Let us begin with some definitions. The word “Tinapa” applies to preserving and/or cooking fish by a smoking process, using a variety of fire woods or sometime, even shavings from lumber. In other words, Tinapa is the Filipino “smoked fish.” Somewhat related is the word “tapa.” This one, however, refers to either air or sun-dried meats, usually beef or when available, “deer meat” as in “tapang usa.” Dried venison. (Usa–oosa–is deer in Filipino) On the other hand, there does not seem to be any traceable connection between the very popular Spanish bar chow, hot or cold snacks, called “Tapas.” “Tapas” go with vino and/or cerveza or simply snacks in between meals. In old Manila, the memory of which takes me back to late 1930s to the 40s, Tinapa was commonly made out of bony “bangus” or milkfish. Traditionally, fresh bangus/milkfish that do not sell in the morning is smoked in the afternoon. That is what tinapa was. Extending the shelf life of unsold, no-longer-pond-fresh milkfish was indeed a primitive culinary innovation. It just might be possible that the ‘tinapa’ culture and process is really of Tagalog provenance. Visayas and Mindanao fisherfolk definitely produced salted, sun-dried fish but they were not known to have been producers of smoked fish, tinapa. At least, not until a Calbayog City seaside barangay entered the picture. From Sea to Smoke House to the Dinner Table It is rather a quaint story that Waray-waray Samar welcomed and hosted Cavite/Tagalog migrant settlements that came around… [Read full story]
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