We were at the Nasugbu shore for the Holy Week, and realized we would need some serious seafood to sustain the 10+ folks in the house… So I moseyed (sp?) on over to the rocky beach with my fishing rod… My dad was a huge fan of fishing out on the open seas, and in the 1960’s and 1970’s would take a boat out overnight towards Lubang Island and returned with huge coolers filled with the most amazing fish. I distinctly remember one or two of the tanguigues turning into a mean kinilaw, but I wasn’t fond of raw fish at the time. My father-in-law, on the other hand, was fond of heading to the shores to go fishing, and it was his version that I liked a lot better. He would wait until the bancas got back to the beach and scrutinize the catch and simply buy what he wanted to eat! I know some folks find the process of fishing calming and a reward in and of itself… but I would rather just buy the critters, thanks. A few years before my dad passed away, he came to the beach for the weekend and wanted to go fishing… so we arranged for our houseman to accompany him on a rented banca with crew and lots of fresh bait. They were out for 6 hours, spent over PHP3,000 on the boat and gas, another PHP500 in bait, and they caught about 2 kilos of tiny fish, probably worth PHP200…
So no, Marketman wasn’t just incredibly lucky landing the 3 kilo, utterly sublime tanguigue (photo up top) from the seas off the Nasugbu shores… we simply watched a large banca unload its catch and bought the fish instead! And at just under PHP900 or $18, it made enough kinilaw to feed some 20 people, plus the head and other parts were used in a nice soup. The photo up top is faked. Heeheehee. But if I weren’t so honest, I’m sure I could have fooled a few of you. :) Nor did I just happen to spot this young octopus under the rocks near my bare feet and pluck it with my bare hands… After buying the tanguigue, we continued on to the town market and I spotted the octopus for sale. I have eaten octopus before, but have never cooked one. So I bought this 1 kilo or so specimen, for just PHP90 or $1.80, and hoped I could figure out how to best cook it with whatever ingredients we had on hand.
The rest of the seafood haul for the week included wonderful prawns, suahe (white shrimp), lots of crab, talakitoks (jacks), etc. I really can’t figure out why abstaining from eating meat is supposed to be a sacrifice…
36 Responses
hahaha!!! fake but very good shots, MM. nice legs, by the way….
enjoy the abstinence and have a deliciously delightful EASTER!!!
i have a photo of a tricked fishing trip back in highschool which still draws laughs to this day. bought a a 3 kilo “suran” from the local market then headed off to honda bay where the photo op came on.
we currently fish every now and then but most of the time we get to catch dikee fish. mga dikilala hehehe.
have you tried suran i don’t know what they call it in english but here in palawan it is called such. it is a fish with a horn like extension in its forehead. its meat is like the bangus belly. the only difference is that the entire fish tasted like bangus belly. yummy.
you ought to try it some time.
You could have fooled me indeed! I myself is never fond of catching fish. Whenever I go fishing with the guys, none would catch anything, not even a bite. I am a total jinx. Your picture with octopus on hand was a give away. Had that been freshly caught, the tentacles would have been all over your hand. Why abstain from meat? Have a wonderful Lenten weekend!
I too have memories of fishing tilapia and hito. It was fun to put in the bait, cast the line, and wait….and wait. My dream is to try deep sea fishing. However, with my size and current level of fitness, I don’t think I can last for more than 5 minutes of trying to reel in the fish.
Oughtta try something even once in a lifetime, right?
So out to Chesapeake Bay with some friends about half a mile from the shore with some friends years ago on a small runabout. I hated the blood(y) worms but got someone to bait my hook. No luck for hours until we decided to eat our baon ( steamed crabs) and tossed the shells to the sea. And then the porgies kept coming, just a tad larger than the palm of my hand. Those porgies knew which to bite. Sorry, no tanguiges on shallow waters.
So jealous of everyone out by the beach this week. My in-laws and their families are in CamSur. Have a frequent update of the trip like the sunrise by the sea and the drive through BITUKA NG MANOK. Today they went to MATNOG (southern tip of Luzon) and took a boat ride to Subic Island for Lunch. Tomorrow, my Mom, my siblings and their families are off to Bauan Batangas for the weekend. …And here we are in Laguna minding the business and waiting for everyone to post their photos to share their WONDERFUL TIME….. Aaaarrrrrrggggghhhhhhh….. I AM SUPER INGGIT!~!~!~!
