Bon appetit!
STARBYTES By Butch Francisco
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Having such keen interest on Philippine culture, history and especially food, I thought I knew everything there was to know about Pinoy delicacies.
This was until I saw Karen Davila's feature on tamilok on ABS-CBN's The Correspondents last Tuesday night.
Tamilok - so I found out - is a kind of woodworm that bores into the trunks of rotting mangroves. To find out more about delicacy, Karen and her crew had to fly to Palawan where tamilok is said to be plentiful.
Gathering tamilok isn't all that easy. With the help of a local whose family survives on tamilok (they gather, sell and eat whatever is left unsold), we see that you have to chop your way through trunks and trunks of mangroves to get this delicacy.
Imbedded inside the trunk, you have to pull the tamilok (which grows up to several inches long) slowly and carefully. It actually has a pair of claws at one end of its body, which must be its only means of defense.
The tamilok can be eaten right there and then, according to the local gatherer. You rinse it in the river and you have your tamilok - fresh as fresh can be. It is rich in protein, calcium and iodine and is said to be an aphrodisiac (now isn't that enough as a come-on?). Karen was willing to have a bite of it, but as she said on-cam, she's four months on the family way and pregnant women are not supposed to eat anything uncooked. Better safe than sorry. At least she looked sincere when she said that. I believe she meant it because she showed no disgust on her face and wasn't squeamish even for a moment during the entire time that the gatherer kept pulling from rotting barks those slimy-looking tamiloks.
Within the barangay, the tamilok is sold at P20 per glass (they stuff it into a regular drinking glass to measure it). Business is brisk, especially when there is no delivery of fish within the neighborhood. Tamilok is best eaten when dipped in vinegar. The family of the local gatherer had it for lunch and they seemed to have enjoyed it - even the youngest kid who must only be five or six.
In another segment, Karen showed viewers how a local bar in Puerto Princesa had included the tamilok in its menu. While it is sold in the barangay at P20 per glass, its price had shot up to P100 per order at the restaurant. It is usually served as pulutan and that evening Karen conducted a tamilok challenge among the customers. She went from table to table (picking on the foreigners mostly) offering tamilok to anyone who'd dare it eat.
Except for an Englishman and an Englishwoman (they were at separate tables and probably didn't know each other), it became a hit among mostly Europeans and the general consensus was: "It tastes like oysters." In a table of Asians (they were either Japanese or Koreans), only one dared accept the tamilok challenge and his reaction wasn't as enthusiastic as those of the Caucasians. Unlike most European back-packers, our rich Asian neighbors have gotten so used to the finer things that come in beautiful packages. If only they knew tamilok's etymological origins. Oh, how so western it is.
Legend has it (and it is the most modern I've heard) that one day, a traveling American saw a tamilok boring itself inside a mangrove trunk and excitedly told his wife: "Tammy, look!" The natives heard that and thought that was how the woodworm is called. Surely, that tale didn't come from the Brothers Grimm.
But regardless of how it's called, that feature on The Correspondents already had my interest piqued. I've been to Palawan once and only brought home casuy.
Now, I'm dying to return to this island province to have a taste of my tamilok. I could use a traveling companion. I promise to treat you to a hearty serving of tamilok. First order's on me.
http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Entertainment&p=49&type=2&sec=31&aid=20070822131