Comments on: The Vigan Market

By: sagada

sagada — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 03:01:32 +0000

yup……….
those vegies look really good.
good thing i have them also around my yard.
only thing i still do not grow is achuete and bilimbi(camias).
i tried propagating bilimbi from seeds but can not seem to get them to germinate. any ideas or suggestions MM?
one nursery in florida have available bilimbi plants but said shipping is at the costumers risk as the bilimbi plants are very delicate to ship.
am from south texas right smack to the mexican border where it is tropical like home.
this year we’ve seen more rain than normal and the saluyot plants are taller than my 4 yr old guava tree.

By: Arnel

Arnel — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 21:16:54 +0000

Very nice, thanks for having this.
We miss every single thing you have in this article as they’re
unfortunately unavailable in this cold country – New Zealand.
We will definitely rush to have some of them in our first meals when we have the chance to have a holiday back there in the Phils.

By: Maricel

Maricel — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 09:50:16 +0000

Here is a palayok priming technique from Nany Reyes Lumen

“And here’s something I learned from a Vigan elder:
when you buy a new cooking papalyok before using it here’s how:
Fill palayok with water halfway. Swish the water inside WITHOUT USING YOUR HANDS TO RUB INSIDE THE BELLY OF THE PALAYOK…NO HANDS! (Otherwise, he said, if you use your hands to rub the palayok and swish the water with your hands, the palayok will forever taste like clay. So, the correct way is to just let the water swish around like you’re rinsing it. Then throw out the water and you’re ready to use it…clayless promises nonetheless”

By: dhayL

dhayL — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 00:04:38 +0000

I miss the “palayok” back home, as a child i had a few collections of palayok for my bahay-bahayan, oh what a sweet thing! And yeah, we used if for birthday parties as well – hataw palayok! :)

By: connie

connie — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 00:02:35 +0000

There are four veggies in your Vigan Market trip that I would like to have just right now. The ampalaya tendrils, the malunggay pods, the saluyot leaves and the squash flowers! I’ll probably make a ampalaya leaves salad from that bunch you have on the picture, not for everyboy since the leaves are afterall bitter, but I like it simply blanch mixed with kamatis and bagoong, or with some juice from bagoong isda.

About the palayoks, IMHO the best tasting paksiw and pangat is cooked in a palayok. My personal theory on this is that the shape of the palayok traps the flavor in, since when the liquid boils instead of evaporating out it gets trap at the sides and then condenses and goes right back into the food. Of course I might be talking total nonsense. *laughs*

By: Ebba Myra

Ebba Myra — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 20:11:12 +0000

Another site has a recipe for dahon ng sayote which I liked to try. I recently asked a Pinoy restaurant cook here if she knows about the Sayote tops and she said she did not know they are even edible.

By: lee

lee — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 09:32:14 +0000

no vegans in Vigan because of vagnet. this is awful… i’m getting a blunt knife and start slashing my sleeve.

By: palengkera

palengkera — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 07:01:45 +0000

has anyone tried using dahon ng sayote in place of dahon ng sili or dahon ng ampalaya. Quite good actually…

By: anonymous paul

anonymous paul — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 04:19:22 +0000

i love going to markets. especially when out of town/the country. great way to immerse yourself in the culture. and there’s really just something about produce…

By: Marketman

Marketman — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 00:58:16 +0000

Myra, yes, as alilay say, you need to carefully remove the outer fibrous layer, then slice and cook with pinakbet. To eat, I am told one must split the pod then skim the pulp inside with one’s teeth and discard the pod if tough, or eat it if tender. I am also told that peeling the pod is not necessary if you have young fresh pods… They are good. Bluegirl, I think psychologically, the smaller tighter ampalayas seem more bitter, but in reality I am not sure if that is true…they are BITTER though… lee, was that song sung by a Vegan in Vigan?