Memories of Naga

My memories of my mother’s hometown are nil.  What can you remember as a 5-year old?  Pictures of “caretelas” or horse-drawn carriages dance in my head.  I remember always being scared having to ride one of them. But, for the life of me, I can’t remember why I was so afraid. 

 We would visit my grandmother during Holy Week.  I dreaded that. Not the visiting part but the part where I had to witness the Holy Week traditions of the town.  The “penitensya” is where men inflict wounds on themselves, and some even go as far as actually being crucified as a reenactment of Christ’s suffering from Gethsemane to the cross.  Men striking their backs with wooden sticks until blood oozed and flesh is coming out is not a pretty picture for any child.

 

Oh but there's an upside to all of this... food! It was in Naga where I tasted my first  Bicol express. Bicolanos are known for this hot and spicy stew of pork cooked in coconut milk, shrimp paste or "bagoong alamang", chopped long green chillil and "siling labuyo" or bird's eye chili. There's something about coconut milk and chili that brings warmth (literally and figuratively) and comfort to my tummy.

 

 Since my family loves putting chili in practically everything they eat, I made a similar version of this one time. I took away the pork and just used finely chopped long green chili or "siling pang sigang", boiled it in bagoong alamag and coconut milk till the milk dried out and was replaced with coconut oil. I stored it in glass jars and refrigerated them in the hopes that it would last a while. Tsk... of course that never happened. Hahahaha.... 

More food in coconut milk next time!