Unlike the usually cultivated durians of Mindanao, the fruit of dugyan is smaller in size, weighing less than a kilogram with sharper and longer spikes on its thick coat. It is yellow-green when unripe and turns bright yellow to yellow-orange when ripe.
When fully ripe, it opens while on the tree, showing its distinct bright red lipstick flesh that would eventually fall to the ground.
With its distinct lipstick-red flesh, the dugyan, an endemic fruit in Palawan, is said to be an entirely different species from the typically-cultivated durian that we see in the market. The smell and taste are not repulsive and nauseating. It is almost creamy, but not so sweet.
In the Philippines, this rare variety of durian is found only in Palawan though similar other red durian varieties can also be found in Borneo, Malaysia, and Thailand
Dr. Virgilio Loquias, the durian expert of the Philippine's Bureau of Plant Industries, holding a red durianof Palawan grown in BPI-Davao. Photo taken during Lindsay Gasik's search for durians in the country.(photo credit to Lindsay Gasik's blog, Year of the Durian)
Related readings:
Philippines Durio Graveolens
Philippines Durio graveolens- Lindsay Gasik's blog (The Year of the Durian) about the red durian in Palawan with Dr. Virgilio Loquias of the Philippine Bureau of Plant Industries.
tindok - /tin-dok/ (Cebuano fruit)[n.] a giant plantain (sc.name: Musa paradisiaca var. magna).
Other common names
a.k.a. tandokin Cebuano tendukor tundukin Teduray, Lambangian, Dulangan, and Manobo
giant plantain - English
pisang tanduk - Malay (Malaysia)
We found these few pieces of tindok banana in the grocery section of SM Makati in Ayala Center of Makati City way back in 2009.
A very long and large variety of cooking banana fruit.
Its digit is about a foot long or more or about the size of a man's arm. Elongated and commonly a bit curved in form with a thick green banana peel.
The length and size of this banana are even more than that of Margette's arm.
Yes, the one she is holding weighs more than a kilo, and it is priced quite expensive in 2009. The sticker says it is from Dole, a clue that most likely this came from Mindanao.
The tindok plant bears a bunch of fruit that only has around three clusters (piling, sipi, or hand of bananas) in a bunch (buwig) with very few to less than a dozen of digits (daliri or piraso) in each cluster. The bunch would start to sprout at the tip of the banana stem as one big inflorescence (puso ng saging) and would open to bloom only once to produce a few to several digits. Afterward, there will be no more inflorescence (puso) hanging at the end of the bunch. Thus, it also called as "saging na walang puso" (banana with no hanging flower).
Tindok fruit is rich in potassium and starch and is only good when cooked. Green tindok (unripe) is commonly steamed or boiled with its peel intact. When cooked, it is peeled and eaten as a substitute for rice as the main source of carbs or starch.
The pulp of unripe tindok can also be sliced thinly and deep-fried into chips.
Chunks of rare ripe or ripe tindok can also be added as vegetables in boiled bulalo or nilaga similar to saba banana.
Others would have the tindok fruit grilled or broiled, usually sliced lengthwise and served with a spread of peanut butter, fruit jams, or margarine sprinkled with sugar (or press on a bed of sugar).
Below are photos of tindok posted by my friends on Facebook and they are worth sharing here:
This giant plantain is commonly grown in Southeast Asian countries, and can also be seen now, though rarely, in Africa, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean.
kinilaw nga sasing– /ki-ni-law nga sa-sing/ Cebuano, Boholano, Davaoeño [southeastern Mindanao] and Misamis occidental [northern Mindanao] and Romblomanon raw dish) [n.] peanut worm in vinegar.
a.k.a. kinilaw ngasaypoin Boholano and Surigaonon
kinilaw na tasingin Cantilangnon (Cantilan, Surigao del sur)
This is a raw dish of cleaned sasing (peanut worm) steeped in vinegar with spices and seasonings.
The inverted sasingworms. So called "peanut worm" in English, because when the worm is inverted it resembles that of emptied peanut shell.
To prepare, the peanut worm is washed clean then each worm is inverted inside out by pushing a bamboo stick from one end and through inside the body. Once inverted, the worm is cleaned thoroughly of its muddy contents.
The inverted worms are washed again thoroughly on seawater, drained, and then seasoned with vinegar spiced up with chopped onions, ginger, sili (chili), and salt to taste.
The complete ingredients of kinilaw nga sasing in Pagadian City, Zamboanga del sur. It uses sukang tuba (commonly sold in plastic tubes), luy-a (ginger), sibuyas pula (purple onion), siling kulikot (labuyo chili), calamansi (Philippine round lime), biyasong, and tabon-tabon fruit.
In southern Mindanao, such as in Pagadian City and other coastal towns in Zamboanga del Sur, a tabon-tabon fruit (sc.name: Hydrophytune orbiculatum) is used to season their kinilaw nga sasing. In this part of Mindanao,tabon-tabontrees and fruits are plenty.
