buteteng laot

buteteng laot - /bu-te-teng la-ot/ Tagalog sea fish /seafood) 1. [n.] porcupine fish \spot-fin porcupinefish (sc.name: Diodon hystrix); 2. [n.] oceanic puffer (sc.name: Lagocephalus lagocephalus). Another species of buteteng laot known plainly as the butete has been banned permanently by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) from gathering, marketing, and consumption, because it naturally contains a toxin called tetrodotoxin which renders the fish unfit for consumption.

Other local common names: 

also spelled as boteteng laot in Tagalog

a.k.a. buktit in Tagalog

butete tunokon, tagutong, or tagutungan in Cebuano

tagutungan in Boholano and Leyteño [western Leyte]

otit in Waray-waray (eastern Samar)

mosi in Bicolano

tagutongan in Davaoeño

busisi in Ilokano

butbutan in Zambaleño

lukoh itingan or tagutugan in Chavacano (Zamboanga)

dautdotan in Maranao, Tausug, and Samal

buntal in Sinama (Bahasa Bajau of Sulu archipelago)

 

A species of puffer fish considered edible and safe for consumption but has to avoid the internal organs, particularly the liver where a tiny sac of highly deadly poison can be found. As much as possible, only the meat is used in cooking. 

Maypay is a Cebuano name for that tiny sac of highly poisonous glands. It's attached to the liver and would require an expert to safely remove it because even a slightest leak could be very fatal. It's far more lethal than cyanide.

The big-sized liver though is the most sought part of the fish in making the Cebuano linarang with coconut milk. It needs to be an expert to safely remove the tiny monggo-size sac of poison called maypay in Cebuano. It has to be taken out intact because a slightest leakage can be fatal when it contacts the flesh or contaminates the water used in washing the fish.

 

A slight contact on flesh or contamination of the water used in washing the fish could be fatal. Yes, because maypay is far more lethal than cyanide. It could no longer be removed or rinsed off. BE EXTRA CAREFUL WHEN YOU PREPARE TO COOK THIS FISH.

In my hometown's small fishing village, maypay was used to poison cats that stole food in the kitchen (I felt sorry for the naughty pussy cat). 

Porcupine fish can be prepared as tinola (boiled), nilarang tinunoan (boiled with coconut milk and spices), inadobo (adobo-style), pinirito (fried), ginataan (cooked in coconut milk with malunggay or dahon ng sili, and sauteeing first in garlic and other spices the flaked parboiled fish), nilubihan (cooked with grated meat of not-so-matured green coconut fruit), or into Bicolano kinunot (braised shredded fish fillet). 

The fish has to be gutted completely and carefully so as not to burst open any of its internal organs to avoid possibly getting poisoned, and the sturdy spikes around the skin have to be removed by parboiling first the whole fish and then pulling out the spikes using pliers. 

Vegetables commonly used as suitable optional ingredients when cooking this fish into a soupy ginataan or tinola dish are malunggay or dahon ng sili, talong, okra, kalabasa, sitaw, alugbati, pichay, and/or pako.

The big-sized liver though is the most sought part of the fish when cooking a linarang dish with coconut milk (linarang is boiled fish with different spices and salt to taste). You can have this linarang from some eateries in Cebu City and other towns in Visayas.

While in the Tabuh of Bongao, Tawi-Tawi

While in the Tabuh of Bongao, Tawi-Tawi

While in the Tabuh of Bongao, Tawi-Tawi

"Yong mga nagsabi na di daw to nakakalason at nakakatikim na sila, nakaswerte lang sila at magaling yong gumawa ng ulam. Di naman kasi madaling puputok yong maypay pagka fresh pa yong isda. Baka sa susunod kapag masyadong kampante na sila, mamalasin na. Wag naman po. Ingat lang. And I share it here para alam nyo na ano yong isang maliit na bagay na nakakamatay. Yong sa butete iba pa yon. Mas matindi yon. Mas delicate. Pati balat nakakalason."

