
My favorite native veggie dish:
Here is my favorite native veggie dish.
The way it’s cooked, I should say - is very Ilocano. Very Ilocano in the sense that it’s not sauteed. You see, genuine Ilocanos never sautee or stir fry their vegetables. They just bring water to a boil, dump all the ingredients at the same time in the pot then let it simmer till everything is perfectly done.
I can hardly speak Ilocano. Basit laeng (just a little). But my maternal grandmother was a pure Ilocana. It was probably from her that I got my Ilocano taste.
I believe that when it comes to food, Filipinos have varied preferences. I call it the “regional taste” which is much like the regional differences amongst us Pinoys who are spread in all the 7,100 islands of our glorious country. For instance, the Pampangos and Tagalogs prefer their vegetable dishes sauteed in little oil or butter. Only few of them can probably appreciate an Ilocano vegetable dish that is simply boiled and seasoned with salt or bagoong.
The veggie dish you see above (called “dinengdeng” in Ilocano dialect) was cooked by my husband. There, I admitted it. LOL! Let’s just say that I can’t eat what I cook. I guess this is a common phenomenon. Thus, one time when I suddenly had a craving for this particular vegetable dish, I requested my hubby to cook.
So, do you want to know how he prepared it? Here’s how:
GREEN PAPAYA WITH CAMOTE TOPS AND BROILED FISH
INGREDIENTS:
medium sized green papaya
bunch of camote tops
broiled bangus or any fish
ginger
garlic
bagoong sauce or patis or salt (bagoong tastes much better)
PROCEDURE:
Peel the papaya and slice thinly. Crush the garlic cloves and slice the ginger thinly.
In an earthen pot or aluminum cooking pot, place around 3 and 1/2 cups of water. Add the garlic and ginger. Bring to a boil. Add about 3 tablespoons of bagoong sauce, depending on your taste. Add the broiled bangus or fish. Simmer. Add the sliced green papaya. Cook until crisp tender. Add the camote tops. Simmer. Serve hot.
You can also vary this recipe by adding camote fruit, which will pleasantly make it a complete meal of carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals and protein. Then you don’t need to eat rice anymore, which is perfect for those who want to lessen their carbo intake.
Naku,naglaway ako sa dinengdeng mo Rhoda!
It made me wishfuland miss my aunt who was no longer with us…She was the assumed ilocana in the family.!(my lolo and lola were originally from pampanga and bulacan)
.I remember when i come for holidays in rosales,my lola & auntie would ask what food i want them to prepare.My request was always, “lutong ilokano pls”!
You are right, very simple cooking process but whenever i try to do it myself it never come out as good as my auntie prepares it even if i have the bagoong from pangasinan! I always end up preparing my pinakbet the kapangpangan or tagalog way!
Other than that,you have the best bangus in the country!
Hello Mam Rhoda. I really, really miss this type of cooking!!!
Hi Rhodora!! Awanti danum!! Hahaha!! Ilokano din kami but I can’t speak it at all. Tama ka, ang Ilokano hindi naggisa ng gulay. Sarap nyan ah. Iba naman kami gumawa niyan sa Tarlac. We boil bagoong isda with water and lots of onion. Tapos add the veggies na. Usually its talbos ng sitao, kalabasa, and alocon. Then top with grilled fish!! Mangan tayon!!
BTW, love the new look
Wow! I’ll have this anytime Rhoda…with saluyot please! Looks good patikim.
I like your new design; so flowery and the color is beautiful.
dinengdeng nga. ilocano taste. tagal din bago ko na-acquire yan
I’m sure you miss your hometown Rosales more, Aura, with this dinengdeng. hehe.
Oh, right you are - Dagupan bangus is the best! Thanks, Aura!
Di ba, Wilson, this is the signature cooking of people from the North?
Ay, Cookie - Ilocano ka met gayam. hehe.
Grilled fish makes a delicious “sahog” for dinengdeng. Lalo na pag bangus.
Thanks!
Joe! The Baguio boy that you are - I’m sure you know more about Ilocano cooking than I do. I like saluyot too - especially when it goes with labong or bamboo shoot.
Thank you, Kyels!
So now you have learned to like Ilocano cooking, Tutubi? I wonder if you have tried their ‘bagnet’?
mangan tayun! my mother’s side were from the ilocos region and my father’s from quezon, i was born and grow up tagalog but when it comes to loving bagoong and vegetables, it must be the ilocano blood in me.
Yes, Zherwin. Bagoong is somewhat identified with the Ilocanos and Pangasinenses, much like tocino is with the Pampangos.
I have lately discovered I love diningdeng, though I think we call it bulanglang. My only problem is I find it tedious to broil fish. But I got an idea. I can buy the inihaw bangus in one of the grill places that have sprouted in every neighborhood. Di ba?
Thanks for the recipe, Rhoda.
Ay, yes, Anna - that gives me an idea too - buy na lang inihaw na bangus in grill places.
You’re welcome. And thanks for the visit.
Ay lab dinengdeng!
When I was younger, my inang would cook that. I specifically love the talbos ng sitaw and sitaw with the grilled bangus. We would get the sitaw and talbos in their nearby farm. Gusto ko din nung bunga ng malunggay with grilled fish. Yummy!
Ay lab dinengdeng!
My inang used to cook talbos ng sitaw, sitaw and inihaw na bangus. I also like bunga ng malunggay with inihaw ng bangus. At ang labong, I cook that but the chilodren are not fond of eating that. They like the u-ong (mushroom) better. Yummy!
Soma.
Soma.