Good one MM! I bet I’m not the only one fooled the moment I saw your pic. with the catch. My Dad loves to fish all the way to Nimbus Dam in Sacramento during spawning season to catch Salmon. It’s amazing to see such large salmon swimming around up close but rather sad since they really don’t have the strength to fight the fish eaters after the long uphill climb to spawn. I felt bad eating them but it sure tasted good.
Again, sexy calves!
yes, diwata… kakainggit talaga ! walang holy week, ordinary day at work :'( we’d be lucky enough if they let us go early today ! MM, enjoy the fresh catch out there … we’ll try to enjoy the vacuum sealed salmon from somewhere & the frozen shrimp i bought yesterday :'(
happy easter nga pala sa lahat !!! i miss pinas so baddddd !!!
I was just telling my husband last night that since seafood is more expensive than meat where we live, this Lenten practice doesn’t apply to us. It’s a luxury, actually. So I proposed that we should go vegetarian instead.
We just saw in the news last night that for the 5th year in a row, Chinook Salmon fishing is still banned here in Oregon.
Enjoy your seafood feast, MM. Happy Easter!
this post made me more nostalgic about spending Holy Week in the Philippines…here in Toronto, where, thankfully, we still have Good Friday as a stat holiday, it just seems like any another long weekend. At least the weather has warmed up, and there’s Easter egg hunt and brunch to look forward to. Happy Easter MM!
Glad I read the whole article coz I was definitely fooled by the first pic! Yeah, nice legs, MM. (woot!) I’m still awed by how you’re able to keep fit despite having to eat massive amounts of fat and butter and lechon and cheese and all the other good stuff for the sake of this blog. We are truly blessed by all you’ve shared. Happy Easter, MM, Mrs. MM, The Teen and fellow readers of this blog!
MM you are meant to beat that on the rock like the Greeks do…. to tenderize it.
I have a good greek recipe for that from my sister;s Greek ma in law…
Will email … and was out for dinner today had octopus salad… hello from France pala ;-)
You had me fooled there..I.m sure you had lots of wonderful food!
Happy Easter to all !
sounds like fun even it’s just fishing from the fisherman. happy Easter to everyone!
Love this post!
Talking about abstaining being a sacrifice…I also asked that last night as we were preparing a home cooked meal. Nothing fancy as we didn’t have stocks, but plain daing na pusit, buro, steaming rice and veggies :)
When I was a junior copywriter, we had this ad that showed a father and his son showing off their catch for the day. They had apparently caught fish by the breakwater, where they posed for the shot. After the ad ran in the magazine, we received a comment from a reader – obviously one who knows his fish – telling us that the father and son couldn’t have caught their fish by the breakwater. They were deep water fish and one had to sail to the midseas to catch them!
In my job where we create “realities” via mock-ups/photoshop/set-ups, that’s a great lesson learned. Details! Details! Details! And, yes, a good deal of research!
tanguige caught from shore, and not a wet spot on MM? hahaha… super!
so what did you do with the octopus, MM? i would have probably grilled it with olive oil and lemon, but i prefer my octopus inside takoyaki balls, or in huge okonomiyaki :-)
I miss Sunlutan and Takubo. My late Dad’s favorite… picnics on the shore of the old Vistamar resort, feasting on Tihi-tihi, sunlutan , takubo, kinilaw, lechon and puso. The good ol’ days.
@Millet: I’m all for Takoyaki! If I could just find a takoyaki maker in Dallas…
Happy Easter everyone! All set for the Easter egg hunt tomorrow?
Yeah, you’re right.How can abstaining meat be a sacrifice when seafoods are so yummy and expensive too!For Holy week we had mock bacalao(I used dried Torsillo fish),Grilled prawns,steamed fish fillet,calamares and the best was last night’s dinner of Sinangag rice with lots of toasted garlic and just plain tuyo!:)
Happy Easter to one and all!
your seafood menu sounds wonderful! cant wait for the photos of the dishes you’ll be cooking up!
