PINAKBET REPUBLIC

how and why bagbagkong, padpadol, pusapusa, kapaskapas is named as such

2026-08-08T15:31:55.512+08:00

The sabidukong or sabsabidukong has so many names and most of it are in Ilokano and depending on places or areas (mostly in Northern Luzon) where people used to call this climbing vine now famous for its seasonal blossoms and pods in a variety of monikers.

Particularly, the fruit.pod is called padpadol because it resembles or looks or shaped like a "padol" (stake in Ilokano).

Bagbagkong because again it resembles a dagger or a kunai (Japanese or a ninja tool/weapon) and

"bagkong" is stab or to stab (bagbagkong literally means an object used to stab or for stabbing)/

Kapaskapas because of the cotton-like strands of the insides of it when matured (the seed too has a cotton-like "wings" that disperse and fly when the fruit is dried).

Titibbien because, again, of its cotton-like ("kapas") resemblance, from "tibbi" which means "weave" and "titibbien" means something to be woven.

Pusapusa, well, because of the cotton-like thing, that resembles a cat's hair.

Dogdogsol is same as bagbagkong in that "dogsol" (dugsol) is anything that has a sharp end, something used to thrust, poke, pierce, stab.

Patpatayok because of the "winged seed" that fly away up (tumayok, tayok is go up high).

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Meanwhile, here are some very good padpadol dishes:

Dinengdeng a padpadol with utong:

Padpadol as a veggie in a pinakbet:

Padpadol with sauteed sardinas (canned sardines in tomato sauce);

(Photo courtesy of Ilokano Food Naimas)

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More about sabidukong:

dinengdeng a padpadol, singkamas, pallang, ken uong

2026-08-08T14:44:13.962+08:00

Yet another delicious and super palatable vegetable dish, dinengdeng, this time with the beloved natural umami-flavoring uong ti garami (also called uong-saba because it also grows wild on rotting banana stalks/leaves or right on the foot of banana plants specially during the wet/rainy season; but it naturally thrives most and abundant and robustly on decaying mounds of rice straw/stalks or garami as substrate, thus the name "rice/paddy straw mushroom). And yes, it is paired with the now-famous fruit or pod of the sabsabidukong or bagbagkong vine, and together with another equally being famous veggie fruit nowadays, singkamas pods. Some pallang pods are also added later.

The mushrooms are not presentable in their wilting state here because it was wrapped unceremoniously when bought at the market. But nonetheless, the freshness of its being an uong is intact.

The singkamas and pallang pods are not photographed before cooking. But here is the result of the mix, already cooked and so fragrant because of its bugguong implement.

The padpadol (one of the monickers of the sabidukong pod, being a dagger-like one), is so sweetishly enjoyable palate-pleaser in this one-of-kind dinengdeng:

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For more Ilokano vegetable dishes, you can follow Ilokano Food page on Facebook and enjoy more sumptuous photos of dinengdeng and other vegetable dishes plus more veggies!

Follow also Ilokano Food @ Instagram and subscribe to Ilokano Food YoutTube channel for more photos, videos, and stories about Ilokano food, cooking, cuisine, and culture.

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More about sabidukong:

More dinengdengs:

pinakbet ala-casantolan

2022-01-20T04:55:00.171+08:00

This is the way we (well, me, actually, and if I say "we", my late mother would be a very special and a most honorable mention here because it was her who influenced me, and virtually taught me, all things about pinakbets, dinengdengs, and anything nateng) cook the great Ilokano signature dish pinakebbet, or more popularly known as pinakbet, (not the non-Ilokano [because grammatically incorrect] Tagalogized "pakbet") in Casantolan (Nueva Vizcaya), my place of birth and early domicile, and my place of longing to be settled at again, to get back in and to return to, well, soon.

And, this is the way I cook pinakbet whenever I am in Casantolan--what with the ready ingredients available and with the cooking wares and familiar cooking traditions I was used to as a barrio boy (again, all thanks, I owe it to my mother).

On one of my random visit, I came upon these available veggies ready at home, bought at the market in Bambang and some picked right in the backyard garden: paria, tarong, okra, bunga ti singkamas, kamatis.

I began preparing the veggies. I am happy that I chanced upon this rather rare opportunity to have these smallish native bitter melons and this variety of eggplant which is just so good for this Ilokano signature dish, the small okras, and yes, the jicama fruit.

Of course, the tomatoes. And onion and ginger. The onions are chopped, the ginger is crushed for it to give its maximum zing.

For a while, I remember something that will make my pinakbet more gorgeous and delicious. I went by the shrubberies and climbing vines and gathered some patani (also called "pulomingko") pods. These are a very good companion to an Ilokano pinakbet, I promise!

This is how I cut the tarongs. And here they are in the cooking pot. Level by level. And drenched atop with bugguong "juice". I didn't put any water. The veggies' own juices, and the bugguong's, will suffice. It will "agdanum" later as the kamatis will give all its essence to "pakbet" its veggie friends.

