Fishy Ferments

A not-unimportant part of fisherfolk income and local cuisine, and also our contribution to the world of savory protein ferments: fermented fish products, namely bagoong (a general word that also pertains to fermented shrimp paste) and patis (fish sauce). Not-unimportant because, as my former-fisher hilot (traditional massage therapist) claims, these salted and stored tiny fish usually ferment just in time to provide income during fishing's inevitable low seasons. Furthermore, they satisfy that key basic human need for savoriness. They are also very nutritious, providing a lot of calcium and whatnot, but that's information for a future post.

Sea salt, two types of bagoong, and patis. The first bagoong is bonnet-head terong, the second is a mysterious (to me) white sort, about which all vendors have a different story.

Fishmongers' Containers

Here are various improvised containers that small entrepreneurs use to bring fish to the market.

Aluminum drums with perforated lids held down by synthetic rope strung through carrying handles. Smaller synthetic rope also pulls the larger rope taut.

Plastic tubs with tuna inside plastic.

A crate covered by styrofoam, which has seen better days and is sewn together by plastic straw. Carrying handles have been added to crate and covered by plastic tubing for more comfortable hands.

A drum much like the first photo, but this time with a wooden cover, which also provides ventilation.

Fishy Interests and Hacking Tools

I generally avoid meat and fish sections of the market. Though I am not a meat eater, I wouldn't say I have a real flesh aversion (I stop and stare and have this inner dialogue about nature being amoral) but I do avoid the slippery, smelly, humid section. Anyone who has picked scales off their wallet after dropping it on the wet floor will understand.

A fishing boat off Currimao, Ilocos Norte.

But recently I have gotten interested in fisheries. Perhaps if you're from the Philippines, you already know that fisherfolk are considered some of most vulnerable, improverished people in our country. For a nation with a really long and varied coastline, that says a lot about living context-appropriately. A chef friend of mine has recently gotten involved with the Oceana campaign for sustainable fishing, and our recent trip together got me thinking a lot about underutilized marine species, and observing the fisheries sector in general.

Mallet, large knife with handle, chopping board, with fish segments.

When I would ask vendors in houseware stalls selling mallet-like heavy wooden sticks with ends wrapped in rubber what they were for, I was always told they were for smacking animal or fish heads to kill them. Recently, though, I noticed that cleaver handles were in short supply, but the dull thud from the rubberized sort of clubs allowed vendors to hack away at larger tuna-family fish. I have no doubt that these are also used for chopping pork or beef.

Handle-less cleaver on chopping board.

Segment.

The Giant Bear of Batac

The city of Batac, Ilocos Norte, has a giant teddy bear near their city hall. It has gone from being a sort of Santa Claus Christmas decor to an orange bear to this version, taken months ago, in pale wrapping paper. The "message heart" contains message upon message. Better than the Koons dog, in my opinion.

Variation on Flyswatter

 

 

Ilocano Canvas Reuse

An old house has an old pillow covered by an old cotton banner.

And another.

Perdido Funeral Homes' garage features coffins covered by old flour sacks sewn together.

Tokak

Dressed frogs.

The weekly market in Paoay features a few things that would make the Manileño throw up a little in his mouth. I am a slightly morbid non-meat eater who is often faced with things that make me shudder, but my cultural curiosity often outweighs any initial horror.

I can imagine siblings fighting over the frog segment that has the eggs hanging from them.

But also, the presence of frogs, ant eggs, and whatnot in the Ilocano menu is an encouraging diet that is "hedged"-- i.e. still includes a variety of species, in particular some that haven't quite made it into the industrial realm. Frogs or tokak from the rice fields are eaten just like chicken-- battered and fried, stewed in coconut milk or adobo-style.

There was a lady from Paoay, bla bla selling frogs, bla bla pink flower on slippers bla bla.

Halo-Halo Girls

Bunch of cute kids eating halo-halo in Adams, Ilocos Norte.

Ilocano Halo-Halo and Ice Shaving Improvisation

Halo-halo in cups, waiting for ice and milk in Ilocos.

