A Lenten Season Special Meatless Munch

CEBU, Philippines - A piping hot bowl of clear soup definitely makes a perfect lunch in a Cebuano home. There’s the comfort food of utan bisaya, tinowa and of course, larang or linarang that are simple dishes yet surprisingly satisfying.

The fish stew soup larang strikes the balance of saltiness with savory-sourness. In the town of Cordova in Mactan Island, there are rows of food stalls that sell larang nga bakasi (moray eel/snake fish which is abundant in this side of town) while the Wet Market in Pasil vendors use the fresh catch of blue marlin, barracuda, among others, available from 2AM until 4AM.

Meanwhile in my neighborhood, there used to be a hefty number of “larangan” lining outside the Brgy. Cogon Ramos public market. It was only last week when two of my shutterbug friends took me there for lunch that we discovered that only a few of the carenderias survived. When we reached the rear portion of the market, there we knew where to savor a hot bowl of larang — at Bobong’s Eatery owned by Manang Corazon Janson who has been in the business for quite some time now. We knew we were at the right place because of the huge pots with “larang” labels on it, alongside even more huge pots of nilat-ang baka; and fresh white marlin belly (P45 each) atop a griller.

A bowl of larang costs P40 with a slice of rompi. Pair it with hot corn rice and your good. (FREEMAN)