On bagoong, gulay, and being Ilocano~
I was buying a bagoong (fish sauce) in a sari-sari store near my rented space. After handing me a bottle, the vendor asked, "Ilocano ka?" to which I smiled.
I was buying vegetables from the vendor who passed by our street every day before noon and in the late afternoon. I picked a bunch of malunggay fruits and handed it over to him to include in my purchase. He asked, "Ma'am, Ilocano ka ba?" I smiled. "Mahilig ka kasi sa gulay."
I was taking a photo of the saluyot plants in the frontyard of our host in Iloilo one time when we had our teambuilding in there. A colleague sees me and told the story of how she came to discover that saluyot leaves are edible. "May kapitbahay kaming Ilocano. Nakita ko minsan kumukuha siya ng dahon nito. Hindi ko alam na nakakain pala ito."
These remarks/observations are nothing new. Bagoong and gulays have been very much association with being an Ilocano it has become stereotypical.
Recently, a colleague asked me the differences between dinengdeng and another dish I can't recall. I answered, "May iba-iba kasing version ng dinengdeng. Depende kung nasaan ka. Honestly, dun sa'min basta kahit ano'ng gulay, halo-halo, iluluto, tapos lagyan ng bagoong, ulam na."At least this is how we do it at home. The dinengdeng I usually see in Manila is different from the dinengdeng at home. Of course, the dinengdeng at home usually having more types of vegetables in it. The case of pinakbet, a popular Ilocano dish, is different because this dish has specific ingredients. But when it comes to other vegetable dishes, you can do without the other ingredients or sometimes substitute other ingredients with another.
Like many children, I used to not appreciate having vegetables during most of our meals (although I do eat vegetables, I eat any vegetable), so when I left home for college, one of the things I was excited about was finally being able to choose what I eat. This was never a problem in Baguio because the place is abundant with good food and vegetables of other kinds, ones that we do not have often at home because there are rather expensive (e.g. chop seuy). But once in Manila, I came to realized how I've missed the food at home because people in this city can never get the real pinakbet or any Ilocano dish for that matter.
Like many children, I used to not appreciate having vegetables during most of our meals (although I do eat vegetables, I eat any vegetable), so when I left home for college, one of the things I was excited about was finally being able to choose what I eat. This was never a problem in Baguio because the place is abundant with good food and vegetables of other kinds, ones that we do not have often at home because there are rather expensive (e.g. chop seuy). But once in Manila, I came to realized how I've missed the food at home because people in this city can never get the real pinakbet or any Ilocano dish for that matter.
