Kilawin

For those that have traveled to Central and South America, along their Pacific Ocean-tempered or Carribean-flavoured towns, you would have stumbled upon local versions of ceviche, a Latin coastal speciality. A dish made of fresh, white-fleshed fish (or other seafood) that has been marinated in lime, then elevated with chilli, ceviche captures Ibo-American coastal cuisine in each soft, piquant bite. Tomatoes, salt and pepper, and roughly chopped cilantro (corriander) finish the dish, bringing together the key ingredients and colours that define this region.

Pair with a beer and views of clear blue seas and the meal is complete — refrescante and satisfying against the blaze of the equatorial sun.

In some ways then, it came as little surprise when I discovered a similar dish on Busuanga Island, our first stop in the idyllic strip of islands collectively known as the Calamian Islands*. The Calamian group fall within the area of Palawan, the largest and best-known island in a region filled with beauties both sub-terranean and above. But, in a country famous for its island paradises, Palawan is perhaps most celebrated for its unique brand of sub-marine life, its wonderlands exciting divers with remnant vessels of World War II and untouched coral reefs.

My first experience, however, of Palawan’s sea treasures arrived just 30 minutes after pulling into Busuanga’s main town of Coron. A hive of dive centers and with several good places to spend the night, Coron is a jumping off point for exploring the surrounding islands. Take away the underwater explorers however, who’ve come from around the world, and Coron typifies any small Filipino town — dusty, scorching hot and utterly welcoming.

Seb and I had heard talk, as far north as Banaue from where we’d come, of a great eating spot run by a retired Frenchman named Bruno. Bistro Coron, as he’d called it, resembled little in physical appearance to a typical French bistro, with its open faced exterior and white rendered walls, but the food, with an authentic banana flambe, and baguettes to rival those, at least in Sydney, added much credibility.

But to my mind, it was Bruno himself who brought the provincial image to life as he cracked open a bottle of red at 11 in the morning, regaled us with local animosities and guerre de clochets, while smiling all the time an open, toothless smile and laughing his husky, raucous laugh — a true piece of French bistro life in the remote island outskirts of the Philippines.

After days of meat, more meat, and little greens, my eyes skipped over steak, landed on a salad and then spied a seafood dish with a description lush and appealing. Kilawin or kinilaw, as it is also known, is the Philippines version of Latin America’s ceviche and like its colonial sister’s take is perfect for the backdrop of constant humidity. Similarly too, it embodies its own region’s local ingredients — vinegar, ginger, chilli and calamansi (a native citrus fruit) — as well as seafood such wahoo, mackerel (tanguingue) and garoupa (lapu-lapu) or other shellfish, crustaceans and also meat. Here however, the dish is finished with coconut milk adding a welcomed creaminess, and in combination with the ginger, an Asian edge.

I wasn’t quite able to ascertain which fish type of fish I was eating, or where exactly the dish originated from in the Philippines, but I was told that the version I was eating had its chilli content greatly reduced from the original. Despite a favouring of chilli in Latin American cuisine, I never encountered a ceviche with much heat, while here in the Philippines, where food tends to be more sweet than hot, this guy packed a seriously hefty punch.

I’ve always found it interesting the incarnations — divergent, surprising and often unexpected — food can take as it travels through time and history from one culture, country and region to the next. With such a strong influence from Mexican cuisine — a result of Spanish colonial rule — I love the shift here in the Philippines from lime to vinegar as the primary souring or ‘curing’ agent, taking the raw flesh of the seafood into that magical world of cooked but uncooked, soft yet firm, leaving it filled with all that natural flavour of fresh sea food.

As my culinary adventures continue here, I wait in anticipation of more suprises in store…

* After arriving in the Philippines about a month ago, I began the trip by traveling to various destinations with friends before settling down with family. Busuanga Island was one of these destinations.

* *These photos were taken in and around Coron Town. Again, more keen models! Plus a somewhat reluctant, wine-imbibed Bruno :)

Tagged as: Bistro Coron, Ceviche, Coron, Cured fish, Kilawin, Kinilaw, Palawan, Philippines