FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Its probably the salmon pink hue where " salmonite " got its name and its among the more attractive local fishes around. Most of the time, it is cooked pinamalhan  or paksiw at home to bring out the freshness of the fish at the same time enjoy the flesh. It can also be cooked kinamatisan , with a "sauce" of tomatoes and onions to give it sweet and sour flavour.  But my favorite is when the salmonite is made into fish tocino  and can be found abundantly in the dried seafood section of markets. Its signature round shape and reddish hue is among the more eye catching dried seafoods sold competing with dried lokus, tabagak, balingon and guinamos among others. The other white round sold is fish tapa . Frying fish tocino is tricky as it is coated with sugar and sugar tends to burn easily and darkens. So with just a medium setting, heat the oil and when its hot enough, fry the fish tocino , carefully concentrating on the sides as it is the f...

Pinoy breakfast usually comes with fried dried fish locally termed as pinakas or balingon . These usually are salted as part of the "preservation technique". So I was bit surprised when I had my first bite of fish tocino. Just like its pork counterpart, its sweet but you can still taste the saltiness. Frying fish tocino is just a breeze. It should be since the sugar content makes it burn easily. Thet rick is just set the fire low and have plenty of oil. But if you prefer a healthier way of cooking it, just placed it inside a microwave oven for 20 seconds or so. It can go well with vinegar but I prefer eating the the way it is so I can savour each bite especially when its cooked soft. Now Im craving!

Pasalubong buying for me years ago doesn't confine me to Biscocho Haus nor the grocery stores. I often make a stop at Iloilo City's Central market's dried fish section to get something " flat, round and reddish ". No it is not strawberry flavoured piaya but fish tocino ! Mostly requests from my officemates but at times for my own consumption. I dont know when I had my first taste of this fish tocino . All I can remember is how I really liked it since then. Sold in neat packages conveniently priced for a hundred bucks or so, they usually "hang out" with dried squid, dried danggit and others in stalls in the market. These are still uncooked fish tocino , but unlike pork tocino , they are dry but not totally. They can be easily handled so you can choose good ones from your suki at the market. They're made with flattened dried fish (naturally it has hint of salt) cured (and glued together) with sugar. Some fish tocino in the groceries do not have ...