Diwalicious

My long-standing love affair with Capiz oysters started way, way back at Via Mare Café Oyster Bar. I just love the way they serve them half on the shell, placed on top of a bed of crushed ice, lemon wedges and a small cup of cocktail sauce (ketchup with horseradish). Though also offered baked with different sauces, I personally prefer the raw ones, just dribbling some lemon juice and Tabasco, served with a glass of well-chilled Sauvignon Blanc. Flown in daily from Roxas City, nothing beats these fresh, plump, lusciously milky bivalves. Like a sacred ritual, place the edge of the shell to kiss your lips and, with eyes closed, tilt it to allow the oyster to slide into your mouth as you sip its natural juices. Once inside the mouth, don’t chew and swallow right away. Roll it first with the tongue, pushing it to the roof until it bursts with seawater in all its creamy freshness and salinity. Then wash it down with a sip of the wine; then repeat with the kiss. I will not claim it is better than you-know-what, because they’re two completely different things. But it could certainly enhance one’s appetite for something else, so to speak, like a prelude to the main dish (wink, wink). 

Succulent, plump and milky luscious oysters from Capiz oozing with its natural juices.

All through these years, the closest I got to the oysters’ source was Iloilo City. While there, I couldn’t have enough of its seafood offerings in the house of my Tita Alice Saldaña or in her resort, Isla Naburot in Guimaras. She and her brood would also take me alternately to Tatoy’s, Breakthrough or Allan’s Talabahan, in many instances directly from the airport at that. Though I’ve always marveled at the freshness of the seafood the city has to offer, not to mention its very reasonable pricing (at least compared to Manila’s), I’ve often wondered how much fresher and cheaper it all is at the source — its neighboring province Capiz.

It was only late last year that I finally had the chance to head right to the source. My darleng Mary Ann and I were doing research for our forthcoming book Linamnam (to be released in May 2011 by Anvil Publishing). After we had our fill in Iloilo City, my cousins Rollie and Vicvic Tiongson, Anne Saldaña and friend Bucay Tan drove us north to Passi town on the border to Capiz, for a promise of the best oysters in the country, ever.

An hour and half later, we were at Ken-ken’s Talabahan, just a bamboo shack really, albeit a high-ceiling gymnasium-sized one, with nipa palm leaf roofing. It sits on a precipice along Passi town’s main road overlooking rice fields at the back 20 feet below. It has an open kitchen where a wood-fired stove holds large cauldrons continuously boiling with water. Its oysters are from Basiao, Ivisan town, Capiz. With clean-certified red-tide-free waters, its oysters have a clean taste and smell and they’re fat and succulent. At Ken-ken’s, they are served parboiled (to make it easier to open them) but have a tendency to be “cooked,” so one must specify how you want them done (we prefer ours really raw). What is a most amazing sight at Ken-ken is seeing toddlers eat oysters and rice with their bare hands, as if it were the most natural thing to eat. This is something to marvel at for city dwellers like us, who regard oysters as a special treat rather than daily fare, and not something commonly eaten by kids. Makes us wonder if these locals realize how fortunate they are, with fresh oysters in Manila restaurants costing an arm and a leg, with all the fancy sauces thrown in, whether raw or baked. A small serving about the size of a labadera (plastic wash basin) costs P35, averaging some 10-16 pieces, depending on size. Ken-ken’s has become a destination place; people flock the joint just for its fresh succulent sweet oysters and nothing but. Invariably eaten with rice and dipped in Ilonggos’ iconic spicy vinegar sinamak, and sometimes mixed with soy sauce, regular customers call ahead if they want something more substantial like oven-roast pork chop or chicken.                                                                                                        

Simply grilled the Ilonggo way with achuete oil, margarine and garlic

About an hour’s drive away is Roxas City, the capital of Capiz, dubbed the “Seafood Capital of the Philippines.” We were finally at the “source” of it all. The province holds one of the richest fishing grounds in the country, having some 80 kilometers of coastline with vast swampy lands, much of which is converted into fishponds. It is a major supplier of prawns, milkfish, catfish, oysters, diwal or angel wings, clams, lapu-lapu, blue marlin, squid, shrimps and seaweed. With Roxas City as its capital, it is the gateway of its marine products to the rest of the country and the world.                                                                       