And yes, this pinakbet has to be pure as in just vegetables and no sagpaws or add-ons of any kind. No meat, no fish. Nothing. Just nateng.

The singkamas will be put on top as it cooks faster. I want it crispier.

And here, I cooked it just the way a good pinakbet should be cooked--using firewood on a DIY iron stove in a makeshift "dirty kitchen" outside the house.

Note that this is the available cooking ware around, I would have slow cooked my pinakbet in an earthen pot if there's any.

And here it is, it's done:

Look at that:

Just take a look and imagine:

Isn't it an absolutely gorgeous pinakbet? Wanna bet?

Yes, this is how we, how I do, in Casantolan, with matters like pinakbet:

And more:

Okey, enough. Let's eat. Here's my labay, come and partake:

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More, about pinakbet:

For more Ilokano vegetable dishes, you can follow Ilokano Food page on Facebook and enjoy more sumptuous photos of dinengdeng and other vegetable dishes plus more veggies!

Follow also Ilokano Food @ Instagram and subscribe to Ilokano Food YoutTube channel for more photos, videos, and stories about Ilokano food, cooking, cuisine, and culture.

kilawen a babassit a talibukno

2021-12-01T01:00:00.029+08:00

This is fresh and raw fish prepared as a "salad" or kilawen. This particular fish is called talibukno (variably identified scientifically as Leiognathus ruconius, Gazza minuta, and others) and fished from Claveria, Cagayan, best as a kilawen at this size of growth, small ones and bite size so you can consume all of it, head and intestines, bones--perfect for a kilawen nga ikan just like that of the munamon/taburkit, or padas, or tirong.

A bounty fresh from the sea:

A kilogram of talibukno for the kilawen:

The preparation. Ginger and onions are a must. And salt, of course.

And a freshly squeezed calamansi juice as a souring agent with a zing (vinegar not recommended):

Mince them finely and mix:

And here it is. It invites you yo bring out your drinks as this is best for pulotan: What's missing here is, of course, sili ti sairo to make this a sure spicy hot kilawen.

Enjoy!

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More kilawen nga ikan:

For more Ilokano dishes and others like this kilawen, you can follow Ilokano Food page on Facebook.

Follow also Ilokano Food @ Instagram and subscribe to Ilokano Food YoutTube channel for more photos, videos, and stories about Ilokano food, cooking, cuisine, and culture.

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dinengdeng nga uong, papait, kabatiti, patani, nasagpawan iti kaluit (kumukusay)

2021-11-30T01:48:00.009+08:00

This particular dinengdeng might somewhat be a weird for some, but this is it, I've done it, just so to prove/show the versatility of the dinengdeng or an Ilokano way of preparing and presenting and designing available vegetables and pair or combine it with almost everything edible, palatable, tasty, easy.

And here's a dinengdeng with a shellfish called kaluit or kalwit (also called sikadsikad, maninikad, aninikad, kumukusay). This is the plicate conch (scientific name: Strombus labiatus) which is abundant along reef coastlines. Its shell is kind of hard and its "meat" wedged deep spirally inside its whorl and spire you have to use a "pick" like that of a pomelo thorn to gouge it out. Some just resort to cracking the shell and simply gather the meat and cook it in a savory soup. But like agurong, suso, leddeg, bisukol, picking/extracting out (sultop or tudok) the meat is a thing to enjoy. Cooking this shellfish is simply boiling it with the usual tomatoes, ginger, onions, lemon grass like that of the usual freshwater clams and mollusk.

But here, it graced my dinengdeng of uong (those are straw mushroom buttons), papait, patani, and kabatiti (what an unusual bunch!):

What a mix! The broth is so tasty, it brings forth the aroma of the sea, the reefs, the seaweeds, and the dinengdeng is heavenly, as it were, as the kaluit essence is enhanced by the umami of the straw mushroom, the sweetness of the kabatiti, the starchiness of the patani, and the inevitable bittersweetness of the papait.

My rice, please!

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More dinengdengs:

For more Ilokano vegetable dishes, you can follow Ilokano Food page on Facebook and enjoy more sumptuous photos of dinengdeng and other vegetable dishes plus more veggies!

Follow also Ilokano Food @ Instagram and subscribe to Ilokano Food YoutTube channel for more photos, videos, and stories about Ilokano food, cooking, cuisine, and culture.

pinakbet a nakaparparia

2021-11-29T14:40:00.007+08:00

What makes an Ilokano pinakbet or a pinakbet preferred by Ilokanos is that it is ,and it should be with, and not just with, but full of, paria or bitter melon. Because the Ilokano is known by its food preference for pait or bitterness, the more a pinakbet has paria, the more it is a sumptuous and delightful feast of bitterness and saltiness (of the preferred condiment bugguong--salt-fermented fish and not shrimps, of course!).