"It's safer to slice na lang a portion of the liver around the "maypay" at least, 1-inch diameter or more! Wag nang manghinayang sa matatapong kapirasong atay, manghinayang sa buhay!"

All photos by Edgie Polistico in this blog are copyrighted. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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balot itlog manok

balot itlog manok - (ba-lót it-log ma-nòk; Cebuano delicacy) [n.] boiled fertilized chicken egg. 

 

a.k.a. balot in Cebuano
balut itlog manok in Tagalog and other local languages

This Visayan delicacy is a new variation of Filipino balut egg that is made with brownish Caber chicken egg. It became popular in Cebu City a few years ago.

This 16-day-old balot itlog manok looks more gruesome than its predecessor duck egg balut. It has more feathers with fully developed legs, head, and beak. 

It started to appear in Cebu City sometime in 2012.

Along with the penoy itlog manok or pinoy, this Visayan balot is now gaining fast popularity in Visayas and in some places in Mindanao. It even reached Lucena City in Quezon province and in Bambang, Manila, probably brought and introduced by the Visayans who moved to settle in Quezon province and in Metro Manila. 

Recently, I found it on the sidewalk of the Alabang viaduct and on Montillano Street in Muntinlupa City.

This Visayan "balot" is more gruesome compared to its predecessor duck egg balut. It has more hairs (feathers) and the legs, head, and beak of the chick appear to be prominently developed already. 

It tastes quite similar to duck egg balut, but the bones are a bit tougher and the hairs are nasty. Next time you dare a foreigner to eat balut, offer this Visayan BALOT instead. Let's see how far we can scare them. hahaha!

By the way, do not dare to offer this to our Muslim brethren because a nasty and gruesome food like this is considered unclean (Haram) according to Islamic laws. Besides, living animals have to be slaughtered in a manner that it has to bleed. Otherwise, you are insulting them.

Related posts:

Balut

Penoy


Orange egg barbecue


Pinoy (penoy itlog manok)

Guinness's largest serving of balut in Pateros

Ebun a barag

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

taguto

taguto – /ta-gû-tô/ Binul-anon-Leyteño [western Leyte] and Cebuano dish) [n.] sautéed minced chicken and chilies. 

A fiery hot sautéed minced chicken and chilies.

A native chicken is preferred when making taguto.

A native chicken is slaughtered by cutting its throat, the blood is set aside, then dressed, gutted, washed clean, and the whole chicken is minced including the head, bones, and feet. 

The chicken is dressed. It is done by dipping briefly the slaughtered chicken in scalding hot water then the feathers are pulled off.

The dressed chicken is cleaned thoroughly

 

All the internal organs are washed clean and chopped into pieces, including the gizzard and intestine which are cleaned of their contents. The minced meat and chopped internal organs are sautéed with chopped garlic and red onion. 

Internal organs are washed clean and nothing is spared

The whole chicken is minced including the head, bones, and feet

 

The siling kulikot (bird’s eye chili) is equivalent to the amount of chicken meat.

Adding finely chopped and pounded ginger is optional. Adding some sliced and pounded ginger, would spike the piquancy more that it would virtually burn your lips, throat, and stomach.

The siling kulikot (siling labuyo in Tagalog) are minced similar to that of chicken meat.

The liver and gizzard are chopped into small pieces.

The complete set of ingredients for taguto.

The finely chopped siling kulikot (bird’s eye chili) is added in quantity equivalent to the amount of chopped chicken meat. Thus, if the minced chicken measures 1 liter, one liter of minced chilies is used. 

The minced chilies are sauteed with garlic and red onion.

The minced chicken is added in the sauté.

The dish is seasoned with soy sauce and/or salt to suit one's taste.

The chicken blood is added then seasoned with soy sauce and/or salt to suit the taste and then stirred continuously on medium fire until cooked.

The liver and blood are added towards the end of cooking to keep them tender and from getting overcooked.

