The Taste of Abra by Marlo Cordero Avero

No trip and certainly no TV travel show, to Abra is complete without tasting some of the local Abrenian dishes. When Drew Arellano came to Abra at the end of 2018 to record an episode for his GMANews travel show, Biyahe Ni Drew, he was invited to the home of Marlo Cordero Avero for lunch, and to try a few of the many delicious Abrenian dishes.
I asked Marlo , who really knows his Abrenian food, to write up about the dishes he served to Drew Arellano and were featured on the recent show broadcast on 11th January 2019.

When you come to Abra, stay away from those fast junkfood places (no need to name them) and seek out local carinderias and eateries to experience the Taste of Abra.
Support local business.

Thankyou to Marlo for his time and effort in writing up this article. 
***All photos Courtesy of Marlo Cordero Avero

Kinilaw Na Kambing

For this dish, the preferred goat to be butchered is a young native goat. This is so because the meat is tender and according to some foodie experts, native goats have that distinct taste. This maybe because these are raised organically.
The preparation starts with cleaning the goat by burning the goat’s hair until they turn to ashes. Hair that is left on the body after burning is scraped off and then cleaned with water.
The Parts that are used for the kinilaw are the meat and skin, together with some of the innards, like the small intestines and liver. As the skin is already partially cooked during the burning process not much cooking is required.

After the parts are sliced, these are mixed together with the spices. The spices for this dish are onions, ginger, salt, and vinegar or calamansi juice. Hand mixing of the meat and the spices is preferred to achieve a thorough diffusion or mixing of the spice mixture to the meat.
Some people eat the kinilaw as is, others like it fast cooked ” impasar” then served. For the more adventurous, an extraction of the juice of the digested food inside the animal’s intestine mixed with the bile called “papait” is added to the dish to add yet another dimension to the already exciting mix of flavors.

Enjoy..

Crispy Dinuguan

Crispy Dinuguan is prepared by first boiling the intestines of the pig or goat to be used for the dish. This is to prepare the dish for deep frying later on. When goat meat is used, the boiling also serves to lessen the odor of the intestines that some people consider undesirable or unpleasant.

The other meat parts are sauteed until they turn golden brown, then simmered in water with vinegar and other spices until the meat becomes tender. After that, the blood mixed with vinegar (the vinegar prevents the blood from coagulating) is poured and stirred until it becomes thick.

The crispy fried intestines can be added or used as toppings or garnishing to make an appetizing presentation. Add red or green pepper as an additional garnish if desired. Serve hot with rice and have a happy tummy.

Dinengdeng, Abraw or Inabraw

Dinengdeng is a popular regional dish among the people of Northern Luzon specially the Ilocanos. This is a simple food present on almost every dining table in the region. This is a dish that can easily be prepared, and the ingredients are not hard to find as they are present in the backyards of almost every home.
The vegetables that can be cooked into a dinengdeng dish are as varied as you can imagine, fruits, leaves, flowers, roots crops, bamboo shoots and many others can be used for this.
The simple process involves boiling the vegetables. For our dish, we used labong or bamboo shoots. In a broth seasoned with bagoong or fermented fish sauce, cook the ingredients until the vegetables becomes tender. The ingredients usually used are onions, tomatoes, ginger.
Other variations of dinengdeng use young tamarind fruits to add flavor and taste to the dish. When the vegetables are cooked, fried or broiled fish or shrimp is added to make the dish more delicious and add a protein source to make the dish more appetizing.

Try it, it is simple, inexpensive but very nutritious!

Deep Fried Tapang Igat

This mouth watering dish is called Deep Fried Tapang Igat. This is considered a delicacy because of the rarity and price of the eel.

The tapa is expensive because it comes from the upland rivers of the province. As the upland communities who catch the eels are far away, they are preserved as tapa or dried then brought down to be sold in the lowlands.

Preparation is simple, just cut into serving pieces and fry. Deep Fried Tapang Igat is usually served with fresh tomatoes and onions, can be dipped in soy sauce with calamansi or vinegar with garlic and salt.

Want to taste it?
Visit Abra and satisfy your curious taste buds.

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