I always like my pinakbet to be nakaparparia, nakapapait, full of this beloved Ilokano veggie fruit--the native and wild variety is a must, too, for more bitterness to be rendered, endured, and enjoyed.

This is my recent pinakbet a nakaparparia, as a proof of pinakbet concept and life, the patneng nga Ilokano way:

And here are the ingredients from which I designed this perfect, well, almost, vanity pinakbet:

These are freshly picked/harvested bitter goodies from my container garden. Ilocos species of a paria kind, not the native one, though, but a hybrid of sort.

Some of the obligatory and faithful paria company for a pinakbet: kamatis, tarong, okra, and utong. Sili is not available at the time. And of course no karabasa here ever as it's a no-no for an Ilokano pinakbet to have a karabasa (only Tagalog 'pakbet' variations, with an awkward shrimp paste, has it)

This is it, once again, the by-product:

And this here is my own labay, pardon my gluttony, but this is pinakbet with lots of paria, so, let me just indulge:

And pardon, this is me not bragging about an Ilokano gourmet food but me inviting you to "mangantayon, apo, pagan-anusan ti adda!" let's eat, folks!

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More, about pinakbet:

For more Ilokano vegetable dishes, you can follow Ilokano Food page on Facebook and enjoy more sumptuous photos of dinengdeng and other vegetable dishes plus more veggies!

Follow also Ilokano Food @ Instagram and subscribe to Ilokano Food YoutTube channel for more photos, videos, and stories about Ilokano food, cooking, cuisine, and culture.

dinengdeng a nasagpawan iti kappo (tahong)

2021-10-31T00:59:00.000+08:00

Dinengdeng! Also known as inabraw. The staple dish of the Ilokanos to go with innapuy or steamed rice. A medley of vegetables, preferably green leafy veggies, boiled or blanched in bugguong (fish sauce/paste) broth. With or without a sagpaw (an add on of either fish or meat, grilled, fried, or dried).

Or with shellfish. Like kaggo (big brackish water clam). Or tahong (kappo, mussel).

Oh, this is a really different dinengdeng, a first time that I tried to add tahong in it:

Here, our beloved dinengdeng will comprise saluyot, squash flowers, and kabatiti (sponge gourd):

The veggies are ready:

Boil the bugguong essence in a minimal water, put in the kabatiti first, simmer, then put in the saluyot and squash flowers, steam briefly then put the mussels atop and steam quickly to cook:

And here’s it, my unusual dinengdeng, well, kind of. The tahong’s unique flavor and scent fused with the bugguong’s inherent aroma and the natural sweetness of the fresh veggies made this one dinengdeng phenomenal. And see, it’s gorgeous even, a colorful blend :

More dinengdengs:

For more Ilokano vegetable dishes, you can follow Ilokano Food page on Facebook and enjoy more sumptuous photos of dinengdeng and other vegetable dishes plus more veggies!

Follow also Ilokano Food @ Instagram and subscribe to Ilokano Food YoutTube channel for more photos, videos, and stories about Ilokano food, cooking, cuisine, and culture.

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kilawen a bilis, raw herring/sardine

2021-09-21T03:14:00.006+08:00

Bilis is the local sardine/herring fish (family clupeidae) which is usually consumed raw or cooked in vinegar. I like it raw or kilawen (kinilaw). Fresh bilis is prized for its sweetish flesh and oily texture (which is common in sardine and herring fishes). I came upon a fresh bilis catch from Aparri (Cagayan) town and immediately prepared some for kinilaw.

Here's my video of the process:

I removed head and guts and washed the fish well. You can opt to fillet the fish (remove the fishbone) for a more presentable kinilaw. But for me, this time, I'm over-eager to consume it so I didn't remove the siit anymore--I'll just take care of it when I'll eat them one by one, hehehe! After washing the decapitated and gutted fish, tossed it in vinegar, minced onions and crushed and minced garlic and ginger, some salt (add cracked pepper if you like), and chilis fermented in vinegar. It's that simple. The vinegar will simply "cook" the bilis. Put in a freezer for some minutes if you want, for all the ingredients/spices to blend well with the fish flesh.

A close up of this heavenly delicacy. See the oily skin? Great texture. The flesh is so sweetishly sour and so delicious and sumptuous with its distinct sardiny smell that blesses the palate with the taste and aroma of the raw sea:

Perfect for pulutan and as an appetizer. Mangantayon! (Originally blogged December 2, 2009)

Some comments from the original post:

Marlene Says:

02 December 2009 at 2:05 pm e

Saan ko pay a naramanan to fresh fish. It looks like it’s safe. i would like to try some but where can i get it here in Vancouver, Canada

Rey Says:

02 December 2009 at 4:47 pm e

Wow ang sarap, maalala ko while i was still in the Philippines, yan ang lagi naming ginagawa specially pag season sa isdang yan. i wish mayron din yan d2 sa Vancouver.

