Hot start

IT was a hot day when I wrote today’s column. As I was walking under the blistering heat, I found an idea to start off my March columns.

Spicy food is a common fare on Filipino tables. Tinuwa, a kind of fish soup, is often given kick with the addition of siling espada or finger chilies. On cold, rainy days, the soup works us up into a lather as it comforts our stomachs.

There are several Filipino recipes that make use of chilies, which are easy to grow. I have a couple of plants in my backyard and every day I can harvest a cupful of it. I’m even thinking of making a business out of selling fresh siling kulikot (bird’s eye chili).

One spicy food that I like is Cebu’s kinilaw or fresh fish salad. The dish contains cubed fresh tuna or some other white-fleshed fish, coconut milk, chopped ginger, vinegar, grated tabon or tabon-tabon seed among other ingredients.

I sometimes add sliced radish or cucumber, or a combination of both to give the dish some crunch.

Pinangat is a contribution to Philippine cuisine from the Bicol Province. A truly spicy dish, it is made with pork, gabi or taro leaves, coconut milk, shrimp paste and siling kulikot.

Another recipe from Bicol is laing. Bird’s eye chili and ginger give the dish terrific heat, while the coconut milk gives it a creamy texture. It is a meat-lover’s delight as it contains pork belly cubes. Bicol Express is another hot dish from the region. The original recipe called for nothing but coconut milk and sliced finger chilies, sauted with onion and garlic. Several karinderias have created versions of Bicol Express. One diner makes it with pork belly, ginger, finger chilies, shrimp paste and thick coconut milk. Another has string beans sliced into tiny pieces, ground beef, finger chilies and coconut milk.

Other neighboring countries near the Philippines also have spicy food. Maybe next week I will mention them.

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