In Ilocos, one need not dine at a restaurant. Nor do you need to worry about getting hungry. Two-and-a-half hours into the trip we were in Rosales, Pangasinan at Olga and Roger’s house, where we had a preview of the culinary expertise of the Pangasinenses and the Ilocanos. Our famished group was delighted to start with the seaweed salad, then a vegetable papaitan and– surprise!–the Japanese-time fish called gurame, done like the Tagalog’s pinangat. Olga served her piece de resistance, dinuguan, and her balikbayan sister Nenita surprised us with paksiw na salmon belly. Add tupig and more and that was breakfast.
When we finally reached Ilocandia, our gracious host, Evelyn, welcomed us to her town with a soothing concoction called Pearl of Vigan, then checked us into our old-world elegant rooms at her newly-opened Vigan Plaza Hotel, right in the town square. Brunch consisted of crunchy Vigan empanadas, taco-type pies with strips of cabbage, an egg and bits of pork. Taken with its traditional dip of vinegar with tomatoes and shallots, the long drive was more than compensated. At the renovated Fort Ilocandia Hotel we had a Chinese lunch. The steak was one of the most tender we have ever had.
In the course of moving from town to town, we got better acquainted with Ilocano food. Some are peddled in churchyards, in the markets and along the streets. We found out that their cuisine goes beyond the traditional longganisa and bagnet (their version of lechon kawali). They cook a lot with vinegar, a regional product. Dinnertime found us in San Ildefonso, suburb of Vigan, where the ladies of the municipal office manage the Garden Café across the hall. We did not realize that they raised coconut crabs there and that you can scoop your dinuguan (this one made with chicken) using pieces you tear off from slabs of pork chicharon. Also on the buffet table was sinanglaw, a soup with innards cooked like sinigang. Their lechon does not come with liver sauce but is served with slivers of green mango and local sauces. We also found out that the papaitan gets its rare bitter taste by squeezing bile over it. The farmers have done this for years and years. You need to acquire a taste for this.
The people of Ilocos make a lot of kakanin from flour. The kalamay is made of glutinuous rice and brown sugar with roasted coconut bits. The okilas is a round biscuit with thick panocha filling. They have malagkit in bamboo tubes, which again you need to scoop out. They are not wanting in snack food, which includes popia, also like taco shells sprinkled with sesame seeds; crunchy corn in packs of 400 gms in four flavors (adobo, barbecue, spicy and garlic). They sell at P100 for three packs.
At the ancestral home of the Quemas where we were received by Josie Puey and Tita Pit, we encountered pancit musiko, a comfort food, cooked like our pancit molo. It has bits of chicken sauteed in tomatoes and onions, thus its rich flavor. It is a versatile soup that can be served during a meal or for merienda. Vendors sell the noodles at P15 a pack of about 150 gms, which is enough to serve a party of six, depending on appetite. Our group relished it with generous slices of green pinipig bibingka. The Pueys make their own chicharon bituka, a guarantee that it is clean.
Needless to say, dinendeng, a savory vegetable dish, is often served in Ilocano homes. We had this at our last dinner at the imposing residence of Evelyn’s son. While there was lechon, prawns and crabs on the table, we concentrated on the grilled tilapia.
Vigan is beautiful, clean and has lots of tourist attractions–the food, the beach, the historic sites, among them. Next week, we will share with you our many other discoveries in Ilocos.