If one is within Roxas City, the best way to sample the fresh bounty the province has to offer is in Baybay, where you’ll find a row of beachfront bamboo shacks basically serving the same fare, cooked in the preferred Ilonggo manner of inasal or grilling with a marinade of margarine, kalamansi and garlic; or boiled with batuan, tomatoes and red finger chilies; or simply kinilaw. With the availability of the freshest bounty from the sea, it is not surprising that Visayan cuisine in general doesn’t go much beyond the SU-TO-KIL tradition. One tastes the natural sweetness of the seafood and salinity of the sea, without the use of any spices or herbs that will just mask all the natural flavors. At best, kalamansi or sinamak will counter its fishiness.

In our three days there, we had our fill of the best Capiz had to offer, exploring the different sights, markets, and of course its gastronomic delights from the sea. We had a field day at the market, bumping into Tita Glenda Barretto and had an impromptu oyster tasting in situ, buying a bottle of sinamak from a vendor just a few feet away. Diwal or angel wing shells (pholas Orientalis) were also in season then, costing something like P50 per kilo, averaging 10-15 pieces. Diwal is named locally after the Hiligaynon word “to stick out the tongue,” with its shell like the wings of an angel once opened.

Once almost extinct due to over-harvesting a decade ago, the diwal supply was resurrected by the concerted efforts of then Roxas City Mayor Tony del Rosario, the City Agricultural Services Office, marine experts from UP Visayas in Miag-ao and Seafdec. A moratorium of no gathering for four years was issued while a shellfish reservation zone was designated in the city’s coastal zoning plan. Interventions including research, transplantation, education, regular monitoring and guarding, harvesting management, consultations with stakeholders and community organization all contributed to the successful rehabilitation of the resource. A decade later, the luscious bivalve is back with a vengeance, with the harvest and marketing being regulated by the Roxas City Diwal Divers Association, Inc. (ROCDDA).

The Sea Comes To Us

If, like me, you want a taste of those luscious oysters and diwal without having to go to Roxas City, fret not. Come March 4 and 5, the Araneta Center in Cubao is holding Capiztahan, a two-day fair showcasing the best of Capiz province. Seafoods galore will be sold at the Farmer’s Market Dampa section starting at 6 a.m., including paluto, or cooking I imagine, and other cultural activities to be held around Center.

Not-so-forbidden fruit of the sea: Via Mare’s doyenne Glenda Barretto and the author doing an impromptu oyster tasting at the Roxas City wet market.

Capiztahan kicks off “Fiesta-cular Philippines!”, a series of festivals that will feature a different province every other month at the Araneta Center. The F-I-E-S-T-A components are Food, Industry, Ethnicity, Songs and dances, Travel and tourism, and Arts and crafts. 

During the Capiztahan press luncheon hosted by Judy Araneta Roxas last week at Gateway Suites, her niece, chef Margarita Fores, whipped up a diwalicious treat using the freshest treasures of the Capiz seas — simply steamed crabs, grilled scallops two ways, prawns in linguini with fresh tomatoes, oysters two ways, bulgan of sea bass baked and coated in sea salt, and of course grilled diwal simply wrapped in foil au naturel, nothing added, nothing taken away. As one opens the foil, a steam escapes with the aroma of the sea; pull out the “tongue” and sip its natural juices straight from the foil. Can’t get any better than that.

Capiz officials and LGUs came in full force led by Gov. Vic Tanco, now Cong. Tony del Rosario, and Roxal City Mayor Alan Celino.

Here are some cooking tips from chef Margarita in handling the diwal and oysters.

How to clean oysters:

1. Check the oysters before cooking. Dispose of any that have open shells.

2. Rinse any dirt from the shells in running water and scrub with a brush to remove all the clinging dirt.

3. Fill a pot with two inches of water. Bring to a boil.

4. Set the oysters in water in a single layer. Place a lid on the pot and simmer until they open.

5. Remove the oysters from the water with a slotted spoon. Discard any oysters that did not open during the cooking process.

How to clean diwal:

1. Rinse and brush the diwal shell.

2. Pry open the shell with a knife, then slice the meat (tongue) inside with a small incision.

3. Wash it with water to remove the sand and let it sit for a few hours to allow it to spit out the sand completely.