dilis (deboned and dried)

Boneless dried dilis sold at the roadside stalls in Brgy. Damortis, Sto. Tomas, Pangasinan.

boneless dilis – /bon-les di-lis/ Tagalog dried fish) [n.] deboned anchovies.

The dilis (anchovies) are decapitated, butterflied, and deboned of their backbone, then soaked in a brine solution, drained, and sundried to become dried boneless dilis. 

Best cooked by pan frying briefly on medium heat until the fish turns lightly brown and crisp. Often eaten with a dip of spiced vinegar on the side and lots of steaming freshly cooked rice and a cup of coffee.            

The dilis (anchovies) to be deboned and dried must be freshly caught. Otherwise, when dilis is no longer fresh, it would not be of good quality as it would likely be itchy when eaten and emits a foul odor.

It must be noted that Filipinos are fond of calling deboned fish or meat as boneless. It is actually a misnomer to call this fish "boneless" because the fish here actually has bones and what they did to make it boneless was that they deboned it like what they did to this dilis (anchovy) here. 

Thus, it should aptly be called deboned dried dilis instead of boneless dried dilis. But "boneless" already got its new meaning and usage and has deeply rooted already in the Pinoy community. Boneless already became part of Philippine English to exactly mean "deboned" and we got stuck with it. Those who got confused, please bear with us. This is our language and we are equally entitled to it.

Boneless dried dilis sold at the roadside stalls in Brgy. Damortis, Sto. Tomas, Pangasinan.

All photos by Edgie Polistico are copyrighted. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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