Vicky Says:

03 December 2009 at 5:36 pm e

Tinagan na pay kanyami no dadakel ket Baranban, ibabad ti iloko suka, pamienta ken asin overnight kinabigatan ket iprito daytoy, talaga nga naimas daytoy.

In germany this kind of fish called Herring. They eat as kilawen too,With vinegar, lots of Onion, pepper and salt.When we eat ,take the tail and start the upper part of the fish ( w/out head and bone of course)

Sharon Rose Telan-Weibling Says:

08 December 2009 at 8:11 am e

I don’t know if this is an original Ilocano dish. When I was in Italy, they were serving this kind of dish. Meron nga lang olive oil.

Marlene Says:

08 December 2009 at 12:25 pm e

okey that is called herring here in vancouver. i see that fish pickled and looks tasty.

rva Says:

08 December 2009 at 12:53 pm e

bilis is classified as a sardine fish and is under the family Clupeidae which also include herrings, shads, anchovies, etc. it might be a subspecies of the pacific herring (Clupea pallasii). another species is the atlantic herring.

anyway, herring is also traditionally eaten raw in the netherlands and in some other scandinavian countries.

see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herring and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clupeidae

aurora lambino Says:

02 January 2010 at 2:28 pm e

Thank you for this blog. I truly enjoyed looking at all your post(s), specially the pictured ilokano dishes. My mother used to cook “all” these when we were growing up in Baguio (ie my mother is a migrant from Sto Domingo, Ilocos Sur). Have not mastered any of those featured.. I do a “quasi” job with frozen ingredients I find in the supermarket doing binug-goongan nga saluyot ken marunggay, when my 96 Year old mother craves for these.. Thanks again, I will try to find squash flowers in the summer. Definitely recommending it to my friends,

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More kilawen nga ikan:

Kilawen a tirong, picnic by the beach
Kilawen a bilis, raw sardine/herring
Kilawen a talibukno
Kilawen a taburkit/munamon
Kilawen a pusit/laki

For more Ilokano dishes and others like this kilawen, you can follow Ilokano Food page on Facebook.

Follow also Ilokano Food @ Instagram and subscribe to Ilokano Food YoutTube channel for more photos, videos, and stories about Ilokano food, cooking, cuisine, and culture.

kilawen a tirong: a picnic by the beach [repost]

2021-08-21T01:00:00.008+08:00

Tirong is small saltwater fish. It's called bonnet mouth fish and is the ingredient in the popular bugguong (bagoong, fish sauce/paste) called bugguong a tirong. Tirong when fully grown (to its adult size) is called "dalagang bukid" and is great for sinigang and escabeche or simply as fried. And of course, the inevitable kilawen, freshly caught tirong eaten raw with the pristine saltiness and sweetness and succulence of the raw sea.

Kilawen a tirong.

Stopping by at Candon City on our way to a writer's convention in La Union, we decided to rest awhile and while away the thick and humid Ilocos summer heat and take a dip at the Ilocos Sur sea.

We went to a beach at Barangay Calungboyan and there we were lucky enough to come upon some fishermen who just came ashore in a rakit (balsa, bamboo raft) with their sea bounty.

There, the precious tirong, about 3 kilos of it, the only catch so far of the jolly Ilokano mangngalap (fisherman), besides a single pana-pana (sea urchin) and a baby kurita (octopus).

We bought all the tirong, of course, as we are so over-eager to have a taste of its freshness, its inviting deliciousness, its mouth-watering rawness...

We unanimously voted to have it as kilawen. No way should its freshness and succulence be wasted! And so we simply made it with available condiments. We poured vinegar on the tirong and it's done, it's that simple. With some salt and chili by the side.

You have to pick the tirong by hand, have some salt on it and eat it right on, have your mouth and palate some guilty pleasures. Its flesh is sweetish, a little bitter because of its intact entrails, briny with the natural taste of the raw sea. Eat it all, fishhead and fishbone, it's so small you can chew all its goodness.

And but of course, it's more palatable and with drinks, its inevitable partner. We've got a case of Red Horse Litro to down the great kilawen a tirong.

Ah! Goodness gracious, how refreshing and delectable life could be at the seashore. Life's a beach, indeed!

Drinkers. :-)

Calongbuyan Beach
Candon City, Ilocos Sur.

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More kilawen nga ikan:

Kilawen a bilis, raw sardine/herring
Kilawen a talibukno
Kilawen a bilis manen, sardine/herring ceviche
Kilawen a taburkit/munamon
Kilawen a pusit/laki

For more Ilokano dishes and others like this kilawen, you can follow Ilokano Food page on Facebook.

