Daing na Dulong / Dried Anchovy Fry
Dulong or Anchovy fry (Gobiopterus lacustis? or Family Engraulidae?) are part of a very large group of different species of gobies or anchovies. 
Tiny fish that can rest on your smallest fingertips, these little morsels of flavor and protein are either served totally raw, cooked in vinegar (kinilaw style), cooked in banana leaves, battered and fried into fish cakes, or simply dried (pictured here) then fried. There isn’t a whole lot written on this fish and even the proper scientific name was hard to nail conclusively. Some sources say it part of the Gobiidae family (very common, 1 out of every 10 fish is a goby) while other sources say Engraulidae family… so I can’t say for certain. If I had to make a bet, I would lean towards the Engraulidae, mini anchovy path as these appear to be the smaller version of anchovies that are used in the making of patis.
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So I made an egg salad by chopping up the boiled eggs and adding some bottled mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper. If you like some crunch a little chopped celery or fennel would be a good addition. A big bowl of this in the fridge usually doesn’t last more than a day or two as it is a house favorite. So easy, relatively nutritious and great snack food! I decided to skip the lunch of tacos set out for our daughter and her friends and went rummaging in the fridge for the makings of an impromptu Marketman sandwich… this was the result.
While the traditional foods of Easter such as lamb, ham, etc. are an interesting subject, this post is about a more colorful tradition in our house… coloring Easter eggs. It never ceases to amaze me how many people roll their eyes and say something to themselves along these lines… “what a bother, waste of time, waste of money, etc.”… instead, they are most likely to be the ones who rush their kids to the mall, buy some sugar and icing eggs for way more than the cost of making their own, throw in a rabbit to pacify a screaming toddler, then eat at a mediocre restaurant to celebrate the holiday. Now you know where I stand on the subject. Coloring Easter eggs is a great tradition, a fun activity for kids of all ages and far cheaper than parking and amusing yourselves at a mall.
Has our money lost so much value that we can’t afford the aluminum to fabricate more coins? Have you ever noticed that many local stores simply never have any change (bills and coins) on hand? This is one of my pet peeves… local groceries several years ago started giving out hard candy instead of 25 or 50 centavos in change that they owed you. Supposedly they were having a hard time getting enough coins so they gave candy instead. And most people took it willingly instead of insisting on getting real money. I mean, have you ever tried to buy a coke at a vending machine with 52 hard candies? Or go back to the same grocery with 112 candies and try to pay for a loaf of bread? The cashiers would just look at you like you had lost your marbles! Even though they gave you the candy as change in the first place!
Lately, his stall has been marked by a pail of stunning wild flowers out front that have the purest and most vibrant color nature has to offer. Gil and the weekend markets go way back to the mid-90’s and the organic market that used to be near the old United Supermarket in Greenbelt. At that time, he was one of the few provedores that took risks on unusual plants such as Makrut (Kaffir) lime plants, Vietnamese herbs, along with more common (though not at the time) Italian basil, rosemary, etc. He was one of those tables I would almost always buy something from simply because I was thrilled that someone had attempted to grow it at all. While I have not visited his farm, I would guess from several conversations with him regarding farming methods and the fact that he now displays a banner that he is a member of the Organic Producers Trade Association, that he does in fact raise most of what he sells in an organic manner.
are reaching their peak just about now! Another sign that Summer is here (besides schools being on holiday, lighter traffic and a rising mercury) is the arrival of a brief but impressive explosion of makopa. Our neighbor across the street has a makopa tree that is groaning with fruit so I asked if I could take these photos. Makopa is one of those tropical summer fruits that don’t keep or travel well. Most of our childhood memories of eating makopa probably meant we lived near a source, usually a tree in the backyard or neighborhood.
They needed unsullied fresh water or somewhat brackish (part salt, part fresh water) conditions to thrive in the wild. In the last few decades they became rarer and rarer from natural sources as our rivers got more and more polluted. But we have now successfully domesticated the shrimp and raise them in shrimp ponds or together with rice crops in rice fields and nearby ponds. Large (compared to shrimp) and meaty, they are a more reasonably priced alternative to lobster and about the same price as prawns. The most common usage I have found is in a terrific ulang sinigang (shrimp with a sour broth). They differ from prawns in that their heads are unusually large and they have these long thin claws (not obvious in these pictures as I think the vendor removed them!). They have bright blue and sometimes yellow striped colored shells and legs.
This salad is extremely easy to make and an excellent match for seafood dishes such as grilled fish or a steamed lobster or even a fried crab cake. It is simple, sophisticated and a real palate pleaser. After I spotted and purchased the medium sized fennel bulb at the Salcedo market, I shot over to the fruit vendor and got two navel juice oranges. At home I assembled the other ingredients: some good extra-virgin olive oil (Greek olive oil works great with this salad), some white wine vinegar, salt and pepper (better white than black). I remembered the great pomelo I had peeled in the fridge and decided to add some of that too.