siling labuyo

Siling kulikot sold in the Carbon Public Market of Cebu City

siling labuyo - /si-ling la-bu-yò/ Tagalog spicy condiment/seasoning) [n.] Philippine bird’s eye chili (sc.name: Capsicum frutescens, [Linn.]).

Other local common names: 

• a.k.a. siling bundok or siling palay in Tagalog
  
• kulikot or siling kulikot in Cebuano and Boholano
• kutitot or sili katumbal in Ilonggo
• udto-udto in Hiligaynon
• pasete or pasiti in Batangueño
• mimis, siling diablo, or sili’t sairo in Ilocano
• rimorimo in Bicolano
• paktin in Ifugao
• sili napet in Itawis
• katumba or lara jangay in Tausug
• loia tidek or luya tiduk in Maranao

What is siling labuyo?  How can we tell a siling labuyo? 

Well, let's talk about it.

A species of wild native hot tiny chili pepper that grows in the forested areas of the country, though it can be grown also in the garden, backyard, or pots.

It bears tiny fruit refuted to be one of the hottest peppers in the world, especially the ripe ones that are bright red in color, but green and sometimes rare white when unripe and yellow when about to ripen.

The Ta'u-sug lara jangay sold in the Public Market of Zamboanga City

This species of Philippine tiny wild chili pepper is also known as the “bird’s eye hot pepper” known to grow only in the Philippine archipelago. So called siling labuyo because it is picked by wandering wild chickens called labuyo by the Tagalogs. The siling labuyo plant bears tiny fruits refuted to be one of the hottest peppers in the world. It is classified as “very hot” with a scale of Scoville heat unit (SHU) ranging from 80,000 to 100,000.

Siling kulikot sold in the Carbon Public Market of Cebu City. This is the same kind of chili known in Tagalog as siling labuyo.

Authentic siling labuyo is very small, very short (less than an inch) with a not-so-pointed tip.

Some imported and less spicy hot chilies are passed on as siling labuyo in the market or grocery stores when in fact it is not a siling labuyo like the siling Taiwan that is more than an inch long and very pointed.

The mimis of Ilocos Sur province

This tiny chili is known for its intense piquancy - so small in size, yet so hot in taste.

Despite its irritating piquancy, chickens and birds are picking the ripe mimis in the wilds, as if it is their favorite.

The mimis of Ilocos Sur province.

Ilocanos would use mimis as spicy flavor in making spicy hot sukang Iloko (sugarcane vinegar). They also used it as condiment in some dishes and dippings.

Siling labuyo is more commonly used in Filipino kitchens as a condiment. Also used as one of the main ingredients, in some Bicolano, Ilocano, and Maranao dishes.

In Leyte, they have a fiery hot dish called taguto that uses minced siling kulikot equal to the amount of minced native chicken.

The tiny fruits are served as sliced, chopped, crushed, mashed, or marinated whole in vinegar, as in the sinamak vinegar. It may be also sun-dried and ground into powder and placed in a shaker for sprinkling over some dishes on the table or while cooking. 

Some bottles of sukang Iloko in Binalonan, Pangasinan are steeped with mimis.

Siling Taiwan sold in the public market of Cabanatuan City. It is commonly found also in public markets and groceries in Metro Manila, often passed on as siling labuyo, when in fact it is not a siling labuyo.

Siling labuyo is mild if spiced as a whole piece, but very fiery if it is cut open, mashed, or chopped into pieces as it exposed its seeds and juice, which are the hottest parts. It is advised that siling labuyo should not be taken during pregnancy and lactation.

The young leaves (tops) of siling labuyo are also used in cooking as vegetables in soupy dishes.

Siling Taiwan being sold in the Alabang public market of Muntinlupa City. Keep in mind that siling Taiwan is not siling labuyo.

See Index of Entries here

Related posts:

Taguto

Wild chili ale

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wheat pandesal

 

wheat pandesal – /wit pán-de-sal/ Tagalog bread; dw Eng. wheat + Span pan de sal [bread with salt]) [n.] a loaf of pandesal that is made with whole wheat brown flour as its base ingredient.

Processed wheat flour is often added to adjust the consistency of wheat pandesal bread.

The dough used in baking this bread also uses shortening, yeast, and of course salt.

The wheat pandesal of Pan de Manila bakeshop in Metro Manila and some cities in Luzon

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Encouragement and enthusiasm are not enough. I also need moral support, prayers, and anything else that can uplift my spirit and keep my good reasons. Keep them coming. All I know is that I am happy with what I am sharing and giving away. If you are pleased and happy with what I am doing, just smile and please share the happiness. Keep sharing and include to share the PHILIPPINE FOOD ILLUSTRATED. I feel energized when my blog becomes one of the reasons why you are happy and smiling.

