More on Food

I have never been so close to where my food comes from as I am in the Philippines. In the Philippines, at least in Palawan, local vegetables can grow year round. Things like talong (eggplant), okra, sitaw (type of string bean) malunggay (a type of plant that is extremely nutrition and can be added to anything) kamote tops… the list is endless. We are really lucky to have met two people named Simon and Jinky who own an organic farm called Bountiful Harvest where we can buy our local vegetables- and sometimes meat without all the chemicals. Their farm also has many vegetables you can’t get in the main market here. Things like basil which I make homemade pesto with, garlic chives, sometimes lettuce and broccoli which we got for the first time this week!

At Bountiful Harvest getting Veggie

Our “grocery” routine usually consists of biking over to the farm where our vegetables are ready for us. They are wrapped in banana leaves because it helps the veggies stay fresh longer- a local tip for those of you in the Philippines! Even our green leafy vegetables that would normally wilt and look kawawa (pitiful) after a few days are good for a week- sometimes more when kept in the banana leaves in our fridge. Anyways, so we usually hang out and catch up with Simon and Jinky when we are able to pick our vegetables up on a weekend day- otherwise it’s a quicker visit if we make a stop during the week.

Simon and Jinky taking care of business

Lunch during the week is also very different from how I ate lunch at work in the states. In most offices, lunch time is synonymous with the sound of microwave timers going off as people heat their leftovers or instant meals. Well in a country with an unreliable current and electricity, microwaves are not common, and a stovetop range is often too bulky to include in an office that is already being crammed beyond its capacity. While leftovers were my first choice in the states I actually eat at the local cantina since eating a cold meal that really only tastes good hot is not appealing to me. So my protein requirement for the day is met at lunch. 

A small sample of the variety of meat at the San Jose Market

However, when we DO want to buy meat it is very different from picking out our meat from the saran-wrapped packages in the refrigerated section of your supermarket. We go to the wet market portion of the New market in San Jose. 

For the freshest meat, most people go to the market in the morning. Here, every part of the animal is for sale from the head, feet, liver, intestines, and even the blood. Pigs blood is actually made into a stew called Diniguan which I haven’t developed a taste for yet except when Jinky made it- but she is one of the best cooks I know. One of my favorite parts of living on Palawan is the fresh fish. You can get so many different kinds of fish and it is all incredibly fresh. I have never had fish as good as it is in Palawan- even though I lived in the coast of Maine!

While you can’t really get boneless fillets of fish- it is a small sacrifice to have the whole fish they caught just a few hours ago either chopped to your liking or just buy the whole thing and grill it! My favorite way to eat it fish here is to steam it with some seasonings stuffed inside like garlic, onion etc. Then make a side sauce of soy sauce, sili peppers, and kalamansi juice. Just peel back the skin, take some fish in your fingers with a little bit of rice, dip, and enjoy!

The local seaweed, its pretty good with a little kalamansi on top!

Also, unlike shopping in the US- all produce prices really fluctuate in the market based on the season. For instance, while mangoes can be found year round in the bigger cities- they can be as low as 20-40 pesos in season to over 120 off season! Some of the places that are far away from a main port are not as lucky to have access to off season goods year round. Matt and I being the kuripot (penny pinchers) we are tend to adjust our diet to what is in season.  While this is also true in the states, I see more of a difference in availability and price variation of vegetables.

Vendor cutting some tuna steaks

While I do miss some of my favorite foods from home, I can already identify dozens of fruits, vegetables, meats, dishes etc I will be missing when my service here is done! I feel really lucky to be placed in such a beautiful country.