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NATIONAL Rice Program Director Frisco Malabanan’s advice that
Filipinos ought to consider eating kamote and corn, instead of or in
addition to rice, is worth chewing on.
Malabanan said that while there is ample rice in
the country, white corn, cassava, yam, kamote and other root crops
are good substitutes in case of a shortage.
Kamote (sweet potato) is a high-value crop and
kamote production is growing. Corn, not rice, is the main staple in
many Visayan provinces, he said.
Many families are beginning to grow root crops
in their backyard to save on their food bill and to diversify their
diet, the number one rice farmer in the country added.
Meanwhile, the price of bigas is rising and rice
stock is always lean, which explains why we, a country of rice
growers, import rice every year and why we have asked Vietnam to
increase its export to Manila in 2008.
Kamote, corn and yam are popularly used as
desserts in homes and restaurants. There’s no reason why we
can’t consume them as regular meals.
Corn is a daily favorite in Mexican homes. The
lowly potato helped Ireland survive a terrible famine and is a major
staple in that country.
Filipinos however prefer rice as the table
centerpiece almost three times a day. They eat fried rice (sinangag)
at breakfast in countless varieties: from tapsilog (tapa, itlog and
fried rice) to porksilog (pork chop, itlog and fried rice).
Senior citizens remember that during the
Japanese occupation of the Philippines, they survived on crops they
used to sneer at or consumed only on rare occasions.
Binatog was boiled corn (scraped from the cob)
mixed with salt and crushed coconut meat eaten as regular meal.
Kastanyog was coconut meat roasted or deep-fried
in coconut oil, crunchy and reliable as rice substitute.
It was popular to mix rice and corn, boil it,
and have your fill. Bread was made from rice.
People learned to boil the heart and pith of the
banana tree and to grow apulid (Chinese chestnut) as extender.
If Batangas barako coffee was not available, the
Pinoys roasted rice and called it kapeng binusang mais.
Coconut oil served as cooking oil. For sugar,
the Pinoys used the native panocha.
Adobong kangkong and talbos ng kamote (kamote
tops) helped millions survive starvation.
The old reliable—lugao (congee)—alternated
with rice champorado and mongo soup. For milk, infants lived on am,
water from boiled rice or lugao spiked with fish.
Salt, panocha and the condiments (toyo, patis,
bagoong) were indispensable because they substituted for viand.
Filipinos built bird traps, hunted frogs and
learned to love the prodigious snails the Japanese troops introduced
on the islands.
They learned how to live with air raids, aerial
dogfights, unexpected visits from the enemy, and how to cook and eat
on the run.
Kamote, kangkong, and kastanyog helped save the
race as Filipinos learned to cope.
We are far from returning to the occupation days
but the provident souls and families struck by rising food costs
ought to digest Malabanan’s advice.
We can prepare, cook and eat kamote in many
ways. The government and the restaurant association should hold a
national contest on kamote cuisine. Fusion kamote or haute sweet
potato should attract even the snobs.
When silence is golden
THERE ought to be a rule that allows a beauty
contestant to answer a judge’s question in English, Filipino, or
in the language of her choice.
International contests allow such freedom for
the benefit of non-English speaking participants. They reply to a
question in their language, translated into English by an
interpreter.
We thought we’d make that suggestion after
listening to the finalists in the recent Binibining Pilipinas
contest. Most of the contestants could not speak correct English,
had difficulty organizing their thoughts and pretty much embarrassed
themselves.
How much better they would appear if they spoke
in Filipino or in the language they knew best. They could be
eloquent, witty and brilliant, relaxed and comfortable. Of course,
stage fright, not inadequacy in the language, could explain their
difficulty.
Most pitiful was the teenager who started her
answer five times and could not complete a sentence. In the end, she
pleaded youth and inexperience.
Through the years, talent competitions have
produced classic lines that have become a favorite topic in social
gatherings. Some of the funnier ones:
Question. How far will you go with your
boyfriend?
Finalist: Umm, up to Baguio City.
Question. Any thought you’d like to add before
you leave the stage?
Finalist: Well, I would like to thank my mother.
I would like to thank my father. And most of all, I would like to
thank my parents!
Question: What role did your family play in your
joining the contest?
Finalist: My family…ha ha. My family… ha ha.
That’s all. Thank you.
Question: What’s the first thing that you do
in the morning?
Finalist: I brush my tits!
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