Sampinit – Philippine Wild Raspberries

Sampinit in bilao

A caveat: There’s not a lot of literature written about sampinit. What I’m posting here is purely from personal experience, what I know, what I’ve seen and what I’ve tasted. Nothing extracted from a “tropical fruit” journal. Wikipedia did not help this time as well. This is all me, purely my thoughts.

P20 worth of Sampinit

When I first posted photos of sampinit on my Facebook page (yes, I have one) a lot of my Filipino friends were pleasantly surprised to know that such a fruit can be found in our native land. I was familiar with it but by no means was it common. It was and remains a rare summer treat. Not widely available and only for a short period of time. That partly explains it being on the pricey side. I used to pick them myself as I could not afford the going “market rate” back in the ‘80s.

Sampinit in bilao

It might be expensive compared to other tropical fruits but once you understand what it takes before they appear in some ale’s banana leaf lined bilao you’ll accept the price as fair if not cheap. I am not aware if attempts have been made to cultivate this precious jewel of the forest. From what I know nothing has changed in how sampinit is harvested. They are sporadically found in Laguna’s rainforest. Some brave souls needed to endure the sweltering summer heat to come up with a kilo of this much loved wild berries. The berry bush, by the way, is surrounded by sharp thorns adding to the tricky nature of collecting them.

Raspberries from the supermarket

Compared to the commercially available raspberries sampinit are a bit smaller and thereby more delicate. The flavour is very similar to the regular raspberry but it is more robustly astringent and tart. They are not genetically modified to become sweeter and plumper to suit the consumer. They have been left as nature intended. I think sampinit would be great in compotes, sauces, pastries and even cakes if you can get a hold of enough of them.

Raspberries from the supermarket

You can devour sampinit straight from the bush but some people prefer to add a bit of salt (yes, you read right, salt!) to bring out more of that berry goodness. They let it stand in the salt for a few minutes which then slowly releases the berry juices. It is a known way of eating sampinit in Laguna. You’ll notice a small jar of salt on the bilao in one of my photos.

They’re about P10 for a shot size glass filled to the brim. I think that amounts to barely 100g of the stuff. I’m kicking myself now for not buying more and made something out of them. On the next trip back home I promise myself not to miss the opportunity…whenever that may be.

Salt & Pepper Mud Crab ala Beancounter

Over the weekend my dad got hold of these massive mud crabs. Guess who he called first to share the experience? No surprises there. Ahh, the benefits of a foodie’s son… My being a “foodie” I owe a lot to him. He doesn’t refer to himself as such but he definitely is one. We don’t see eye to eye on a lot of things but when it comes to food we almost always agree.

By the way, there’s no exaggeration in the word “massive.” These crabs (claws closed and folded) were longer in length than a Pringles (potato chips) canister. I took several photos comparing the two to give you some perspective but I wasn’t happy with them so I decided not to post any. You just have to trust me.

I would normally head the Singapore style Chilli Crab direction but somehow it did not feel right on that occasion. I wanted to make the most of such excellent produce. Heavy sauce I thought would mask all that fresh crab goodness. So instead, I went the Salt & Pepper route.

I’ve only done this recipe using prawns. Crab is not that much of a deviation I figured.

Because of the size of these mud crabs I only used one in this recipe. It was enough to keep two people happy.

Salt & Pepper Mud Crab ala Beancounter

1 large mud crab cleaned and quartered.

Seasoned flour (cornflour or plain flour seasoned with salt and pepper)

Lots of oil for deep frying

1 onion chopped

2-3 cloves garlic chopped

1 chilli chopped

1 tablespoon salt

½ tablespoon sugar

Freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Spring onions chopped

1. In a hot pan dry roast the salt, sugar and pepper. This should probably take less than 5 minutes. Take off the heat and set aside.
2. Heat up lots of oil for deep frying.
3. Dust the crab pieces in seasoned flour. Deep fry these till cooked. The timing depends on how big the pieces are. Set aside.
4. In a large wok, heat up a bit of oil. Sauté the onion, garlic and chillies for a couple of minutes.
5. Throw in the crab piece and toss for a couple more minutes.
6. Sprinkle your pre-prepared salt/sugar/pepper mixture and toss a bit more. Add the spring onions just before serving.

Life is Sweeter with Salt!

We Pinoys have known for a long time that salt’s place in gastronomy is not limited to savoury dishes. Salt is also a major player in the dessert arena in Filipino culinary.

Eating fresh pineapple just would not be complete without dipping it in a bit of salt. Cheese ice cream, a cringe worthy idea for some, has always had a special place in the Filipino dessert-dom. Can you imagine ensaymada with just sugar?

These and more show how we’ve enjoyed as a people that sweet/salty combination that is still alien in some parts of the world.

And now, certain restaurants are catching up to this concept. Sydney Morning Herald has written an article about it titled Salt for my Sweet.

This is a pretty good idea for a challenge. Salt in desserts… any takers?

Life is sweeter indeed with salt!

Salt

…And so begins another chapter in my blogging life.

When I first began writing online my intention was never for food to be the main focus…it just organically became that way.

But now I want to continue or you might say, begin again with the intention to fulfil my original intentions.

Salt – saltof.blogspot.com

Why Salt?

Although this is not going to be about food it is still about me…

Salt has been used in the Bible as a metaphor for a lot of things with the following verse as one of my favourites:

Let your speech be always with grace, having been seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one – Colossians 4:6

Salt’s preservative characteristic has always been highlighted pushing aside its other wonderful qualities that are just as important (maybe even more).

In the verse above, I believe “having been seasoned with salt” is less about preservation but more about “bringing out the goodness” of people through ones speech.

My pan de sal and ensaymadas would not be their brilliants selves without salt!

Can you imagine “nilaga” (Filipino Beef Soup) without it? You might as well drink hot water and chew rubber.

And doesn’t pineapple taste more pineapplely when dipped in a bit of salt? This is probably an acquired taste but salt, for me, brings out the sweetness of the fruit even more.

I just couldn’t help my self, could I? We’re back in the subject of food again. What I mean is, can you imagine how food in general would taste like without salt?

Let’s go back to the why…

Jesus said, in Matthew 5:13:
You are the salt of the earth…

I am just trying to follow…