The chopped gizzard is included

Taguto is often served as sumsuman (hors d'oeuvre) in drinking sessions and is extremely fiery hot. 

So called taguto because the tiny pieces of bones would crack little sounds and the usual reaction of the eater is to cluck through one’s teeth known as taguto in Cebuano.

This enormous amount of siling kulikot makes the pulutan last long and for everyone to go slowly in devouring the dish.  For sure, everyone will have a fair share of protein and will surely swig his tagay every after bite.

The piquancy (chili heat) of taguto is so intense it would virtually burn your lips, throat, and stomach, the sensation that would initiate you to warm your body and stay awake in the cold night or rainy day.

Taguto is considered a body warmer. It will keep you warm in the cold of the night and on rainy days. Usually taken as pulutan with the bahalina (aged coconut wine) when having a night swimming picnic at the beach. 

Sorry if this makes you think "na para bagang ayaw ipakain at pinagdamutan ang gustong mamulutan." It seems, but you are wrong. We acquired the taste, and we love it. Of course, when you got the taste, you will surely love it too. 

Watch the TAGUTO of Inopacan, Leyte featured in GMA7 episode of Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho (KMJS). Published in Youtube on Jun 19, 2017.This was made possible through the food research of Edgie Polistico and the people of Inopacan.

Now you have reason to forget the Bicol express of Bicolandia and the palapa of Lanao as the hottest dishes in the country. Here comes the TAGUTO of Leyte

There is this later variation of taguto that uses tuno (coconut milk) which causes the milder effect of chilies. Instead of using all the bones when mincing the chicken, only the soft bones of the breast part and neck are included, and more often the intestine is excluded being it is a very tedious process to clean the chicken bowels. This version of taguto is a bit soupy and is alternatively called as the halang-halang manok tinunoan (spicy hot chicken in coconut milk).

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

Related posts:

Siling labuyo

Wild chili ale

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

etag

Etag from Sagada, prepared by the Igorots of Sagada, Mountain Province.

etag – /é-tag/ Ilocano and Cordilleran [Ifugao, Igorot, Kankanaey] preserved meat [n.] cured and aged slab of pork; An indigenous smoked or sun-dried salted slab of pork.

Other local common names:

• also spelled as itag in IIocano
• a.k.a. innasin in Ilocano

Etag is the general term used in Cordillera about the native’s traditional way of preserving pork. A slab of a big slice of pork is cured in salt for about a week (or longer) then air-dried under the sun or smoked for several weeks (even months), or both. Though any kind of wood will do the smoking, the Igorots would prefer to use the wood from a tree they called alnos as it would emit pleasant smoke and add an aromatic smoky flavor to the meat. If alnos is not available, wood and leaves of guava trees are said to be a good substitute.

For the locals, the longer the etag is cured in salt and air-dried, the more it is tasty, flavorful, and expensive when sold in the market. The meat would turn darker and darker in color over a long time during the aging process.

Etag may not be appealing to the uninitiated because it has a foul odor and most often has maggots after several days of air-drying the meat, probably because of its exposure to flies.  As it undergoes the aging process, etag is often covered on the surface with a thin layer of milky-white molds similar to when aging cheese. The molds are rinsed off and etag is safe and ready to cook.

This etag from Sagada is partly covered in the middle with white molds over few weeks of aging. This one was prepared by the Igorots of Mountain Province.

The cured meat is grilled and served with cooked rice. It is also used as a meat ingredient in some native vegetable dishes, or boiled in a soupy broth with pinikpikan (chicken that was beaten slowly to death). 

When necessary, etag has to be soaked for a while in plain water and then rinsed thoroughly to reduce its saltiness. 

Etag has to be consumed after a week of drying or smoking. When there is extra etag, it must be stored in a closed container to avoid the infestation of flies and their maggots, ants, cockroaches, and other insects and even from rodents. If stored longer, it has to be sun-dried or smoked again from time to time and avoiding it getting wet or moistened with too much moisture. Hanging the etag right above the smoking kitchen stove when they cook their meal is also a common practice done by the natives when storing and continuing the aging process.

