Popular Dishes of Region I

    Region I of the Philippines is located in the northwestern region portion of Luzon. It is bounded by the Cordillera Administrative Region and Cagayan Valley to the east, Central Luzon to the south and by the South China Sea to the west. The region is composed of four provinces, namely: Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union and Pangasinan. Below are one of the most popular must try dishes of Region I with their recipe. Feel free to try these dishes with its authentic recipes at home during this pandemic. 

Ilocos Norte is also known as a northern tourist destination, being the location of Fort Ilocandia, an upper class hotel and beach resort famous among expatriates, and Pagudpud.  The Ilocano cuisine – ranges from the exotic "abu-os" (ant eggs) to vegetable broth "dinengdeng," and "pinakbet" the sticky "tinubong" to the "poqui-poqui" (eggplant salad). 

Dinengdeng is a vegetable dish that originated from the Ilocos region in the Philippines. It is composed of different vegetables that are usually grown in one’s backyard. This dish has a similarity with bulanglang and laswa; the obvious difference of Dinengdeng is the use of fried or grilled fish. 

If you want to try this at home you can! I provided the recipe below:

Ingredients:

1 whole milk fish sliced and grilled

2 to 3 cups malunggay moringa leaves, cleaned

2 cups squash flower

12 to 15 pieces small to medium sized okra

1 bundle string beans sliced into 3 inch pieces

2 pieces medium ampalaya bitter gourd, cored and sliced

2 to 3 tablespoons bagoong isda unprocessed fish sauce

1 knob ginger sliced

2 medium tomato chopped

1 medium onion chopped

3 cups water

Instructions:

1.  Bring water to a boil in a large cooking pot.

2.  Add the ginger, onion, and tomato. Cook covered for 5 minutes.

3.  Pour-in the bagoong isda. Stir.

4.  Add okra and string beans. Stir and add the ampalaya. Cook in medium heat for 7 to 10 minutes.

5.  Put-in the squash flower and malunggay leaves. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes.

6. Add the grilled milk fish. Let it stay for 3 to 5 minutes to add flavor to the dish. Serve. Share and enjoy!

    Ilocos Sur is a province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region in Luzon. Its capital is the city of Vigan, located on the mouth of the Mestizo River.  They are known for agricultural crops such as rice, corn tobacco and fruit trees dominate their farm industries. Secondary crops are camote and cassava, sugar cane and onions.

    Sinanglaw is a Ilocos cuisine that is popular to Ilocos Sur. It’s a favourite breakfast food for the Ilocanos that is made from a cow’s internal organs including its tenderloin, heart and intestines. They are boiled and are best paired with ‘sukang Iloco’ or Ilocos vinegar.

If you want to try this at home you can! I provided the recipe below:

Ingredients:

1/2 kilogram of beef innards (liver, intestine, kidney, lung , pancreas)

1/4 kilo beef tendons

1/4 kilo beef face

1/4 cup of beef bile juice

2 inches ginger, julienned

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 bulb onion, sliced

2 tablespoon cooking oil

1 cup of white vinegar

Salt to taste

Instruction:

1. Put beef innards in a casserole. Put enough water and boil for about 30 minutes.

2.  Boil tendons and beef face on a separate casserole until meat is tender.

3.  Remove meat from casserole.

4. Chop all the internals and meat into small pieces. Set aside

5. Saute garlic, ginger, and onions.

6.  Add bile and chopped meat. Continue sauteing for at least two minutes.

7. Add 4~5 cups of water and 1 cup vinegar. Bring to boil then lower heat and simmer for at 8. least 45 minutes. Add water if necessary.

9. Seasoned with salt. Serve hot.

  La Union is known for its soft broom and tourism industry. The major products of the province include hand-woven blankets (Inabel), soft brooms, baskets, pottery, rice wine (tapuey), sugarcane wine (basi), sugarcane vinegar, wood craft, bamboo craft, native rice cakes, antique-finish furniture, dried fish, coconuts, sea urchins, malunggay and pebble stones.

