Under The Sun

  He who does not love his own language is worse than an animal and smelly fish.
-Jose Rizal-
. . . And he who does not know what is a smelly, dried and salted fish must  try it. Every Filipino knows what dried fish is and it has been the crowds’ favorite over centuries.  We know  that Philippines isn’t  the richest country in the world and the masses can't afford chicken, beef, or fresh fish every day. What is eaten on a daily basis is fish bones, or, if the budget is available, dried fish. Dried fish is known as bulad or buwad (which in Cebuano is also the verb meaning "to dry in the sun") while in Tagalog, it is called as tuyo.
    Dried Fish is one of the Filipino cuisines that has a huge percentage in the market sales since tons of it is consumed everyday throughout different islands. Its strong and salty taste is the primary reason why people love it so much.  Dried fish is something dark gray in color but becomes orange or light brown when fried. This dish is even tastier depending on where the dried fish is dipped.  A pinch of dried fish dunked in native vinegar mixed with crushed sili, with a plate of hot rice, is pure heaven.
 There are a lot of varieties in dried fish. It can be a whole (tibuok), split (pinikas) and dried fish skeleton or the fish bones. The buwad pinikas is most preferred. This is a fish split along the back of the head, through the spine and tail. Danggit (small thin fish) belongs to this variety of buwad. The buwad pinikas is thinner, crispier and easier to eat since you can see all the bones and gets cooked thoroughly.  Another common type is the buwad bolinao which is a very tiny dried fishes. It is eaten in number of bits depending on how much you get and then dipped in vinegar. You don’t also need to worry with its bones since its too small so you get less chances to get choked. Other than these are the dried katambak, nokus, tamban, toloy, shrimp, molmol, bodboron.

Danggit

Kuya Archie

Dried fish is prepared easily but needs a lot of time. The process of salting and drying preserves the fish that  can be stored for months. According to Archie, a buwad seller, “… magdepende man sa panahon gud kanang init kayo ba pero muabot gyud ug bulan ang pagbuwad…”.He said that it takes months seasonally to dry and preserve fish.  In preparing a dried fish you start it by washing the fishes to be dried. Next, prepare the brine solution, a mixture of water and salt. Then wash and place it in a container and cover it to protect from dust and flies. Now that’s the time you start drying it under the sun. Fry it in oil and then it is ready to eat. The entire fish can be consumed, including the tail, the spine, and the head. The head, when soaked in native vinegar, has an indescribable aroma, rich and powerful. The way Filipinos eat dried fish has been a tradition. Even if we have already been influence by different foreign countries, we still stick on our own way. It’s also one of the reasons why we love this dish because it’s one way of bringing back our ancestors way of eating. We usually love it with just our bare hands, pinch it to pieces and dunk it to the vinegar. We love sharing it with our families and friends, then start chitchatting.  In other ways, some people prefer using knife-and-fork eating. Even though its hard to eat dried fish in this manner, they still try it for the sake of formality.

 Some says that dried fish is only fit for the poor. There was a time when it was unthinkable for the educated and decent people to even consider tasting this food, for the fear of allergies and only the rich can afford to be picky. They don’t even try to visit on the markets because of the strong odor. But there are restaurants that serve dried fish mixed with expensive add-ons and these are more preferred by consumers of rich and high class society. Based on the socio-economic status, they love dried fish less since they can afford a lot of types of cuisines from different influences. But those consumers from the middle classes, specifically those people who works to sustain their daily needs, love dried fish.  They try to find dried fishes in their place or buy packs from the market. Marc, son of Mr. and Mrs. Allego who both works for the family  says “Ganahan ko kay mudaghan akong kaon basta nay buwad sa lamesa nya basta sad kung si mama ang muluto…” One can eat a lot of  plates of rice when there is dried fish served in the table. You can also identify who has just eaten buwad  because his lips become pale since he has been dipping on the vinegar. And the people who has mostly been with the dried fish in their lives are the ones who belong to the low class society.  They are the people who strives hard to live. Primarily, a lot of them are buwad sellers, makers and others. Probably, this business  has also being passed by their parents so they had no choice but to live with it. But inspite of all their problems, the dried fish has been there to help them financially . Others also has been consuming dried fish since it is what they can afford with dried fish for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  But in the poorest  family,  specifically those who have no homes, they get full with just smelling the dried fish that is hung.  With dried fish in their lives , they were still able to cope up with life.

Dried fish which means drying in the sun is worth the people who have been under the sun all day to make things they need to do to earn a living. Some may think that dried fish is disgusting because of its smell, but it has helped a lot to many people.  Whether you belong to high, middle, or low class of society, you should try eating dried fish and you will realize how tasty and highly addictive it is once you get used to it.