Follow also Ilokano Food @ Instagram and subscribe to Ilokano Food YoutTube channel for more photos, videos, and stories about Ilokano food, cooking, cuisine, and culture.

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pinakbet a nadumaduma

2021-07-04T09:50:00.001+08:00

More various pinakbet cooked the Ilokano way and by Ilokanos. So, we can say these real, authentic Ilokano pinakbets!

Pinakbet with "male" alukon.

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More, about pinakbet:

For more Ilokano vegetable dishes, you can follow Ilokano Food page on Facebook and enjoy more sumptuous photos of dinengdeng and other vegetable dishes plus more veggies!

Follow also Ilokano Food @ Instagram and subscribe to Ilokano Food YoutTube channel for more photos, videos, and stories about Ilokano food, cooking, cuisine, and culture.

nateng manen: nothing but nateng Ilokano veggie staples (7)

2021-02-14T06:15:00.004+08:00

Nothing but nateng, yeah, here are more various vegetables in various preparation and presentation in their most delicious form: dinengdeng/inabraw and pinakbet's and other sumptuous Ilokano mix.

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For more Ilokano vegetable dishes, you can follow Ilokano Food page on Facebook and enjoy more sumptuous photos of dinengdeng and other vegetable dishes plus more veggies!

Follow also Ilokano Food @ Instagram and subscribe to Ilokano Food YoutTube channel for more photos, videos, and stories about Ilokano food, cooking, cuisine, and culture.

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More dinengdengs:

nothing but nateng & other Ilokano vegetable dishes (6)

2021-02-07T06:14:00.007+08:00

It's February 2021 and to continue on our series of nothing but nateng, here are more various vegetables in various preparation and presentation in their dinengdeng/inabraw and pinakbet's and other dishes in its most delicious form:

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For more Ilokano meat dishes, you can follow Ilokano Food page on Facebook and enjoy more sumptuous photos of dinengdeng and other vegetable dishes plus more veggies!

Follow also Ilokano Food @ Instagram and subscribe to Ilokano Food YoutTube channel for more photos, videos, and stories about Ilokano food, cooking, cuisine, and culture.

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More natengs:

lauya a kamanokan & darangidangan a kapapayaan, native chicken soup with partially riped papaya

2021-02-01T12:05:00.002+08:00

One of the most delicious, most savory, most gorgeous chicken soup or stew, for me, is of course, that of the "kamanokan" or free-range native chicken cooked/stewed for almost an hour in moderate fire to let its insane aroma and tasty fat to ooze out, turning the broth golden and thick. The beloved lauya a manok or tinola a manok. And of course, with the obligatory add-on, the distinct and essential green papayas and chili leaves or paria leaves or marunggay leaves.

But I adore more the almost ripe green papaya to complete my favorite lauya, for its obvious sweetness that enhances the soup/broth more and turns it more golden and delicious.

This is it:

A perfect labay!

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More "kamanokan" dishes:

nateng: nothing but nateng and other delicious Ilokano veggie staples (5)

2021-01-31T05:34:00.005+08:00

On to our series of nothing but nateng, here are more various vegetables in various preparation and presentation in their dinengdeng/inabraw and pinakbet's most delicious form:

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For more Ilokano meat dishes, you can follow Ilokano Food page on Facebook and enjoy more sumptuous photos of dinengdeng and other vegetable dishes plus more veggies!

Follow also Ilokano Food @ Instagram and subscribe to Ilokano Food YoutTube channel for more photos, videos, and stories about Ilokano food, cooking, cuisine, and culture.

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More dinengdengs:

natnateng: it's nothing but nateng, that's like being an ilokano a managnateng (4)

2021-01-24T04:01:00.004+08:00

No Ilokano, or rare are Ilokanos who's not fond, who's not eating, who doesn't prefer, who don't want, who shun away from vegetables especially the green leafy ones. And here's to them, here are more various vegetables in various preparation and presentation in their dinengdeng/inabraw and pinakbet's most delicious form:

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For more Ilokano meat dishes, you can follow Ilokano Food page on Facebook and enjoy more sumptuous photos of dinengdeng and other vegetable dishes plus more veggies!

Follow also Ilokano Food @ Instagram and subscribe to Ilokano Food YoutTube channel for more photos, videos, and stories about Ilokano food, cooking, cuisine, and culture.

