You've heard about pakbet, bangus, bagoong isda, kaleskesan, bagisen, binungey, pigar-pigar, tupig, Calasiao Puto at Kutsinta. Are among the words sounds alien? No they're not. They are dishes. Necessities such as food I knew as a kid. My parents both comes from Pangasinan, although I reside in Metro Manila and Pangalatok has not been my native tongue, my palate has always been with one of these Pangasinan dishes.

Traditional Pangasinan dishes are noted using its utilization of bagoong (fish paste) within their veggie dishes and cow or goat innards using meat soup dishes, while desserts are primarily created from rice made sweet in sugar and coconut concoctions generating using a tempting aroma by cooking it under wood.

Dagupan Bangus

Why this bangus (en. Milkfish) different from other bangus in the nation? These are the hybrid type. Most milkfishes are freshwater species, but in the Dagupan, they're bred at saltwater by the Lingayen gulf. Being bred on the ocean, there is a different taste, more saltier and lesser stench (lansa) than the other. These fishes are perfect for grilled cooking or fried (boneless bangus) or being added being a meat supplement for just one with their other dish called pakbet.

Pakbet
Similar to pinakbet that's an Ilocano dish. But they mostly tend not to differ and precisely the same. Pangasinan will be the nearest province of the Ilocos Region in reference to the capital, Metro Manila, yet because it is still Ilocos, they certainly have almost the same dishes. In case you are in Ilocos and Tagalog, this dish is often called "pinakbet". In Pangasinan, usually that is "Pakbet". It is just a dish of mixed vegetables you commonly hear within the Filipino song "Bahay Kubo". But Pakbet Pangasinan has more sauce (sabaw) compared to Ilocos along with the soup is made more tastier by Bagoong isda (fish paste) instead of those the Ilocanos use which are usually fish sauce (patis) and alamang (manufactured from krill). Pakbet is also confused with meat, either pork, beef or milkfish (bangus).



Bagoong Isda
This can be fish paste which can be comprised of fermented fish. More frequently utilized as food spice but in addition utilized as a dish on impoverished areas. Raw small fishes (anchovies) are placed in the large cooking pot, seasoned with salt, vinegar and a little chilly. Preserved for a day without cooking and also have itself be fermented by salt. Crushed somewhat therefore the fish taste mixes with the thick sauce via osmosis. Then purchased in bottles. It features a stench unbearable to some people however mixing this around sour foods like raw mangoes in order to add taste to pakbet helps make the dish tastes awesome.

Alaminos Longganisa
Distinct for the mildly salty and garlic taste, a Filipino sausage stuffed with meaty pork, a bit of its fat, colored distinctively red with azuete and wrapped with pork intenstines. Originated in Alaminos, Pangasinan but could purchased at any marketplace in Pangasinan

Kaleskesan
This is actually the Pangasinan equal of papaitan consisting of goat innards but unlike papaitan, they could either use goat or pig innards. The innards are cooked in boiling water and sauteed to taste. Animal fat (sebo) is also mixed as soon as the soup is hot.

Where you get a taste of these? Almost anywhere in Pangasinan unless specified. Usually on carinderias or food stalls. Also available on classy restaurants inside the cities of Pangasinan including Dagupan, Lingayen, San Carlos, and Alaminos. To be sure they may be fresh and cheap, get them at stalls near public markets.

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