IN the ?80s, I lived in Sarrat to help set up the tomato paste plant, Northern Foods Incorporated. In the four years I was there, I was able to explore the culinary terrain of Ilocos. What a revelation!
Food from Curimao was different from the dishes in San Nicolas, Batac or Laoag. Each town had its version of longganisa, empanada or tacos ti Amianan. Batac?s longganisa, which was darker and had a stronger scent (because of the local vinegar and its tiny but potent garlic), was the best, followed by the ones from Laoag.
I sampled many delicious and unusual dishes, like Nana Mining Ablan?s very popular dry dinuguan and Rudy Farinas? sarabasab, grilled pork smothered with fresh onions, vinegar and other local ingredients. There too was Celing Quilala?s pinakbet or pakbut. The Laoag market also sold uni or seaweed, which we used to cut into squares and deep fry.
Authentic Ilocano dishes
I miss the food from that province. On a recent visit, Bong suggested that we try this small restaurant in San Nicolas called Dawang?s Place. I went there with friends from the shooting community, and we all had a feast!
Some of the authentic Ilocano dishes we sampled were tinondo, which is grilled pork with chopped Italian tomatoes, vinegar and patis; imbaliktad, half-cooked beef seasoned with local spices and ingredients; papaitan, slightly boiled goat meat with sliced innards and marinated in vinegar, sliced onions and local ingredients.
We also had igado, tender pork with slices of liver and jalapeño peppers in light sauce. Ingenious among those gastronomic creations was a dish called dinardaraan, Ilocos Norte?s version of dinuguan that didn?t have the usual tender pork slices, but chopped bagnet (crispy lechon kawali), instead. Bagnet is an Ilocano specialty made of pork belly from a female pig that has never given birth. The belly is deep fried for hours. It is the most sinfully delicious pork dish you?ll ever taste. Yummy!
If you want real adventure in local dining, Dawang?s Place is worth the long trip to the north. It is located in San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte. Check it out.
Happy eating!
Email sandydaza@shaw.ca
