I was born and raised in Manila so basically, I never learned how to speak my parent's local dialect. I think the people who grew up in the province carry their culture and practices everywhere they go. Maybe they will adapt to their new environment but the traditions will be in their hearts for the the rest of their life. But there is probably one thing any probinsyano or probinsyana will never give up...their local food.
Ilocanos are known to be creative and resourceful when it comes to food. I noticed that they love their bagoong and vegetable. They can eat almost anything. I learned how to become adventurous when it comes to food from my dad. He made me try almost everything. I love the vegetable dishes of the Ilocanos especially the Pinakbet. One thing i noticed is that they like their veggies half cooked or fresh. You can easily taste how fresh and sweet their veggies are because most of them are organic, handpicked from their garden.
I can say that I got my cooking skills from my dad. He is our "head chef" in the household. He is very traditional and sticks to the recipes he learned from my lola. I, on the other hand, am more creative and curious. I like to try new recipes and I dont like following a recipe. I always want to make it my own style. I usually follow the process but tweak taste it to make it "ala Lou Anne".
My mom isn't really a cook. She admits that her hands are not that skilled but he makes excellent desserts. She makes the best gelatin cakes more popularly known as the "Cathedral Gelatin" and other desserts. She doesn't make them regularly but when she does, it is consistently delicious.
Growing up in Bicol, I am quite surprised because she isn't fond of eating spicy food. She loves the ginataan dishes but not much of the spicy ones like bicol express. I am, however, thankful because being a half bicolana taught me how to be patient when it comes to cooking. Food cooked in gata requires a lot of patientce because unlike the ilocanos who liketheir food half cooked, gata requires time to get cooked. If you do it the wrong way, the food easily gets spoiled considering how hot it is in the Philippines. Seafood is quite famous too and I love how my grand father would wait on the shore and buy freshly caught fish by the local fishermen. I love how my grandmother makes an effort to feed us fresh seafood at every chance they get.
The passion for fililipino cuisine definitely is running through my vein. I have this belief system that if I want a particular food, I need to learn how to cook them. And so being the adventurous one, I tried cooking the dishes from both provinces and I am proud to say that it was a success. I was able to capture the taste and essence of being a legit Bilocana.
Here are the "ala fabulouanne" pinakbet and ginataang hipon at kalabasa. Enjoy!
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