‘Pinakbet’ takes center stage in Pangasinan fest

VILLASIS, Pangasinan – It was a unique barrio fiesta in this town as hundreds of residents partook of pinakbet, a popular Ilocano dish, cooked by 21 barangays in different ways as a highlight of the annual Talong (Eggplant) Festival last week.

Barangay folk gathered in front of the town hall to prepare pinakbet with eggplant, ampalaya, okra, and tomatoes that are abundantly produced here.

Romy Abrenica, barangay captain of Barraca and president of the town’s Liga ng mga Barangay, took part in cooking his community’s unique pinakbet mixed with ampalaya leaves before serving for better nutrition. Abrenica, chairman of this year’s Pinakbet sa Kawa cookfest, said each barangay was allowed to draw P5,000 from their respective funds to buy other ingredients to make their dishes tastier.

The municipal government under Mayor Dita Abrenica provided each barangay with 30 kilos of eggplant, 10 kilos of ampalaya, 10 kilos of tomatoes, four kilos of okra, and two kilos of sili.

After the dishes were judged, the barangay folk had the pinakbet for lunch along with other meals prepared by their respective cooks.

Earlier in the morning, students competed in a street-dancing contest clad in their costumes resembling the eggplant. This year, a new feature, the Talong Mosaic Art Design Contest, participated in by elementary and high school students, became an instant hit, as indigenous materials, vegetable seeds and bamboo were used to make them.