Edgie Polistico

Hawaiian split

 

Hawaiian split – /ha-wá-yan sh-plit/ Tagalog bread; dw a Pacific island Hawaii + Eng split [sliced toppings]) [n.] a loaf of choco-brown bread topped with sliced or tidbits of ripe pineapple, sliced ham, grated cheese and overlaid with streaks of mayonnaise.

The name is probably influenced by the American dessert “banana split” wherein the toppings have been modified making it appear like a Hawaiian baked goodie by topping with pineapples sans a scoop of ice cream, rather replaced with mayonnaise.

The Hawaiian split of Suize Cottage bakeshop in Metro Manila.

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Encouragement and enthusiasm are not enough. I also need moral support, prayers, and anything else that can uplift my spirit and keep my good reasons. Keep them coming. All I know is that I am happy with what I am sharing and giving away. If you are pleased and happy with what I am doing, just smile and please share the happiness. Keep sharing and include to share the PHILIPPINE FOOD ILLUSTRATED. I feel energized when my blog becomes one of the reasons why you are happy and smiling.

Edgie Polistico

penoy

penoy – /pé-noy/ Tagalog [Metro Manilan, Lagueño and Bulaqueño), Batangueño, Cebuano, Boholano, Waray, Ilonggo, Bicolano, Ilocano, Pangasinense, and Capampangan egg/delicacy; dw Tag. balut [wrap] + pino [fine] > Pinoy [Filipino] [n.] unfertilized duck egg.

Other local name:

•  a.k.a. balut penoy in Tagalog

It is a duck egg that remains unfertilized after undergoing the incubation period.

The unfertilized duck egg has no yolk formation when screened through the candling process or that procedure where each egg is held against a lighted candle (old method) or electric bulb (modern method).

The unfertilized eggs are sorted out as the by-product in the production of balut sa puti and then kept warm in rice husk for several days before they are sold as a hardboiled eggs.

Instead of having a semi-fully developed chick, a penoy egg would only produce a mass of plain white and yellow embryos. Thus, when boiled, the white portion would solidify and the yellow mass would just coagulate.

There are two kinds of boiled balut penoy: the masabáw (soupy) and the tuyô (dry).

The masabaw is produced by keeping duck eggs in rice hay or incubating them for up to 12 to 13 days. When boiled, masabaw is not actually soupy but rather very moist, creamy, and a bit slimy that can be slurped readily after having sprinkled with a pinch of salt or doused with spiced-up vinegar.

When incubated further for a day or more, the penoy egg would become tuyô or quite dry and appear to be like an ordinary boiled chicken egg only that the white and yellow parts of the embryo are not holding any regular shape, sometimes it appears semi-scrambled.

Penoy egg would become tuyô or quite dry and appeared to be like an ordinary boiled chicken egg only that the white and yellow part of the embryo are not holding any regular shape, sometimes it appears semi-scrambled.

To easily distinguish masabaw from tuyo, vendors would put a distinguishing mark on the shell of balut penoy. For the masabaw, a straight vertical line is drawn around the shell, or sometimes the letter “S” is written for sabaw (soup) or “M” for masabaw (soupy). A crosswise or spherical line is drawn around the egg to indicate that balut penoy is tuyô.

A douse of vinegar and a sprinkle of salt are the usual condiments used when eating balut penoy.

Due to the limited supply of duck eggs, commercially produced brown chicken eggs are now fast becoming a substitute for making balut penoy which is called penoy itlog manok or pinoy in Visayas.

However, there are mischievous balut penoy makers who would pass on the white chicken eggs as brown chicken eggs by putting light brown artificial coloring on the shells of white chicken eggs, such as dipping them in coffee

Photo shows balut penoy sold on the stall of a sidewalk vendor under the viaduct in Alabang, Mutinlupa City. The eggs with no markings are balut sa puti. Shown also in the photo is a bottle of spiced vinegar and container that holds grains of salt. Vinegar and salt are the usual condiments used when eating balut

Crossing spherical line or a line drawn across around the egg would indicate that these penoy eggs are tuyo.

A straight vertical lines are drawn for the masabaw. Sometimes, letter “S” is written, which stands for "sabaw"

A bucket of shelled penoy readied by a night vendor under the pedestrian overpass along Zapote Road in Alabang, Muntinlupa City. These would be dipped in orange-color batter, then deep fried to become kwik-kwik.

Opinions as to whether or not penoy is Haram (forbidden) in Islamic law differ from various schools of thought. 

It is unclear if this unfertilized egg is just similar to a fresh chicken egg that can be taken as food.  

There are those who would say that considering the chick and its blood is not yet formed in the egg, penoy can be taken as food because only those animals that are not killed without slaughtering and their blood are considered Haram. 

To be safe, it is advisable to ask first if the person to whom the penoy egg would be served would accept it gladly.


