Recipe: Spinach and tofu soup

And you thought all I would post is about Ilocano food. Not for the queasy ones, this soup. If you are keen on building protein, like I was a year ago, everything must be tofu or tuna or soya and this soup should be perfect. The tofu's texture may put off the average tongue--like Chinese green tea this probably is aquired taste. I wonder what would happen if I deep-fried tofu first before plunging it in soy water? Off to Vigan tonight anyhow.

Huli Ka!

If it is endangered, contaminated, naturally toxic or was procured from dubious sources, there's a chance that the food is illegal. Beef from mad cow disease-infected countries for instance. We were able to receive some contraband steeped in sukang Iloko and ginger. Mayubyub, which are Samaral (Siganidus) fingerlings, have been banned on Ilocano tables. My hypothesis is that these are stock of the collateral damage during dynamite fishing. Is there any illegal food in your place?

Recipe: Pinakbet

The real, or to quote Laguna's buko pie producers, d'original pinakbet is not a saute aromatics then fish paste then vegetables procedure, which is the typical pakbet sold in Manila canteens. The root of the word is pakbet, or wilt, which is what the vegetables should look like when cooked. Make sure that farm-fresh vegetables are used for a sweet pinakbet that even ampalaya's bitterness is tempered. Otherwise, its taste can be as harsh as the Ilocos sand dunes.