     Kilawin is consists of meat like beef, pork, fish, or goat cooked in an unusual method using the acidity of vinegar or calamansi. This process makes the meat a lot tastier.

If you want to try this at home you can! I provided the recipe below:

Ingredients:

500 grams fresh yellow fin tuna fillet, cut into cubes (you can also use beef, pork, or goat)

3/4 cup vinegar (for washing)

1/3 cup vinegar or spiced vinegar if you have one

1 red onion chopped

2 tablespoons of ginger, sliced into fine strips or small cubes

4 tablespoons of Filipino calamansi (you can also use lime or lemon as a substitute)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

3 pieces Thai chili or bird’s eye chili, chopped (optional)

1 tablespoon of sugar (optional)

1 tomato, diced (optional)

Instructions:

1.  Prepare all of the ingredients.

2.  Get a bowl and combine the cubed fish and the 3/4 cup vinegar. Mix them well and let it stand for 2 minutes. Afterward, drain the vinegar while slightly squeezing out the fish cubes. (This ‘washing’ procedure will help reduce the fishy smell).

3. Now, combine all the remaining ingredients. Gently toss until all are well blended.

4.  Cover and place inside the fridge for at least 30 minutes. (It’s fine even if you chill it for more time, but too much might ‘overcook’ the fish. The maximum time I would say is 3 hours!).

5. Serve chilled. Share and enjoy with a pairing of beer!

    Pangasinan is on the western area of the island of Luzon along the Lingayen Gulf and West Philippine Sea. The name Pangasinan means "place of salt" or "place of salt-making"; it is derived from the prefix pang, meaning "for", the root word asin, meaning "salt”, and suffix an, signifying "location". The province is a major producer of salt in the Philippines. Its major products include bagoong ("salted-krill") and alamang ("shrimp-paste").

    Pigar-pigar is thin beef slices sauteed in onions and cabbage. It is a popular pulutan in Dagupan City, Pangasinan. It is also commonly served on top of hot rice. Because of its light seasoning, it is usually served with a dipping sauce of fresh chili, calamansi juice and soy sauce.

Ingredients:

1 lb sirloin roast beef or carabao meat, sliced very thinly

2 large white onion, sliced like onion rings

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

coconut oil, for deep frying

1 tbsp vinegar

1 tbsp patis (fish sauce)

1/4 cabbage, chopped

Instructions:

1. In a pan, add enough oil for deep-frying.

2. Heat up the oil until it is near its smoking point, then add the beef slices. Cook until tender.

3. Drain from oil and transfer back into same pan. When the beef is cooked and turned to brown color, add the onion rings and saute.

4. Cook until the onion rings become transparent. Add vinegar and patis to taste.

5. Toss in lastly the cabbage and just half cook it. Serve hot and enjoy!

Sources:

https://www.dti.gov.ph/regions/region-1/profile/#:~:text=The%20region%20is%20composed%20of,San%20Fernando%20City%2C%20La%20Union.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Union

https://www.launiontayo.com.ph/5-la-union-must-try-delicacies/

https://iamaileen.com/kinilaw-recipe-kilawin/

https://www.islandsproperties.com/places/ilocosnorte.htm

https://panlasangpinoy.com/dinengdeng-recipe/

https://osmiva.com/food-vigan-ilocos-sur-philippines/#:~:text=in%20Vigan%2C%20Ilocos-,Bagnet,with%20tomatoes%2C%20bagoong%20and%20garlic.&text=The%20Bagnet%20however%20was%20a,add%2Don%20to%20our%20lunch.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilocos_Sur

https://www.filipinofoodrecipes.org/sinanglaw-sinanglao-recipe

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangasinan

https://www.mamasguiderecipes.com/2017/04/28/pigar-pigar-of-pangasinan/