See Index of Entries here

Related posts:

Balut

Balot itlog manok

Pinoy (penoy itlog manok)

Orange egg barbecue

Ebun a barag

Guinness largest serving of balut in Pateros

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Encouragement and enthusiasm are not enough. I also need moral support, prayers, and anything else that can uplift my spirit and keep my good reasons. Keep them coming. All I know is that I am happy with what I am sharing and giving away. If you are pleased and happy with what I am doing, just smile and please share the happiness. Keep sharing and include to share the PHILIPPINE FOOD ILLUSTRATED. I feel energized when my blog becomes one of the reasons why you are happy and smiling.

Edgie Polistico

 

daing na bangus

daing na bangus – /da-ing na ba-ngús/ (Tagalog preserved\seafood) [n.] marinated butterflied milkfish.

The milkfish is butterflied, gutted, washed clean, drained, and then steeped in marinating sauce of vinegar and soy sauce seasoned with minced garlic, laurel leaf, and crushed peppercorn. A small amount of brown sugar and calamansi juice may be added to enhance the taste of daing na bangus. 

For the best result, the marinating sauce has to steep in the fish for at least 12 hours while being kept in the refrigerator. 

For even distribution of the marinating sauce into the fish, pack and seal the marinated fish in a thick plastic cellophane wrapper. 

Daing na bangus can also be made dry by spreading open the marinated butterflied fish (with the skin side underneath) on a wire mesh, bilao (bamboo tray), or bamboo stick matting, and air drying it under the heat of direct sunlight.

Dried daing na bangus sold along the roadside stalls and street peddlers in Damortis, Santo Tomas, Pangasinan.

To cook, daing na bangus is pan-fried in cooking oil until crisp and reddish-brown. It is served with a side dip of spiced-up vinegar with crushed garlic, or soy sauce with squeezed calamansi juice (Philippine round lime extract), and the optional whole piece siling labuyo (bird’s eye chili). Sometimes, it is paired with a siding of ensaladang papaya.

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Encouragement and enthusiasm are not enough. I also need moral support, prayers, and anything else that can uplift my spirit and keep my good reasons. Keep them coming. All I know is that I am happy with what I am sharing and giving away. If you are pleased and happy with what I am doing, just smile and please share the happiness. Keep sharing and include to share the PHILIPPINE FOOD ILLUSTRATED. I feel energized when my blog becomes one of the reasons why you are happy and smiling.

Edgie Polistico

tiyolo

tiyolo – /ti-yo-lô/ Maranao condiment) [n.] roasted grated coconut meat with sugar. 

The freshly grated coconut meat is pan-roasted till lightly browned and aromatic, then pounded in a mortar into tiny bits.  Brown sugar is added towards the end of the pounding. Tiyolo is often used as an aromatic flavoring in tapay and other Maranao snacks and dishes.

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Encouragement and enthusiasm are not enough. I also need moral support, prayers, and anything else that can uplift my spirit and keep my good reasons. Keep them coming. All I know is that I am happy with what I am sharing and giving away. If you are pleased and happy with what I am doing, just smile and please share the happiness. Keep sharing and include to share the PHILIPPINE FOOD ILLUSTRATED. I feel energized when my blog becomes one of the reasons why you are happy and smiling.

Edgie Polistico

danggit flower

danggit flower – /dáng-git flá-wer/ (Pangasinense dried fish) [n.] dried danggit arranged like a starflower.

The danggit fish (rabbitfish) is scaled, its gills and viscera removed, washed clean, and butterflied and the side of fillet with no bones is detached and set aside for use in making another version of dried danggit - a sheet of dried danggit fillet. 

The splits of danggit fish are immersed briefly in brine solution and then laid flat and neatly arranged on screen wire (mesh or bamboo stick mat) like overlapping petals of a flower. 

The arranged fish are then dried under intense sunlight for about 2 to 3 days or until the fish is stiff and very dry and the splits of danggit would stick together to hold its shape resembling a starflower.

Danggit flowers sold along the roadside (highway) stalls of Damortis in Santo Tomas, Pangasinan

To cook, danggit flower is fried on medium to low heat, turned over, and done when it is crisp brown. Must be cooked until light brown. Dark browned danggit is already burnt.  

 

Fried dried danggit  served with sliced tomatoes and dipping of sukang Iloko (Ilocano sugarcane vinegar) or baak (aged sukang Iloko) with minced garlic.

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For more about Filipino food, see  this Philippine Food, Cooking, and Dining Dictionary. It is OPEN and FREE.

Continue to follow my blogs. You can also follow and learn more by joining us in our Facebook group. Have more bits and pieces about our kind of food, ingredients, and ways of cooking, dining, and knowing food culture across the 7,641 islands of the Philippines.

Encouragement and enthusiasm are not enough. I also need moral support, prayers, and anything else that can uplift my spirit and keep my good reasons. Keep them coming. All I know is that I am happy with what I am sharing and giving away. If you are pleased and happy with what I am doing, just smile and please share the happiness. Keep sharing and include to share the PHILIPPINE FOOD ILLUSTRATED. I feel energized when my blog becomes one of the reasons why you are happy and smiling.

Edgie Polistico