Extract of scraped tabon-tabon fruit and extracted juice of calamansi and biyasong lime make the kinilaw nga sasing more delectable
The kernel of tabon-tabon fruit is scraped off, mixed with a little amount of vinegar then squeezed and the extract is mixed in the dish. It is even made more delectable by adding calamansi juice and extracted juice of native lime called biyasong.
Adding vetsin (MSG) is optional, but not recommended.
A young Maguindanaon couple residing near the sea of Pagadian City, Zamboanga del sur prepares kinilaw nga sasing.
Sasingis an exotic delicacy and is considered an aphrodisiac by the locals. It is leathery and tough but crunchy. It has to be chewed well to savor the essence of its true flavor.
Kinilaw na sasing is highly sought as a pulutan (food served in drinking sessions) in coastal villages of Visayas and Mindanao. It is a perfect pair for tuba (coconut wine) or ginebra (gin).
tasing in Cantilangnon (Cantilan, Surigao del sur)
A kind of sand worm or sand burrower of the family Echiurus that burrows under sandy clayish soil of the sea shore.
Sasing burrows in moist sandy-muddy ground along the shore and river deltas. A hole like this is a sign that peanut worm is just around under the sand.
It is an exotic delicacy to some Pinoys. Often eaten as kinilaw nga sasing where the cylindrical body of the worm is inverted inside out and washed thoroughly. The cleaned inverted peanut worm is then dipped in spiced vinegar and munched.
Sasing has a crunchy leathery texture and has to be chewed thoroughly to savor its flavor.
It is considered an exotic delicacy and as an aphrodisiac to some Pinoys when they visit places where sasing are found.
The worms are washed clean then inverted inside out by pushing a bamboo stick from one end and through inside the body so as to clean its muddy contents. The inverted worms are washed again thoroughly, drained and then seasoned with spiced up vinegar to become a kinilaw nga sasing.
So called peanut worm in English because when it is inverted, the inner side of the worm would look like an emptied peanut shell.
Although sasing worms live and feed in the sandy mud shores, some Filipino Muslim (followers of Islam faith) do not consider peanut worm as unclean or filth to be among those forbidden (Haram) in Islamic laws. Nevertheless, this exotic worm should be served with caution to Muslim or any followers of Islamic faith, so as not to offend or insult them
Sasing (Youtube video)
Personal notes
I read an old news feature of GMA Network news that some folks of Inopacan, Leyte believed sasing has curative powers against tuberculosis and anemia. Inopacnons are fond of it and would love to take kinilaw nga sasing as their pulutan with their tuba (coconut wine).
Encouragement and enthusiasm is not enough. I also need moral support, prayers, and what else that can uplift my spirit and keep my good reasons. Keep them coming. Sharing and giving away is happiness to me. If you are pleased and happy of what I am doing, just smile and share the happiness we have in the PHILIPPINE FOOD ILLUSTRATED. I feel energized every time my blog becomes one of the reasons why you are happy and smiling.
canduyon in Surigaonon (Surigao City, Surigao del norte) ipis dagatin Batangueño (northern part of Batangas)
ipis in Zambaleno (Sambal of Zambales) kusimayin Ilocano
pawik in Waray(Northern Samar)
kagang pama or bawain Tausug
A deep-sea crab with an orange to red colored shell even when uncooked.
In the Philippines, this crab used to be known as endemic to the seas of Zamboanga del Sur and Sulu sea, but my research and later discoveries disproved this contention. Similar or closely-related species are also found in other parts of Mindanao, Visayas (particularly in the Pacific side), and the northeastern part of Luzon, though scarce and hardly seen or caught. Some species are also found thriving on the coasts of Hawaii and Australia.
So called curacha, from Spanish cucaracha, which means "cockroach," because this crustacean looks like a huge cockroach.
The shell (carapace) of curacha is goblet-shaped, with an average size of about the size of a human palm. Some are twice as big as the average ones. The shell has hairy short bristles on the edges, has a pair of large pincers on the sides that extend toward the front. It also has three sets of legs, two of which are attached to a segmented hard-shelled tail similar to that of a lobster but smaller and shorter.
When cooked, curacaha is more of shells than meat but is highly sought after for its delectable taste.
Unlike most crabs, such as the alimasag and the alimango that walk sideward, curacha only moves forward and backward.
The biggest ones are priced at PHP689.00 a kilogramin 2015 in the Shopwise supermarket of Festival Mall, Alabang, Muntinlupa City.
Curacha crabs being sold at the Shopwise supermarket in Festival Mall, Alabang at PHP689.00 a kilogram in 2015.
My Personal Notes:
Many years back, I thought this crab was named after a classic dance with fancy moves. I thought the crab would just move like that or it would be you doing the dancing steps after dining it or when you're pinched by this crab. I was wrong.
I tried also to look for it in the public market of Zamboanga City in my few travels to the Zamboanga peninsula but could hardly find it there these last few years. If I only knew that I could easily find it in the supermarket, a few hundred meters away from my workplace here in Metro Manila, I would not look for this crab that far.
When in Zamboanga, try the Chavacano dish curacha con salsa de gata (spanner crab in coconut cream sauce). [Photo courtesy of Officina de Turismo Local of Zamboanga City Local Government]
All photos by Edgie Polistico are copyrighted. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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