Newspapers, TV, and radio carry daily news about the spiraling prices of agricultural produce, such as rice, sugar, garlic and onions. The situation is no different for sources of protein—pork, chicken, and fish.
Supply shortage has been pinpointed as the root cause of the price situation; importation was decided to be the immediate solution. To improve distribution and cut out the middle man, hundreds of Kadiwa stores have been set up nationwide, selling rice for ₱25 per kilo. Housewives patronize Kadiwa stores to stock up on government-subsidized food items.
Local produce aplenty
While everyone is complaining endlessly about food items we have to import, very little attention is focused on local produce that are flooding the market, literally being given away. At the top of this list are tomatoes and mangoes, which command very high prices when not in season. In summer, tomato farms harvest at the same time, causing prices to drop.
Highways in Ilocos are lined with mango trees under whose verdant trunks are yellow carpets of ripe mangoes ignored by local residents. Meanwhile, in many provinces, trucks of freshly harvested tomatoes are being thrown down cliffs and abandoned on farm roads. It costs more to plant, harvest, pack, ship, and sell the tomatoes to middlemen or at retail markets.
As mangoes and tomatoes have a short shelf life, it is important to know how to take full advantage of the glut.
Purchase tomatoes wholesale by the kilo and mangoes by the hundreds. Classify them according to degree of ripeness. Wash the fruits well in basins of water with soap or detergent. Rinse well with tap water and dry with clean towels.
At this point, the tomatoes can be packed in bags and stored in the freezer. Frozen tomatoes, given a quick rinse, are easy to peel, perfect for stews, soups, and sauces. My aunt used to cook gallons of sauces, which she froze in half-liter microwavable containers. The sauces, perfect for pasta or pizza, made life easier for the mother of five.
Another family breakfast and snack favorite is tomato jam, so easy to make from frozen tomatoes. Scoop seeds from one kilo frozen tomatoes, simmer with 450 grams sugar and juice of one lemon. Cook over low heat, stirring often, until thick.
Mango salads and spreads
The public market in Laoag, Ilocos Norte is my favorite stop in the north for one delicacy peculiar to the town—pickled green mango in all stages of ripeness, spiciness, and sweetness. Huge glass jars hold the pickles. Customers range from schoolchildren to senior citizens, all hooked on the addictive local specialty, which we buy a lot of to nibble on during the long drive back to the city.
Some of the ripened mangoes become jam or preserves to serve for breakfast with pancakes, toast, or waffles. Simply slice or scoop out ripe mango flesh and cook in a simple syrup of white sugar and pure mango juice. This goes well with cheese.
Instant sinigang
Sauté a little sliced onion with quartered frozen tomatoes. Add boiled mashed green mangoes to taste. Store in freezer until needed.
Many home cooks, and even professional chefs, are so hooked on store-bought mixes, which they have made a huge commercial success. A tip from some of them: frozen tomatoes improve sinigang made with commercial instant mixes.
For sinigang sa miso, frozen sauteed tomatoes, miso, and mashed green mangoes are stirred into sinigang made with or without store-bought mix.
Pinoy sawsawan
When the Thai food craze invaded the Philippines several decades ago, one of the major hits with Filipino diners was Green Mango Salad with Crispy Fried Catfish. Food reviewers were overwhelmed by the five-star setting at the Makati hotel that hosted the dinner. I guess that clouded our judgment.
It all came back to me last week when our labandera made Crispy Fried Tilapia on a sawsawan (dip or salad) of shredded green mango, chopped tomatoes, sliced salted eggs, topped with sautéed bagoong alamang. That Filipino sawsawan was much better than the imported Thai salad we all gushed about.