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More dinengdengs:

dinengdeng with tinapa [repost with new photos]

2021-01-20T20:51:00.000+08:00

I prefer my dinengdengs plain and simple, if I could. I mean, just vegetables, without the usual or even required meat or fish sagpaw (add on). I like it all natural, the all-vegetable savor, aroma and all the goodness (vitamins and nutrients and all) there is, organic and all those hypes of being home-grown and cultivated without commercial fertilizers or pesticides, whatever organic means. I'm no vegan, I'm just used to it since childhood, raised in a poor farming community where vegetables is a staple as rice. I'm not used to a meat or fish diet because meat in those days, even fish, is a luxury. We only slaughter our native chickens, pigs, or goats on rare occasions. And I was taught by my mother and grandmother not to crave or indulge on naimas a masida (ulam, viand), whenever we have a chicken for lunch or dinner, my mother will only cook the bony parts for tinola, the meaty parts she sets aside to be grilled or fried for the next days as a sagpaw for dinengdengs. The same is true with fish, fresh or dried, some pieces like fish head will always be set aside to act as sagpaw to give savor to the broth of the dinengdeng. Typically Ilokano. And I just love being called kuripot with it, I don't care.

And so with tinapa, particularly tinapa a galunggong which is my favorite, fried with kamatis and bugguong plus lasona for a dip...

..with which is just perfect as a sagpaw for dinengdeng like this--uggot ken sabong karabasa, sabong ken bunga ti kabatiti, and kalunay:

The smoky scent and flavor of the tinapa blends so well with the rawness of the veggies and the fragrance of the bugguong, fusing as if magically, to yield a uniquely tasty smoky broth, like what miraculously happened to this dinengdeng--utong, okra, kalunay, marunggay, talinum:

And my favorite pair: ginisa a kamatis with fried tinapa, what else?

And here are more:

Now, where's my rice?

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For more Ilokano vegetable dishes, you can follow Ilokano Food page on Facebook and enjoy more sumptuous photos of dinengdeng and other vegetable dishes plus more veggies!

Follow also Ilokano Food @ Instagram and subscribe to Ilokano Food YoutTube channel for more photos, videos, and stories about Ilokano food, cooking, cuisine, and culture.

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More dinengdengs:

natnateng, pinakbet, dinengdeng, inabraw: nothing but nateng, ilokano life's a veggie (3)

2021-01-17T03:49:00.004+08:00

It's 2021, and here are more various vegetables in various preparation and presentation in their dinengdeng/inabraw and pinakbet's most delicious form:

For more Ilokano meat dishes, you can follow Ilokano Food page on Facebook and enjoy more sumptuous photos of dinengdeng and other vegetable dishes plus more veggies!

Follow also Ilokano Food @ Instagram and subscribe to Ilokano Food YoutTube channel for more photos, videos, and stories about Ilokano food, cooking, cuisine, and culture.

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More dinengdengs:

dinengdeng a sabong ti karabasa ken kabatiti, squash flower & sponge gourd

2020-12-03T06:02:00.008+08:00

This is one most favorite Ilokano dish, a dinengdeng consisting a flower and a fruit and that's all that matter. Karabasa. Kabatiti. These two bring forth sweetness, literally sweet from the blossom's floral nectarines (that's nectar, honey!), and the pod's natural sugars in there. Sweetness that is further enhanced and defined by the Ilokano bugguong to concoct a unique dinengdeng broth so delicious, rich, comforting.

The cooking:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tu5DGL1_-3I

(Subscribe to Ilokano Food YoutTube channel for more photos, videos, and stories about Ilokano food, cooking, cuisine, and culture.)

Naluton!

Mangantayon!

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More dinengdengs:

natnateng, pinakbet, dinengdeng: ilokano life is veggie life (2)

2020-11-30T01:01:00.002+08:00

Here are more various vegetables in various preparation and presentation in their dinengdeng/inabraw and pinakbet's most delicious form:

For more Ilokano meat dishes, you can follow Ilokano Food page on Facebook and enjoy more sumptuous photos of dinengdeng and other vegetable dishes plus more veggies!

Follow also Ilokano Food @ Instagram and subscribe to Ilokano Food YoutTube channel for more photos, videos, and stories about Ilokano food, cooking, cuisine, and culture.

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More dinengdengs:

natnateng, dinengdeng, inabraw: ilokano life is life is vegetable (1)

2020-11-28T04:36:00.002+08:00

Most Ilokanos "can't live without" and therefore literally lives on vegetables or anything that's edible in the plant kingdom and exclusively cooked or served and eaten with bugguong. Though of course meat lovers, they still prefer their meat dishes paired with a vegetable dish or two especially when the meat is fatty (like pork). Veggies serve as an appetizer as well as a neutralizer of sort to "balance" intake of "sinful" food, i.e. fatty and red meat.

And here are various vegetables in various preparation and presentation in their dinengdeng/inabraw form:

Sarabat (large ferns) a napakbet iti salamagi ken kamatis.

For more Ilokano meat dishes, you can follow Ilokano Food page on Facebook and enjoy more sumptuous photos of dinengdeng and other vegetable dishes plus more veggies!

Follow also Ilokano Food @ Instagram and subscribe to Ilokano Food YoutTube channel for more photos, videos, and stories about Ilokano food, cooking, cuisine, and culture.

