Kalinga Native Fish Dishes

Kalinga native dishes are simple dishes meant to bring out the natural flavor of the food. One of the most delicious foods I have ever tasted in Taloctoc is the fish dish.

Image credit: ayrshire.ac.uk

This is usually cooked during swimming picnics along riverbanks.

The fish is caught using our bare hands, and yes you can catch them this way. It’s a skill I came to learn and it was fun.

Steps


1. Wash the fish thoroughly

2. Add salt to taste and mix. Some preferred not to add salt.

3. Wrap them in banana leaves.

4. Place them in bamboo containers. These are small bamboo trunks/tubes that are freshly cut to expose the hollow cavity inside. The bamboo is cut in such a way that the “node” covers the other end of the bamboo.

5. Place the wrapped fish in banana leaves inside the bamboo container

6. Cook in low fire.

7. Serve hot.

This type of cooking brings out the natural taste of the fish, and I tell you, I have never tasted such delicious flavor in my life.

You have to experience it to believe.

Go ahead, and try it at home. But you have to buy fresh fish (still alive), and some banana leaves and charcoal.

Good luck with your Kalinga dish.

Here's an additional pointer from an Aunt who had lived in Taloctoc but now resides in America.

Fe Potter  says:

"The bamboo tube should also be a fresh cut so it will not burn right out over the charcoal. This method of cooking is excellent in any kind of fish dish."