Bodega Kinilaw
September 5, 2016
I’m interested in the era of american imperialism that boomed canned food into the philippine diet. Canned seafood, canned meat, canned veggies, sauces, etc. The canned food boom really colonized our diets with an influx of sodium-heavy content that links to lifestyle diseases plaguing our people. Then there’s the whole conversation around food access…
This is a version of kinilaw/kilawin I created in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. Definitely not traditional. I modified it with easy-to-find ingredients I could grab at almost any bodega, food bazaar, or grocery store.
Ingredients
1 inch ginger root (shaved and grated)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
salt + pepper (to taste)
1/2 cup kalamansi juice (substitute: lime or lemon juice)
1/2 cup your favorite type of white/clear vinegar (recommended: sukaang maasim or coconut vinegar)
1-2 serrano or bird’s eye chili pepper (thinly sliced)
1/4 of whole red onion thinly chopped, patted + dried (or 2 shallots)
1 whole cucumber (peeled and diced)
#ShitFromACan:
1 can of medium shrimp (strained)
1 can of clams (strained)
1/4 cup of coconut milk (to taste)
Tools
chopping knife
cutting board
medium mixing bowl
grater/zester
can opener
BEGIN:
Open both cans of shrimp and clams and drain them over the sink. Toss them into a medium mixing bowl. Stir in the vinegar and kalamansi juice (1:1 ratio) making sure the seafood is completely submerged. Set aside nearby. Using your knife, carefully shave the skin off of the ginger root. Grate ginger directly into marinade. Stir in. Allow ingredients to marinade in fridge for 15-20mins.
CHOP/SLICE + TOSS:
Each ingredient absorbs the acidity in varying degrees, so the order in which you toss each into the marinade mixture matters. Do so in this order!
Roughly and finely chop your cloves of garlic and toss into mixture.
Finely chop your onion/shallots into very thin slivers. Toss into mixture.
Carefully use knife to slice off the rind of the cucumber and then chop half of the cucumber into round segments. Toss into mixture.
Dice the second half of the cucumber into little bite-able cubes. Toss cubes into mixture. (Optional: set round segments aside for garnish/plating later.)
Slice serrano pepper into thin segments. Toss segments into mixture to marinate (only toss a few in if you are sensitive to spice/heat).
MIX AND STIR:
Stir in coconut milk slowly, tasting a little at a time until the fatty + acid combination tastes well-balanced. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove all serrano pepper segments if you prefer a milder spice. Or keep them in if you prefer a lot of heat. Strain everything before serving.
SERVE:
Plate on top of cucumber rounds. (Optional: garnish with nori furikake or sesame seeds for added crunch texture and color.) Serve and eat with plantain banana chips, taro root chips, or tortilla chips.
Enjoy!
Related:
You can read more about the history of kinilaw and its folk origins here: http://www.kinilawmix.com/history_of_kinilaw.php