Healthy Eating: What's In A "Dinengdeng"- A Pure Blooded Ilocana's Specialty

Being a descendant of farmers. I grew up loving vegetables. In prep school I enjoyed coloring the eggplant purple and the tomatoes deep orange. At home my grandma would prepare the best "dinengdeng" in the world! One of my fondest childhood memories is eating lunch in the farm along the rice paddies under the shade of trees.

Oh boy, to this day no restaurant could give me that feeling of pure joy eating with family- soft wind caressing my cheeks and the smell of new mown hay and the indescribable goodness of vegetables mingling with the taste of fish!

This post is for my beloved Ilocano countrymen who have left home sweet home and are now in different parts of the world most especially my dearest mom now based in the U.S. who misses these dishes so much.  I know you all miss the taste of our original home cooked "dinengdeng"!

You might want to take several gulps of water before scrolling down. This could make you book a flight back home, seriously hehehehe.....

Dinengdeng- a fish sauce soup based vegetable dish specialty of Ilocanos...

Its main ingredients are vegetables which could be anything from string beans, jute, monggo, bitter melon, squash, malunggay etc. The fresher the vegetable the better of course! One must be careful not to overcook them to keep the nutrients active. A dinengdeng could be tasty even without grilled fish and artificial spices enhancing the soup base when the cook is a full blooded Ilocano with magical hands that could extract the natural aroma and glory of vegetables. Whatever their formula is I am afraid my grandma didn't manage to pass on to me, or maybe she did it is just that I seldom really work in the kitchen. What I am certain of was when it came to "dinengdeng" my maternal grandma and my dad were the best of friends! Hmm perhaps when I become a grandma myself, the magical spell will reach my hands.

Here is a series of "dinengdeng" food porn for you to indulge on....Enjoy! "mangan tayun Apo" (let's eat!)

grilled Bangus (milkfish), "malunggay" and "bungon"

string beans, katuday, okra

 Buridibud- a dinengdeng variety (its main ingredient is sweet potatoe making the soup thick and a bit sweet

 Banana blossom "dinengdeng"

monggo and "pritong galunggong"

Now all we need is Rice and we'll be in seventh heaven!

oh add calamansi and fish or soy sauce with pepper and some tomatoes- a full blooded Ilocano is set to conquer the universe!

 Wherever you are in the world, know that someone back home loves you so...

and is longing for that day when you return once more in the arms of our beloved Philippines

shot in Nagsaraboan, Bacnotan, La Union, Philippines

until then....

still fervently working and praying for our country to one day be what our heroes died for..

for now, let's eat and keep our bodies nourished...

please leave a comment and share this to all dinengdeng lovers out there

So what's so special for me in a dinengdeng?- "the memory and love of family and country".

"Naimbag nga aldaw yo amin Apo"

(A blessed day to all of you.)