Comments on: Atsarang Dampalit

By: eben

eben — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 10:50:08 +0000

It is summer of 1983 when I first taste this dish. I am 5 yrs old at that time. I remember my grandmother scolded my mother that I am malnourished. (You know all the lola’s of our country). Lola asked my uncle to gather some sort of grass near our house. I remember then the “dampalit” that it was abundant of that plant in our place (which my family owns a fishponds at that time). The plants shoots are green and the twigs are greenish and red. At summer time this dampalit is a good time to harvest. If December it is difficult to gather because it has flower already. The flower of this if mixed with the dish give a bad taste and it is not good to eat anymore. My lola Natividad Santos (known as aling Naty) is the best cook in our town (Dampalit, Malabon M.M) known in the old as Tabombong. I was born here. The ancestral house is just at the back of the Catholic church (I did forget the name of this old church because I am not a catholic, but it is sounds like Bartolome) which the Kasilonawan (a fertility dance) starts from Obando, Bulacan and ends to this church. We are the relatives of the Paez, Martinez, Sioson, and Santos’es of Malabon. ref: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kasilonawan)

This dish is my “spinach..” like the old Popeye. It should add bangus (milk fish) because it gives a distinct taste and flavor to it. Should be fresh bangus. But 10yrs ago the dampalits almost extinct due to the rising of water (baha). I felt bad to other generations including my sons that they cannot taste the original dampalit. My family inherited the original recipe of this dish from our ancestors ussually we cooked at fiesta’s. Hopefully if God permits I can eat this dish again.

By: yeboy

yeboy — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:58:02 +0000

The best atchara in the world ,.atcharang dampalit !

By: opet

opet — Sun, 31 May 2009 15:33:20 +0000

just try atchara from marinduque from unripe papaya.

By: Odit

Odit — Sat, 30 May 2009 13:03:55 +0000

Speaking about atsara, I remember atsara from Batangas, made from either labong(bamboo pith) or ubod(heart of palm) red bell pepper, carrots, garlic, etc. The labong or ubod were cut to the shape of leaves or flowers. They were so pleasant to look at. One doesn’t see those anymore.

By: lui

lui — Thu, 28 May 2009 23:19:15 +0000

Dampalit is barrio in the town of Malabon,in between Hulong Duhat and Pinagkabalian. Used to be dotted with numerous fishponds, it is now mostly residential. Adjacent to the town of Obando,residents of the area used to cross from one town to the other via the fishpond mudwalls (pilapil). Dampalit plant is ubiquitous to the area. Origins of this atsara? Malabon, Navotas, Obando, Pampanga? Ah basta. Masarap ‘to.