It’s been a week since I arrived from my seven-day vacation in Negros Occidental and I still get dreamy over the good food we enjoyed there. We dined out, yes, but we ate more meals at the hacienda where we stayed.
Is the food in Negros Occidental so vastly different from the food in other regions in the Philippines? Some are; others are dishes found and enjoyed in other parts of the country.
Lechon, for instance.
And dinuguan.
It was on the day that we were having a lechon lunch on the porch that we first heard about laswa. It came up while discussing what we were having for dinner. Yeah, right, gorging on lechon roasted right there in the backyard and we were already discussing what we were having for dinner.
But we did talk about dinner with me wondering offhandedly if anything could ever top the lechon, dinuguan and ensalada (salad) made with julienned bulaklak ng saging (banana heart) and coconut milk. Our host asked if we had tried laswa before. We giggled, pointed at a friend and called her malaswa (obscene) jokingly. Our host explained with a laugh that laswa was a soup so deeply ingrained in the food culture of Negros that it is served on the dining table of the wealthiest and the poorest residents. I was so intrigued that I asked if I could watch the cook make laswa that night. I did. And then I cooked laswa at home.
It’s a very simple dish. Boil water with aromatics (garlic, onion and tomatoes) and drop in the vegetables. Shelled shrimps are optional. Season and boil until all the vegetables are done and serve immediately. What vegetables? Arnold, the very talented guy who did the cooking at the hacienda while we were there, chose squash, patola (luffa), okra, alugbati (Basella alba) and saluyot (jute leaves).
When we were served laswa at the hacienda, my first impression was the purity and clarity of the flavors of the vegetables. Sipping the broth was like sipping liquid leaves. I liked it. And I especially enjoyed it as the perfect companion vegetable dish for the leftover lechon dishes. There were two leftover lechon dishes that night — paksiw na lechon and baked ribs crusted with grated lime zest and black pepper — and the meatiness of both was the perfect foil for the all-vegetable soup.
Apparently, appreciation for laswa is an acquired one. Speedy found it too earthy; Sam found it too slimy. So, next time, I’ll tweak the recipe. More squash and less of the slimy okra and saluyot.
Bacolod food trip, part 2: Felicia’s and Pepe’s
Mik
05/28/2014 at 11:05 pmThere was laswa on our table almost everyday while I was growing up but I never really appreciated it until I was in my mid teens and just about to leave Bacolod for college life at UP. I grew to love it and make the effort to cook it here, a world away from home. Loved reading about your trip. Am getting homesick! :)
Connie Veneracion
05/29/2014 at 1:31 amSo you grew up in Bacolod! It’s a beautiful city, Mik. And the food is marvelous! Hope to see the southern half of Negros Occidental next time.
Mik
05/29/2014 at 8:32 amI am biased haha, yes it is. And most people are charming haha. It has changed a lot though over the years.
When I was little, Bob’s used to have a “drive in”. Not where movies where shown, but an area in the parking lot where customers could pull up in their cars, orders will be taken and then a small fold out stand brought out when the food comes so you can eat in your car. LOL! Many fond memories of my parents driving us out for a “midnight snack” (not at actual midnight!) dressed in our pajamas :)
You are right when you say we take our food seriously. And I am so glad you got to eat at someone’s home– as great as our restos and hole in the walls are, I think what people cook at home better showcases our food.
We used to spend summers in the south when I was a kid. The drive took all day because my mom would stop at every town on the way to Dumaguete to go to the local market and get a town specialty haha.
Connie Veneracion
05/29/2014 at 11:45 amMik, at the hacienda, we ate all the traditional dishes (like I said in the post, I felt that our host made sure that we did) including Negros-style paella Valenciana, pochero and glorious puto from Manapla. By the fourth day, I was hanging out in the kitchen learning about ingredients hahahaha
Mik
05/31/2014 at 9:12 pmPuto manapla was another one of those things I did not appreciate when I was younger. That was what we would buy after those early morning masses at christmas time instead of puto bumbong. Sublime with dinuguan. Now I crave it haha :)
I can just imagine you hanging out in the kitchen!
Connie Veneracion
05/31/2014 at 11:46 pmWhich do you think crave — white or yellow? Personally, I find the white puto a better partner for dinuguan. The yellow — with lots of butter! hehehe
Mik
06/03/2014 at 10:19 pmI crave the white :) which was the only thing my parents bought when I was little. High school na yata when I realized there was a yellow variant haha. We used to split the puto (still steaming) slide in slivers of good butter and cheese, press to melt and then eat… Yum.
Connie Veneracion
06/04/2014 at 12:29 amMy goodness, you really are homesick! Come home for a vacation. hehehe
Cath
08/22/2014 at 3:06 pmOh,the laswa my lola used to make had saluyot,okra and kalkag (the tiny dried shrimp). The broth looked like watert hough,it was tasty but didn’t have any tgint of color from seasoning or the vegies.
Hi Connie,its been a while.
Cath
08/22/2014 at 3:09 pm**I meant those three are all she put in her laswa then seasoning.
Connie Veneracion
08/22/2014 at 3:14 pmLet me guess, Cath… You posted the comment from a mobile phone (or an iPad) and the spellcheck screwed up..?? hehehehehe
Cath
09/02/2014 at 10:19 amOh, I think mobile phone.
:)
Connie Veneracion
09/02/2014 at 11:28 amThought so hahaha
joan javier
08/26/2014 at 1:18 pmms. connie, you can try adding tanglad and suahe the next time you cook laswa. that’s how some people do it in neg. oriental. my uncle just uses kalabasa, talbos ng kamote, okra, and patola with the tanglad. you can also use day old fried fish, especially yung maliliit na galunggong. sarap!
Connie Veneracion
08/26/2014 at 1:41 pmTanglad sounds good! Thanks, Joan. But I’ll have to pass on the suahe — I’m allergic to shrimps and all things crustacean. :-P