Fast, then feast on bacalao

What is bacalao, anyway? It is the Spanish name of codfish found in the cold waters of the North Atlantic.

Locally, the imported fresh/frozen kind is known by its Japanese name gindara, while the Portuguese call it bacalhau, and the French morue.

As discussed in my previous column, Spanish culture and language are so deeply rooted in our daily lives, more than we realize, especially so in the Catholic religion we believe in and the attendant food we eat following the religious calendar. We have food groupings that appear only on such special occasions: town fiestas, baptisms, wakes, Christmas, and the just-concluded cuaresma or 40 days of Lent.

The practice of fasting and/or giving up certain types of luxuries is a form of penance during Lent, in particular abstaining from eating any type of meat. Though we faithful are obligated to fast and abstain from eating meat only on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, a lot of devout Catholics practice varying degrees and forms of self-imposed sacrifice, the most common of which is having meatless Fridays during the whole of Lent.

Ergo, have you ever wondered why many Filipino households would have munggo soup and tuyô (dried salted fish) on Fridays, some not just during Lent but even as a year-round practice? And, in a strange twist of faith (sic, fate, pun intended), in a small fishing village somewhere in Cebu, the locals have gotten papal dispensation (so the locals claim) to feast on lechon on Good Fridays, due to the fact that they subsist on fish the whole year round. 

As for me, admittedly, the main reason I anticipate with so much excitement the coming of Holy Week is the once-a-year appearance of the precious bacalao a la vizcaina on our mother Imang During’s table. It’s always had a special niche in my heart — nay, stomach — as one of the top-of-my-list “special occasion” dishes, not just because my mother cooked it, but because of its savory flavors like no other, with its milky white, buttery meat (oops, I mean flesh; no meat, remember? Wink, wink). Though the prohibitive bacalao from Spain can be bought year-round, somehow it’s never the same if you have it any other season. Just try having queso de bola (if you can find it) and jamon in July, two other Spanish imports we associate with the Christmas season. But I digress too much.

Lifestyle Feature ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch:

What is bacalao, anyway? It is actually the Spanish name of codfish found in the cold waters of the North Atlantic. It is one of the most important fish in the history of mankind, whether fresh, frozen, or dried salted. Locally, the imported fresh/frozen kind is known by its Japanese name gindara, while the Portuguese call it bacalhau, and the French morue.  Nowadays, the term bacalao is universally accepted to mean dried salted cod. It is milky white, delicate, and tender when desalinated with the lomo as the prime, most expensive cut, while the tail is stringy and dry, being the cheapest cut, and blends itself well with a wide array of cooking methods and sauces.  

And it was the Basque fishermen who initially discovered and introduced and traded bacalao salado (salted) to the whole of Spain more than 600 years ago, and then spread it out to its former colonies in the Americas and the Philippines. Hence, as former colonies, we all share a common bacalao tradition in our respective cuisines.

Closer to home, a local substitute to the very expensive imported bacalao is daing na labahita, also known as bakalaw or binakalaw. I share with you what my friend, award-winning book designer and Cavite cultural warrior, Ige Ramos, wrote on Cavite’s traditional local bacalao recipe.

“Served with steaming white rice and freshly grated green mango in salted brine, bacalao is much anticipated by the people of Cavite City when families cook it during Lent, especially on Good Friday. Since the cost of the original Basque salted cod imported from Bilbao or San Sebastian has become prohibitive over the years, this version by Sonny Lua of Asiong’s Carinderia in Cavite City uses labahita (surgeon fish) as a fine substitute.

“Over the years, the dish has evolved with the use of repolyo (cabbage) as an extender. “The extender was an economic necessity,” says Sonny Lua, “but it makes the bacalao watery because the salt from the fish draws out the moisture from the vegetable.” Other innovations include the addition of chorizo de Bilbao and tomato sauce, or if these are not available, the dish is colored with achuete (annatto seeds) because the “masarsa” (saucy), red-tinted food appeals to Caviteños. Other Mediterranean ingredients like capers and olives are also added.

After a few days, when the flavors have blended, bacalao also makes a nice sandwich filling for hot pan de sal.”

* * *

Discover more about the roots of our Spanish heritage in the forthcoming Madrid Fusión Manila to be held on April 24-26 at the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia, Pasay City. Visit madridfusionmanila.com. For updates, visit the Madrid Fusion Manila page on Facebook.

Recipe File: Bacalao by Ige Ramos

(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

1/2 kg daing na labahita (dried surgeon fish)

1/4 cup olive oil

2 onions, sliced

2 tbsps garlic, crushed

1/4 kg tomatoes, chopped

2 bell peppers, seared, peeled and  sliced

1 piece chorizo Bilbao (disregard if serving on Good Friday), thinly sliced

3/4 cup garbanzos, peeled

1/4 kg potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes

All-purpose flour for dredging

Patis (fish sauce) and ground black pepper to taste

Procedure:

1. Desalinate the daing na labahita by soaking it in cold water for 24 hours. Change the water every eight hours.

2. When ready, pat dry and dredge in flour, then fry in hot oil until golden brown. Set aside to cool. Debone and flake the fried labahita.

3. In another pan, heat the olive oil. Sauté onion, garlic, tomato, bell pepper, and chorizo until fragrant.

4. Add the garbanzos and potatoes. Cook until tender. Add the cooked labahita and season with patis and pepper. Photos Claude Tayag