natak

natak – /na-t'k, na-tâk/ Maguindanaon pith & flour) (a.k.a. natek or natuk in Maguindanaon) [n.] pounded sago palm pith.

A crudely pounded and processed pith of sago palm tree (Metroxylon sagu). It is used as the source of starch or flour ingredient for use in the making of Maguindanaon sindol, or their version of minatamis na guinataan of assorted chunks of root crops, rice, and ripe plantain.

Natak in the Cotabato City's Super Market (not Supermarket).

Natak in Cotabato City's Super market.

Natak is mixed with water and shaken in a plastic bag. The milky white juice it produced is strained and the water is used as thick broth in cooking sindol.

Natak is sometimes sold in the public market of Cotabato City stuffed in woven sago palm pouches.

The browned and darker natak palm wrapper is made with strips of old sago palm, while the greener or lighter colored natak wrapper is from young sago palm.

Natak is also processed to become flour. To do it, natak is mixed with enough water to cover it, then stirred, strained, and the milky water produced is set to stand undisturbed in the container for about a day or until sago sediment would totally settles at the bottom. The liquid that floats on top is decanted or scooped out and discarded away. The sediments are collected, put in a strainer to drip dry then sundried, crumbled, and sieved to become a very fine sago flour. 

The flour produced is further dried thoroughly by sun drying again under intense sunlight or by heating and stirring it in a pan heated on medium fire, keeping it away from getting scorched or from becoming browned. When very dry, sago flour can be stored for a year or two.

The flour produced is used in making pastries or as a thickener in lugaw or ginataan, or made into sago pearls, or added as an extender to sweetened boiled rice (sweet porridge or congee).

Natak in the Cotabato City's Super Market, a public wet market of the city.

A Maguindanaon vendor selling natak in Cotabato City's Super market.

The collected flour is dried thoroughly by sun drying under the intense heat of the sun or by heating and stirring it in the pan on medium fire, keeping it away from getting scorched or from becoming browned. When very dry, it can be stored for a year or two.


Personal notes:

I just realized after my many interactions with our Muslim brethren in Mindanao and in Metro Manila that some vowels in their spoken language that they normally don't pronounce. Natak is one of them. Maguindanaons would pronounce it as /na/t'k/, with the silent "a" in the second syllable. In particular, the Maranaos are also fond of keeping  "u" and "e" silent in their language.

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sweet tuba

sweet tuba - /swet tu-bâ/ (Pangasinese sap/drink) [n.] fresh toddy of raffia palm.

tuba or tuba ng buri in Tagalog and Batangueño
a.k.a. tuba silag in Pangasinense

It is the sweet freshly gathered toddy of buri palm (raffia). When freshly gathered in the morning, it can be taken as a naturally sweet refreshing drink. 

A serving of sweet tuba in a glass filled with cracked ice in Balungao, Pangasinan

Passing motorists, locals, and tourists would often come and stay for while in a cluster of roadside stalls, such as this one, along the highway in Balungao, Pangasinan to savor or try the taste of refreshing sweet tuba.  It is refreshingly tasty like coco water with distinct aftertaste closely similar to that of a ripe rambutan fruit

Sweet tuba needs to be chilled in ice or stored in freezer to extend shelf life for few more hours, or to last for at least late in the afternoon. Otherwise, it would start to sour by high noon, and by early evening the toddy would become a slighltly sour vinegar. However,   despite employing the chilling technique, the toddy still would start to sour by evening. Freezimg would only delay souring a little more.

 

While still fresh and sweet, the Pangasinenses would boil the sweet tuba till thick and sticky, as in the way they used it as their sticky sweetener in making the Pangasinense patupat (glutinous rice in square-woven strips of coconut palm).

In Batangas, it is made into Batangueño pakaskas (raffia sap jiggery, which is now replaced with juice extracted from sugarcane), or processed into bagkat (raffia sap taffy). Sweet tuba will not last long in a day. By afternoon, or past noon, the toddy would start to sour that by evening it becomes a lightly soured vinegar. 

In a few more days, it will be a full-pledged vinegar known in Ilocano as sukang buli (raffia palm vinegar) or tuka silag in Pangasinense.

A serving of sweet tuba in a glass filled with cracked ice.

Sweet tuba sold in glass bottle (using recycled soda bottles) in Balungao, Pangasinan.

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See Index of Entries here

If you liked this post and our site, share it.

Let us know your opinion on the subject. Feel free to comment in the comment section, below. It is important for us to know what you think.

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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