Beth, I agree, abstaining on Good Friday seems to be a joke when a seafood fare can be more yummy than meat. And yes, it can be a sacrifice on the pocketbook considering how the price of fish has shot up. Gone are the days when even squid can be had for Php 60 a kilo.
And oh, MM. Your dad’s foray on the deep sea may not have been cost effective as far as his catch but certainly brought him tremendous pleasure I am sure, nothing that can be measured in pesos and centavos.
Happy Easter everyone!
Happy Easter to everyone. Love this post!
MM, talo ka ng daughter ko. she caught two small crabs under a rock plus several black & yellow shells. that’s in calatagan =D
I’d do that same thing and wait for the boats to come in then take my pick. We sometimes help the guys haul the net and they give you free squid or whatever is the catch (although we still buy a lot from them). Iba talagag ang sariwang huling isda at pusit.
Re, My thoughts on fasting/abstaining from meat on Lenten Fridays and Ash Wednesday with help from some reading.
Lent is a time for self denial, prayer and penitence for spiritual growth.
Fasting and abstaining from meat is a form of self denial, to mimic Christ’s 40 days fasting in the dessert, to strengthen within. We (or the Western world) usually has meat (pork, beef, poultry, etc) as a source of protein in the meals and a predominant part of a meal considered ‘heavy’ (mabigat nga sa tiyan & malulusog nga sila). So abstaining from what is usually on our daily plates is a form of self denial and eating sea food as a lighter source of protein was suggested otherwise. One full meatless meal is suggested during those days of fasting/abstinence with no snacking. We are also encouraged to pray, meditate, do good deeds & abstain from negative ways; to help us grow in our faith and spirit.
Happy, grace filled Easter to all!
Happy Easter to all! Off topic, my wife just came back from Manila and she surprised me with Michelle’s putong ube. Yehey!
I’ve only just recently tuned in to your website, MM and as a food-lover, am enjoying it immensely! Yes, you spelled “moseyed” correctly :)
P.S. Are the other posters here actually FLIRTING with you???
Guido, thanks for visiting. There are over 2000 posts in the archives so feel free to browse backwards if you have nothing better to do… Hahaha, as for the “flirting,” I doubt it… it’s flattery, but nothing more… long time readers know I struggle with my weight, growing mid-section and occassional diet so they are just being kind… :)
Shades of Anthony Bourdain (using stunned sea creatures whenever he features a fishing expedition on his show), but at least he admits it..and so did you, with the first picture above…I could have been fooled
i’ve been enjoying your great blog for quite some time, i’m glad you somehow posted someting related to fishing, even if it’s a fake, he he. like your father i’m an angler and your photo is really too clean and too nice to repesent someone who just caught a tanigue…..just like the old James Bond who still have combed hair even after a fierceful fight…..:)
reel & grill, :) Oddly, in my teens, I did do some fishing, some with my dad, on bancas and later his prized fishing boat, but I was prone to seasickness so I wasn’t a good companion. And my brother-in-law in New York likewise had a small boat and we used to fish summers out on Long Island, so I have caught some very nice 2-3 kilo bluefish, an occasional striped bass, lots of fluke and flounder and assorted junk fish. Fishing was done in “bays” close to the atlantic ocean so it was much calmer. The one day we went deep sea fishing for tuna or marlin, was one of the WORST days of my life. I threw up more than we chummed fish innards, and instead of hooking a large fish, an ENORMOUS shark nearly the length of our fairly substantial rented boat kept siddling up to it, as I emptied my guts out. Considering this was just a few years after that movie “Jaws” came out and it WAS filmed in this area of Long Island, the steady beat that came onscreen seconds before the shark appeared was playing in my head. :) Now if only you could deep sea fish from a stationary platform… And yes, Bond indeed, the current Bond likewise is prone to seasickness so the shot of him piloting a sailboat into Venice in a recent film is equally implausible.
Lol. nice catch, MarketMan! Curious to know how you made out with the octopus. Maybe a future post?