By Stewart C. Ocampo

Exhibiting innovative cooking skills, students of Mariano Marcos State University displayed their unique dishes during the Ilocano Food Cookfest Competition held today, March 28, at the University Covered Court.

Various teams from the colleges in MMSU competed in preparing their creative recipes for appetizers, main courses, and desserts.

Among the appetizer dishes presented were exotic and popular Ilokano food, such as abuos con tarong (red ant egg and eggplant), dinakdakan (dish made-up of boiled and grilled pig parts) gyoza, and insarabasab (Ilocano-style sisig) canapé.

Ilokano main course dishes were also served. Some recipes included bagnet confit with bugnay wine and thyme, bisukol (native snail) sisig, sinampalukang pato (duck meat cooked in tamarind), and ginataang suso (river snails cooked in coconut milk).

The teams also delighted the judges with their desserts. Dila leche (sticky rice cake with caramelized glaze), DuhaMan crème-brulee (sticky rice with caramelized java plum and monkeypod/Manila tamarind), and CaHa tart (tart made from cassava and kamote) were among the recipes created.

Participating teams are from the College of Industrial Technology, College of Agriculture, Food and Sustainable Development, College of Business, Economics, and Accountancy, College of Aquatic Sciences & Applied Technology, College of Teacher Education, College of Arts and Science, College of Health and Sciences, and the Laboratory High Schools in Laoag and Batac.

Dr. Marlowe Aquino, MMSU director for planning, remarked, “Our goal is to let people around the world know about Ilokano dishes and cuisines, showcasing culture in food preparations. With this competition, we bring back the glory of indigenous food here in the Ilocos region.”

MMSU is one of the seven state universities and colleges in the country who are part of the Philippine-Canada Education Consortium for International Collaborative Partnership of the Commission on Higher Education, as part of their Indigenous Knowledge System and Cultural Management Program.

Other institutions include Benguet State University, Mountain Province State Polytechnic College, Central Luzon State University, Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University, Central Mindanao, and the University of Southeastern Philippines.

The winning team will be announced during the awarding and closing ceremony of the month-long celebration of women’s month at the Teatro Ilocandia, on March 30.

Now on its second year, the competition is part of the women’s month celebration of MMSU. (HLY/JVBT/DPT, StratCom)