Other countries have this flower or that blooming, or some bird singing to mark the coming of spring, the Philippines has the gradual cropping up of halo-halo stalls to mark the coming of summer. This weird rainy summer is no exception.

Colored gulaman (seaweed jelly) and sago pearls at the Alabang market.

Propped up by a seasonal halo-halo economy of market vendors selling sweetened beans, garishly colored jelly, and colored (pinipig) toasted rice. Truthfully, there's a little too much color for my tastes in it, but once in awhile is okay.

Gulaman being molded in plastic cups in a kind of grody setting, Alabang market.

 Ilocos Norte is not usually the place you would expect halo-halo. Of course, it's all over the country, but you wouldn't be surprised not to find it in this relatively sedate province. It is terribly hot out there. Its delicacies consist generally of rice cakes on the sweet side, and deep-fried pork things on the savory side.

I was fiending for something cold, and had been asking the locals about halo-halo for days. I got some free time and stopped by a stall with some friends along Paoay Lake.

The stall, under a bamboo frame, with a curtain shading the owner from the harsh sun.

So of course, Ilocanos being the resourceful and the tightwads that they are (local stereotypes are fun), supplement store-bought ingredients (colored jelly and sago balls) with cheaper (but better) ingredients such as freshly grated coconut, boiled and lightly sugared sweet potato, and my favorite thus far (in place of the usual canned or yellow sweet corn), nixtamalized corn (usually used in binatog). It sounds fancy, but nixtamalized corn is really creamy, alkalized white, glutinous corn that does not have skin. More on that later.

Colored toasted rice, sweetened beans, sweetened sweet potato, sweetened banana, nixtamalized corn, and grated coconut.

Nixtamalized corn. Creamy and super delicious.

Grated coconut.

Another super great thing is that the woman manning the stall (sounds funny doesn't it. What-- womanning?) had invented an apparatus to keep the ice (made from water frozen in plastic bags) from slipping while she shaves it. It was made from pieces of wood and bottle caps.

Bottle caps nailed to a small piece of wood board.

The wood hold the ice while the vendor shaves, thus allowing her to exert maximum force.

Ice on bottle caps.

A nearly spent piece of ice. The board also has bottle caps as legs so it doesn't slip either.

Ice Man Ice Shaver.

Recent Containers

It is always encouraging to see plant material being used for practical things. Despite the fiesta baratillo being filled with cheap, made in China plastic implements, Ilocanos still use bamboo and other woven things for practical purposes. This contributes to the stewardship of species and the general beauty of everyday life.

Bamboo baskets for catching and placing fish.

Bamboo pole lunch. Last time I saw this guy, his fish catch was dangling from the front portion of the pole.

A typical Northern Philippine backpack, except the two straps replaced by a snakeskin shoulder strap.

Inflatable Marine Animal Bonanza at Fiesta

An array of inflatable dolphins and penguins.

The inflating of them.

Coconut Merienda

A sheath style that seems to be popular in Ilocos.

The sweetest coconut ever.

Entertaining is easy with coconut trees and large knives. Coconut meat for eating, coconut water for drinking.

Makeshift Muscles, Part IV

More improvised weight sightings, this time around Northern Luzon.


Milk cans filled with cement, rusty boys. On an Abra farm.

Beside the sidewalk in Laoag, Ilocos Norte. A bamboo bar.

Molded cement with bolts that make the weights removable.
Makeshift muscles, Part I, II, and III.

Religion in the Octagon House

Top-view of belen... on a plate.

The Octagon House is a beautiful old octagon-shaped house in Paoay, Ilocos Norte. It is lived-in. If there is anything I like more than plain old houses, it is old houses that are lived-in. Their stories continue, and they continue to have good, livable ventilation.


The octagon house from the outside.

The house was built by a local, Constancio Duque, in 1939. He was inspired by his stay in the Chicago, where houses were going beyond the boxy styles and into a so-called "bubble" style. Before being known as the Octagon House, it was called the idiay nagbukel or "round house".

Inside there is the typical assortment of Filipino Catholic paraphernalia.


Belen, frontal view.


Altar and Constancio's wedding photo.


Very large and unsettling figures.


Handpainted reproduction of that famous mother and child poster, by the owner of the home.