Looking at the list of herbs as subject for a book, I was surprised that it included the guisa (saute) triumvirate of garlic, onions and tomatoes.

I used to think of herbs mainly as leaves—pandan for aroma (full name, pandan mabango); tanglad or lemongrass for a citrusy smell and flavor; ampalaya (bitter melon) for some zing.

Searching for the botanical definition of herbs yielded an ambiguous answer: “Any seed-bearing plant that does not have a woody stem and dies down to the ground after flowering.” But it also means that garlic, onion and tomato are, indeed, herbs.

Research

The challenge to identify herbs used in Filipino cuisine made it ideal as a theme for this year’s Doreen Gamboa Fernandez (DGF) Food Writing Award. Research is vital and must be supported by authoritative sources such as books or interviewees.

In many recipes, there are ingredients you may not think of as herbs. There is luya or ginger used for paksiw, and dilaw or yellow ginger (turmeric) in the adobo sa dilaw of Taal. Dilaw has different names in different places, as mentioned by Felice Sta. Maria in her book “The Governor General’s Kitchen” (Anvil Publishing, 2006), such as banglay, ange, dulaw, kunik, kuliaw, kulalaw and kulaoag.

Ampalaya leaves used in monggo guisado, and kangkong (swamp cabbage) added to soup or cooked as a vegetable dish, are both herbs.

Interviewing a Leyte chef introduced me to an herb I thought was Italian in origin. The chef said he couldn’t cook one dish because he didn’t have the requisite basil. Incredulous, I told him there is so much basil in groceries and in the market. He looked puzzled, but later I found out that he was referring to a local sweet basil called sangig in Waray. Tagalogs call it balanoy while Tausugs refer to it as solasi.

Regional dishes

It’s also interesting how and what herbs are used in regional dishes.

In the Visayas, labog is used for souring instead of calamansi, tomato or sampaloc.

The Maranaos use a species of scallion called sakurab for a flavoring mix called palapa for chicken cooked in coconut cream known as pindiyalok a manuk. Palapa is available at halal food shops in Greenhills Shopping Center.

In Cavite there is unsoy, a different variety of wansuy or cilantro. Its leaves look like dill, but it smells and tastes the same.

Filipinos have adopted the salad as our own, but Westerners will not recognize some of the leaves we put into our version, such as pansit-pansitan (peperomia pellucida), which is a type of weed.
Pako or fiddlehead of fern that now grows in farms, rather than foraged on the sides of mountains, is also a favored ingredient. There may be camote tops, sayote leaves and alugbati (Ceylon spinach) with its reddish stems. All those are considered herbs.

Alagaw leaves (premma odorata) are wrapped around fish when grilling in Pampanga and in the Tagalog region, emitting an anise-like aroma as the fish cooks. Sometimes alagaw is wrapped around flavorings such as peanuts, onions, kamias, basil and chili.

But it has an added dimension in Angono. Digon Vocalan said that alagaw leaves are used to decorate the carroza (carriage) of the saints during Holy Week. After Easter, the leaves are placed in oil and used as unguent or healing ointment.

Up to two essays

Entries to DGF Writing Award should be in English, essay form, 800 words or 5,000 characters in length. Contestants are allowed to submit up to two essays but each one must have a different pen name.

A separate file should include author’s information such as pen name, real name, address, telephone numbers (cell and/or landline). Indicate if you are a student although this has no bearing on the judging. E-mail [email protected]. Deadline is Oct. 31.

Email the author at [email protected]