Malabon Food

(Part 2 of 2)

In Malabon, “saging na turon” or banana wrapped in lumpia wrapper and fried with brown sugar, is called “Valencia”. It often has “langka” or ripe jack fruit wrapped in lumpia wrapper together with the banana. What is popularly called “dinuguan”, or pork cooked in pork’s blood made sour with vinegar, is called “tinumis” in Malabon. The way it is prepared is not in thick pork blood sauce, but is vinegar. It is usually composed of pork ears, entrails and cubed pork blood. It also served with “puto” or rice cake.

And since Malabon is a fishing town, it is abundant with seafood. We have countless varieties of fishes, with “bangus” or milkfish being the most popular. We also have cultured crabs or “alimango” raised from fishponds, and “alimasag” – crabs which are caught from the sea. In Malabon, crablets or “talangka” are usually served as “burong talangka”, or uncooked and just sprinkled with salt and kept overnight. Oysters or “talaba” and shells called “tahong” are popular in Malabon. One kind of seafood in Malabon that is not well known in other places is called “tatampal”. Our “tatampal” in Malabon is known as “alupihang dagat” (or sea millipede, literally translated) in other parts of our archipelago.

Our meals in Malabon are not complete without several saucers of a variety of sauces and condiments. We would have at least three or four kinds of sauces during meals – “suka’t patis” or vinegar and fish sauce, “patis at calamansi” or fish sauce and calamansi (our local citrus), “suka at toyo” or vinegar and soy sauce and “toyo at calamansi” or soy sauce and calamansi. Depending on the taste of an individual, one may add either chili pepper or chopped garlic or onions or ginger or ground pepper to any of the sauces mentioned above.