Deli Syosa: For the Gods

Thursday, June 7, 2012

For the Gods

Upland cultures tend to be rice-centric. The terraces are associated with several festivals and customs relating to planting, harvesting, ridding the fields of rats, among others. The cycles rule the rhythms of life..

Rice wine in the Cordilleras is tapuy. Fermented from upland rice varieties of glutinous rice (sometimes a in combination with non-sticky rice), it is part of many rituals, For instance, it is customary to make an offering of the wine to the gods, prior to making the climb to see the Kabayan mummies. In some rites, some of the wine is sprinkled or poured on the ground for the deities, prior to taking a sip of it.

During the Ipitik festival, wine makers from all over the Cordilleras come together to bring together their best wine concoctions and share their stories and practises. Recently, at the Tam-awan International Arts Festival, several wine makers also came to Baguio with their products, guaranteeing many a merry evening.

Tapuy has a clear sweetish taste, with a strong alcohol aroma. The uninitiated would be best advised to sip it slowly as one can underestimate the innocuous 28 proof alcohol content.

Inuman na.

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Sylvia Morningstar

This is what happens when a polyglot, culturally sensitive lawyer meets a doctor who's a master cook and a lover of history. As the blog name says, Delisyosa! Thank Trixie and Alberto

Yuko Takei

My maternal grandmother ate only horse meat. She loathed pork, beef and even chicken. She would buy a horse and had it cut by a professional meat cutter, and she made jerky out of them that could last her months to eat. What she did was to treat them with spices, then smoke them and then heat them to totally dry them up. Sometimes, she deep fry them as in chicharon. When I started working, I used to give her money to buy her horse, and then she let me eat her jerky with her.

Robert Young Jr.

I thought horse meat are tough. Yuko. Have you tried shrimp kinilaw? Unshell half a kilo of live suahe or putian shrimp. Soaked in coconut vinegar, take out the vinegar and mixed with thinely sliced green mango, ginger, some garlic. Add chili labuyo, black pepper and salt. Refrigerate for an hour. It's an Ilongo specialty. You can also substitute shrimp with tanginggi or fresh mayamaya. Who says Robert can't cook? Haha. I hope Sylvia reads this.

Nick Sotelo

In all of our homes from way back when, my parents have always planted kamote,malunggay, sili, papaya and saluyot around our home. There would be vegetables to harvest at moment's notice.

Bong David

My lola salted fresh talangka overnight and presto ready with steaming newly cooked rice and vinegar as sauce. She also prepared milkfish in a different way. Sliced in bits and cooked in soup with vegetables. Never had it again since 30 years ago. Swahe shrimps are also left overnight with onions and vinegar. Every 60's lola did these I 'd suppose. :)

Guest Blogger's Recipe Corner

Tofu ala Spam (hosme!)
by LPM

Extra extra Firm Tofu
Fresh Garlic
EVOO(extra virgin olive oil)
Tamari or soy sauce of your choosing

Slice tofu in strips resembling sliced lunchmeat 1/4" or more
evoo (adjust evoo & soy sauce1/3 of soy sauce to your taste)
Garlic as much as you like

Mix the above ingredients well
Line up tofu slices in a cookie sheet
Drizzle concoction over tofu slices, marinate,turn over, marinate. After a minimum of an hour (longer is better of course), these slices can be cooked 3 ways...
1) BBQ over the grill
2) Baked
3) Fried gently
For a little punch, you can create any type of sawsawan. Healthy and masarap, promise. Cooked tofu can be used as a protein substitute for pansit, chopsuey and so many other dishes. Other serving variations to follow. Enjoy!!

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Philippine Dishes?

The Philippine culinary experience is so rich and varied and ever changing. Many of our traditional dishes are still staples of the lunch or dinner table, but many are fast disappearing or changing to the point of unrecognizability. My mother used to sniff at the toyo slathered dishes saying that that is NOT adobo.
Thus this blog welcomes contributors to the country's edible culture. Interviews with the older generations, dishes prepared as family staples, food experiences, practises, spells and superstitions... even food allergies.

Kain na!