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More dinengdengs:

kappukan a.k.a. ataata: great ilokano raw meat dish a.k.a. kilawen

2020-11-16T01:00:00.003+08:00

Kappukan or ataata is really that great Ilokano dish of raw meat, the most preferred is of course beef, but some love carabao meat or carabeef as well, and goat meat, too. And here are some photographs that could at the very least serve as a proof--just by looking at these delicious photographs won't satisfy your want and craving but what the heck, the eyes, and the mind, can feast as well:

For more Ilokano meat dishes, you can follow Ilokano Food page on Facebook and enjoy more sumptuous photos of kappukan and other meat dishes!

Follow also Ilokano Food @ Instagram and subscribe to Ilokano Food YoutTube channel for more photos, videos, and stories about Ilokano food, cooking, cuisine, and culture.

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More meat dishes:

imbaliktad and other favorite ilokano meat soup dishes

2020-11-13T01:00:00.001+08:00

Here are some delicious (to ogle, reminisce, crave for, and contemplate upon) photographs of the Ilokano favorite meat soup dish called imbaliktad.

For more Ilokano meat dishes, you can follow Ilokano Food page on Facebook and enjoy more sumptuous photos of pinapaitan, sinanglaw, imbaliktad and others!

Follow also Ilokano Food @ Instagram and subscribe to Ilokano Food YoutTube channel for more photos, videos, and stories about Ilokano food, cooking, cuisine, and culture.

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More meat soup dishes:

pinapaitan, sinanglaw: favorite ilokano meat dish bitter and/or sour(ed) soups

2020-11-11T04:07:00.020+08:00

Here are some delicious (to ogle, reminisce, crave for, and contemplate upon) photographs of Ilokano favorite meat dishes and essentials, of pinapaitan, sinanglaw and variations and versions.

Pinapaitan a kalding.

Pinapaitan/sinanglaw a kalding.

Pinapaitan a baka.

Pinapaitan a kalding.

Pinapaitan a baka.

Pinapaitan a nuang.

Pinapaitan a baka.

Pinapaitan a nuang.

Pinapaitan/sinanglaw a baka.

Pinapaitan a kalding.

Pinapaitan a baka.

Pinapaitan a nuang.

Sinanglaw.

Pinapaitan a baka.

Sinanglaw.

For more Ilokano meat dishes, you can follow Ilokano Food page on Facebook and enjoy more sumptuous photos of pinapaitan, sinanglaw, imbaliktad and others!

Follow also Ilokano Food @ Instagram and subscribe to Ilokano Food YoutTube channel for more photos, videos, and stories about Ilokano food, cooking, cuisine, and culture.

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More meat soup dishes:

idi naglutoak iti imbaliktad idi 2005

2020-11-07T17:17:00.000+08:00

This is from my old/defunct web log (blog), where I blogged about a variety of things, a miscellany of stuff, and but mostly accounts of my work and escapades in writing and of course, cooking and food. I want to preserve the original here so this is in Ilokano, on how, one time, I cooked my own version of imbaliktad, a kind and sort of quickie meat dish popular among Ilokanos to go with steamed rice and with drinks, naturally, or most specially.

(Original content source: https://mannurat.blogspot.com/2004/11/imbaliktad.html)

pumodblag (foodblog) tay' man met. daytay man la nalaka ken daras a lutuen. isu daytoy imbaliktad. apagluto, halfcooked, a karne ti baka (wenno nuang, wenno kalding, depende iti adda), ibalibaliktadmo laeng iti sumagmamano a daras, ayosen, kakang! express kunam man.

ipakpakaunak, diak a sanay wenno diak (pay) kabisado ti mangiparang iti resipe a daytay binsaek amin a rukod wenno kaadu-kabassit dagiti ramen (kas pagarigan no mano a kutsara wenno kutsarita a manteka, toyo, suka, wenno no mano kapirsay a bulong wenno tasa a bukel wenno no mano kangipen a bawang wenno kabukel a sibuyas wenno kapitpit a laya, kdpy), isu a kas iti daydiay namay-ak iti panaglutok iti pinakbet, ibagak lattan dagiti ingrediente ken panglakagan. agduduma ti servingna, depende iti no mano ti expected a mangan, makaammon a mangkarkulo no mano ken kasano ti bilang wenno kaadu ti lutuen.

ngem daytoy linutok ita ditoy nga imbaliktad, mabalin a good for 3 wenno 4 katao ngata. mabalin met a good for 1 laeng no maimasan, hehe!

dagiti masapul: kalalainganna a kadakkel nga iwa ti lomo ti baka (maysa wenno kagudua kilo, depende iti kaadu ti iserbian), bawang, laya, sibuyas wenno lasona, pamienta, manteka, asin wenno patis, vetchin (optional), ken oyster sauce.

