Melo Villareal
This eastern Pangasinan town celebrated its annual ‘Talong Festival’ (Eggplant Festival) Sunday, with a cooking contest of the well-loved Filipino dish– pinakbet.
In the contest, only the five main ingredients of pinakbet – eggplant, okra, ampalaya, pepper and tomatoes – were given to the contestants. It is up to them to add other ingredients. Contest organizers said, however, the only seasoning not to be used is MSG or vetsin.
Barangay Zone 1 emerged the winner for the tastiest pinakbet. Peter Duzon, a 40 year old cook, led his barangay mates in cooking the winning recipe which has chicharon bagnet, longanisa plus patani and kamote as added ingredients.
The town mayor said, 100 kilos of eggplants were used for the contest including 44 kilos of ampalaya, 88 kilos of okra, 44 kilos of pepper and 33 kilos of tomatoes. He was also overwhelmed with the support given by his constituents and nearby towns during the showcasing of eggplant or talong which is the town’s primary product.