In Mountain Province, the natives and the local government mounted their annual celebration of the Etag Festival for their favorite preserved meat. It is held every February.

Depending on how the aging process was done, etag is generally classified as "smoked" or "sun-dried," as follows:

smoked etag (es-mok e-tag; Cordilleran preserved meat) [n.] a kind of etag that is smoked to further preserve the cured meat. Thus, it is referred to as the "smoked ham" of Cordillera. Smoking is usually done by hanging the etag over and close to the stove or hearth, exposing the cured meat to smoke while being air-dried. The fast way to smoke etag is to build fire on a pile of firewood and place the skewered etag close to the fire but not too close that it would get roasted instead of being just smoked. It is done at least 30 minutes every day for a week and the meat must be kept in a sealed container after each smoking session to avoid the infestation of flies and their maggots. Smoked etag has a dark reddish-brown color because of the stain caused by the smoke.

sun-dried etag (san-drayd e-tag; Cordilleran preserved meat) [n.] a kind of etag that is sun-dried to further preserved the cured meat. It is air-dried under the heat of the sun by skewering the cured meat in a long stick and hang on a stretched rope or clothesline, or simply spread on flat dry surface, such as on concrete structure, big rocks, or on trellis-like frame of bamboo sticks, like those used in drying fish. It is then turned over from hour after hour to equally dry the other side. Sun-dried etag is lighter in color compared to smoked etag due to lack of staining. It would more likely that flies and their maggots would infest the meat if it is not protected with screen or net while in the process of sun drying.

These etags are air-dried under the sun somewhere in the public market of Bontoc, Mountain Province and was described as the  "Bontoc ham" by Phil. Daily Inquirer on its Dec. 21, 2009 issue, as the processed meat is often regarded as the region's version of Christmas ham. (Photo credit to Espiritu of the Phil. Daily Inquirer (Northern Luzon).)

The etag may also be prepared using both curing processes.  That is, the meat is cured first by smoking and then sun-dried in the next few weeks or months that follow.

Nowadays, the Cordillerans (Igorot, Ifugao, Kankanay, and other ethnic tribes of Benguet and Mountain Province) would commonly use pork from cultured or farmed pigs to make etag.  In the past, when the forest of Central Luzon was abounding with wild animals, the natives would hunt wild pigs and wild deer and use the pork of wild pigs and venison of wild deer in making etag. The most coveted and highly valued etag is venison. 

Personal notes: 

With due respect to the customs and traditions of all the ethnic groups of Cordillera and northern Luzon, the process of making etag and how long the aging process would take to complete reminds me of the Fire Mummies (a.k.a. Kabayan Mummies) of Benguet. The mummification process of fire mummies was unique compared to on how mummification was done in Egypt and the rest of the world. It was like the natives were preserving their dead in a process similar to when making an etag. The mummification would begin right after a person died, whom they would let ingest a very salty drink. The corpse was washed and set over a fire in a seated position to dry out bodily fluids. The dead were also subjected to the smoking process. Tobacco smoke was blown into the mouth to dry further the inside of the body including the internal organs and then herbs were rubbed into the body before the mummified body was placed in a coffin of dugout pinewood and laid to rest in rock shelters, caves, or burial niches. 

This mummification process of Cordillera ended in the 16th century when Spain started its colonization of the country, but the practice of making etag persisted for centuries, even to these days. The people of Mountain Province conserved this ancient traditional meat delicacy and promoted it by mounting an annual celebration of the Etag Festival every February.

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Thank you for the encouragement and enthusiasm. I also need your moral support, prayers, and anything else that can uplift my spirit and keep my good reasons. Keep them coming.  Sharing with and giving away is happiness to me.  If you are pleased and happy with what I am doing, just smile and share with 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. 

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