[iti rekado, i prefer dagitay native a bawang ken laya a saan a dagitay dadakkel a naggaput' taiwan. nakapsut ti ingel ken banglo ken gasang dagitoy bawang-taiwan wenno dadakkel a laya. kapintasan dagitay netib a bawang-ilocos. kasta met laeng iti sibuyas. dayta pamienta, optional kaniak. ken dayta oyster sauce, isut' kangrunaan a pangpananam ken pangparamanko saan laeng nga iti imbaliktad ngem uray dadduma a lutuek a karne wenno igisak a natnateng--uray pinapaitan a baka wenno nuang, patedtedak no kua iti oyster sauce ta kayatko 'tay sumam-it a nananam a savorna ken 'tay sabali a textura ken maris nga itdenna.]

pamay-an: ilgaten ti karne iti babassit (cubes, bite-size). pitpiten ti bawang ken laya, galipen ti sibuyas. sa igisa dagitoy iti manteka agingga nga agbrownish ti bawang ken sibuyas. ikabil ti nail-ilgat a karne, kiwaren. ituloy a kiwkiwaren (balibaliktaden) sa asinan ken iwarakiwik ti napitpit a pamienta. pattogan iti kalalainganna a kaadu ti oyster sauce (saan unay met a kaaduen, pangramanan lang) kabayatan a balibaliktaden. no saanen a nalabaga ti karne, mabalinen nga iddepen ti apuyna ken adawen. aluadan a masobraan a lutuen ta kumulbetto no kuan ti karne (saanton nga "imbaliktad" ti lutonan no kua. no nasobraan, diguamon ilayonmon a lambongen, hehe!). galipan iti naganus a lasona iti rabawna (dayta picture dita ngato ket inarkosak laeng iti nagalip a babassit a lasona ta awan dadakkel), ipasango a napudot.

no dadduma, no adda available, laokak pay iti dalem ti baka wenno nuang ti imbaliktadek. naim-imas manen. no dadduma pay, gumatangak iti nayonna a liblibro wenno tualtualia (tripes) ket ilaokko iti imbaliktadek. sa no dadduma, dumawatak iti apro wenno pespes iti aglako ket laokak ti imbaliktadko. kinapudnona, adda papaitna a kastoy ti kaaduan nga imbaliktadda iti ilocos. ammoyo metten, mahilig ni ilokano iti napait, papait, pinapaitan. naim-imas manen no adda papaitna ti imbaliktad, timplaem iti kayatmo a kapaitna (daytay saan met unay a nakapapait, a). nagimas no daytay pespes, awan dumana met laengen no kua iti pinapaitan ti imbaliktadmo, awan laeng digona nga arub-ubem. nupay kasta mabalin met a diguan bassit ti imbaliktad no managdigoka wenno managlabayka. ngem di unay kaaduen, a. saan met a talaga a didiguan ti imbaliktad.

perfect match iti agyelyelo a serbesa daytoy imbaliktad, para kaniak. no kua aglutuak laeng iti para-pulotanko. ken no kua ikkak iti naartem a silina ken timplaak iti sangkabassit a suka tapno maymayat ti siludna. wen, no kurusunadam, mabalin met nga alsemam ti imbaliktad. ngem samonto la timplaan iti alsemna (a suka wenno kalamansi/dalayap) no naadawmon. no igiddanmo bayat a lutlutuem, kumbet ken kumulbet ti imbaliktadem.

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pinakbet with kaggo

2020-10-16T02:23:00.000+08:00

Pinakbet nga addaan kaggo.

Yet another kaggo dish. And now with the ubiquitous but venerable pinakbet. Instead of the usual meat such as pork with thick fat or that quintessential bagnet (also called chicharon, deeply fried pork shanks), or fish grilled or fried or dried, let's try some shellfish. And kaggo, being a large clam with a promising "meat" is one suitable consideration for a sagpaw.

These are really humongous clams, you bet:

Open the shells of the live kaggo and shuck the meat out, save the tasty “digo” for the pinakbet:

Cook the pinakbet as it is, instead of water, use the kaggo’s “broth” to dilute the bugguong, for a truly kaggo-flavored pinakbet. Put in the kaggo meat when all the veggies are about to be done, simmer for a few minutes, don’t overcook the kaggo so that it stays tender and succulent:

In this pinakbet, besides tarong, paria, sili, okra and kamatis, I added bagas ti kamote (sweet potato) to thicken and sweeten the pakbet:

This pinakbet is unique in that it has the tastiness and kaggo-ness of the popular brackish water clam. The flavor is enhanced by the sweetness of the camote, a more Ilokano, and therefore more original taste, that is distinct from that Tagalog pinakbet variation which is soupy and infused with karabasa (squash). An original Ilokano pinakbet has no karabasa in it. If it’s needed to be sweetened, starchy tubers such as camote or taro (like rabok) or some yams (like balinghoy, tugi, ubi, kamangeg) are added.

Come, let's eat, share with me this Ilokano gastronomic bliss:

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