Cer Evan G.

Ferrer

BSHRM-2

SOSCI 12

Pampanga & Bulacans Sweet and Sour Cuisine

Pampanga and Bulacan are highly recognized for its sweetened delicacies and well prepared courses. In Pampanga, cuisine is a major task lavishly prepared with natural creativity and talent. Food is attributed to its earthy abundance like fermented crabs, fermented rice sauce or buro, fermented frogs, milkfish in sour soup, fried mole crickets and sweetened cured pork slices known as tocino- a breakfast dish commonly prepared in a traditional Filipino table. Naturally rich in rice and sugar, Pampanga region sweetens most of its dishes particularly desserts. Its incredibly tasty turrones, marzipans and meringues are some Spanish-style creams puffs or egg yolk custards. A traditional dish called Tibok-tibok which is made out of water buffalo milk blended with corn is not far from the race. Enseymada, a buttery rolled ban; bringhe, special rice prepared with coconut milk; leche flan, a crme brulee cooked with water buffalo milk; and a wide selection of rice cakes are Pampangeno dishes that made up the countrys bounteous delicacies. Bulacan created its traditional cuisine mostly from their wide agricultural lands and big rivers. Bulakeno cooking is leisurely prepared the old fashioned way. River fish are boiled with citrus or in palm wine, then flamed. Mudfish are fermented or packed in banana stalks and buried in live coals. They prepare seafood like shellfish, sauteed with guava and flavored with ginger broth. Considering animal-raising as their main industry, Bulakenos specialize on meat dishes. If you havent seen a strange way of roasting chicken, try watching how they do it in Bulacan. They prepare chicken by having it sit in a claypot lined with salt and cook it as is. They even claim their version of relleno and galantina (stuffed chicken rolls); asado or pot roast; and estofado, pork leg; and kare-kare, stewed beef in peanut sauce better than other regions.

The Unusual Ilocano Cuisine

The Ilocos region, where several provinces share similar customs, language and food, has delicacies made up of rice and vegetables derived basically from the richness of their mountainous dry land. Most of their specialty are seasoned with fermented fish sauce. The region is famous for its Pinakbet- a mixture of several vegetables such as squash, okra, eggplant, ampalaya or bitter gourd and string beans cooked with bagoong or fermented fish paste. The way this dish is prepared varies in different regions. Some parts of Ilocos, which are closer to the sea, top a pinakbet based in soup with grilled fish, leaving the vegetables cooked until tender and seasoned with bagoong or fermented fish. Others cook this dish with sauteed pork in garlic, onion, tomatoes and shrimp paste along with assorted vegetables. Another authentic Ilocano dish is Dinengdeng. Malunggay or its fruit boiled in watery soup, seasoned with bagoong and topped with grilled fish. Ilocanos also are keen about grilled ampalaya with bagoong or fermented fish as the sauce dip. Ilocano delicacies sought to have been healthier than others but their regular use of fermented fish called bagoong, gets them closer to health impairment. Bagnet (dried pork belly) is an interesting dish, deep fried with bagoong until skin turns crispy.They also have made Longanisa famous all over the country as a main Filipino breakfast dish. It is a sweet fatty ground pork sausage basically fried and eaten with rice in the morning. Horrible as it may seem, aside from Cordillera region, Ilocos is another place where dog meat is a delicacy. Asucena is a dog meat dish cooked in thick tomato sauce, green peas and breadcrumbs. Locals from Benguet and mountain province say that eating this meat gives them extra strength and courage working in the steep mountains of Cordillera.