During the November 1-2 holiday, I went home to visit my hometown in Bicol, a 12 hour drive from Manila (at least). The visit gave me a chance to enjoy once again, some of my favorite food from my childhood. One favorite is the seashell , called dalu dalo in local language, which my cousin has kindly prepared for us. It is a small black shell, cooked with creamy coconut milk and malunggay leaves. You either have to suck it or use a toothpick to pick the meat. It is best paired with hot steamed rice. Then, you can forget your diet.
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| Ginataang dalu dalo |
Another favorite is the binutong. Binutong is made of glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk and flavored with a little salt. They are wrapped in banana leaves. As a kid, we lived in a farm for 2 years and I was so used to seeing the wives of some farmers, go around carrying native baskets or bilaos, selling binutong and other snacks made from glutinous rice. My mother always bought from them. They taste so good- and best eaten with brown sugar.
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| Binutong |
Sinapot is one of the most common snacks in Bicol and we used to buy them for snacks in school. Sinapot is sliced plantain or a variety of banana called saba in the Philippines. It is rolled in rice flour and deep fried.
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| Sinapot |
And of course, pili nut is a forever favorite of everybody who comes to visit Bicol- a favorite pasalubong . There are many different kinds of pili nut products but my favorite is the more "traditional" way of preparing it, which is to lightly glaze it with sugar and syrup before deep frying.
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| Yummy pili nuts |
On my next visit, I'll make sure to have the kinunot na pagi (stingray in coconut milk) and the ginataang pako (fiddle fern in coconut milk) . Until the next visit, Bicol!
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