Good afternoon and welcome back to VibePinas! We are currently up in Daanbantayan, still navigating our way through the aftermath of the typhoon, but today we decided to take a break from the stress and focus on something everyone loves: a proper feast.
We started our day at the local market here in Bantayan. It was a bit late—around 12:30 p.m.—so the meat stations were looking a little thin, but the seafood section was absolutely buzzing. If you want fresh seafood in the Philippines, the market is always the place to be. We saw everything from seaweed and octopus to massive crabs and assorted fish of all colors and sizes. I always tell people, if you’ve never tried some of these local varieties, you’re really missing out.
We ended up buying about 1.3 kilos of what I’m fairly certain was mackerel tuna. Jessa managed to talk them into giving us one of the biggest ones for about 340 pesos. Interestingly, the market here in the north seems more expensive than what we’re used to in Ginatilan. Maybe it’s the typhoon’s impact on supply, or maybe people just have a bit more cash up here, but either way, the quality was top-notch.
Once we got back to our temporary "hideout," it was time for me to take over as the head chef—or at least the "Executive Director" of the kitchen. Since I haven't had proper Norwegian flavors in a long time, I decided to give this local fish a Scandinavian twist. In Norway, we love our mackerel, and mackerel tuna is close enough in taste that my home recipes work perfectly.
My first task was making a homemade sour cream. In Europe, you just buy it in a tub, but here we have to improvise. I mixed some all-purpose cream with a dash of milk, a bit of white vinegar, and some fresh calamansi juice. It needed a pinch of salt to finish it off. I take my dipping sauces seriously!
Next up was the cucumber salad. I sliced them up (with the "typhoon survival knife" Jessa provided) and let them soak in a mixture of water, vinegar, and two tablespoons of sugar. While those flavors were melding, Jessa took over the fish prep. She stuffed the mackerel with tomatoes and onions, added a little salt, and squeezed some lime over it. We don't have a fancy grill, so she did her "mountain magic" over an open barbecue.
By the time the food was served, I was starving. We had the grilled fish, my Norwegian-style cucumber salad, some boiled potatoes, and that creamy dipping sauce. I’ll admit, the sauce turned out a bit saltier than I remembered—I think the recipe I looked up was a bit different from my usual one—but it still hit the spot. Seeing Jessa and Liam digging into a meal that tasted like a little piece of my home was the best part of the day.
We’re wrapping things up early tonight because we have a massive day tomorrow. We need to be in the car by 4:00 a.m. to head back to the city. The car is starting to act up a bit, and I need to get her seen by a mechanic before things get worse.
Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you in the next one!
