Filipino Lesson: Nananakam

Nananakam means "craving" in Filipino. You don't really need it, it's impractical to get it, there's really not a whole lot of it around you, but you want it anyways. You won't starve, but any other substitute doesn't really quite cut it. Pregnant women (as opposed to, you know, pregnant men. Really, isn't that a bit redundant?) crave too, but there's a different word for that. This word can be used to describe anyone who's just hungry for something specific.

The point of this post, and I do have one, is to assemble a list of Filipino foods that I crave, that is not readily available and mostly because I'm too lazy to make them. A five food item wishlist that I would like to have at my disposal, as easy as I could get to it back home.

1. Halo-halo - Literally translated: Mix-Mix. It's a tedious process, and the ingredients are a bit hard to come by. I crave it so much, I made a Wikihow out of it. Sad? Yes.
2. Green Mangoes with Salted Shrimp Paste - Sour green mangoes that snap when you bite into it, topped with a salted shrimp paste called bagoong alamang. I haven't seen green mangoes sold here in the States the U.S.. Believe it or not, alamang is actually easier to come by than the green mangoes here.
3. Talangka - I suppose crawfish is to lobster as talangka is to snow crab. It is a small crustacean that looks like a regular snow crab. Except it's about 1/4th the size of a crab. You boil it, or cook it in coconut milk. There's not a whole lot of meat, but there's that delicious, orange tinted fat that clings to the cap after popping it off. And the underbelly shell is soft, you can literally grab it by the legs, snap it in half and eat all of it but the legs and the hardshell cap.
4. Sansrival and Sylvannas - Both buttery confections that tastes almost the same. It's sweet merengue, covered in buttercream icing, then covered with ladyfinger crumbs, served cold. Sansrival is the cake version, with extra nuts, while sylvannas are more like coffee cakes. I made some sylvannas before, and it tastes the same, except my buttercream icing turned out runny. I blame the lack of a candy thermometer for that little fiasco.
   
5. SISIG! - Pig cheeks, chopped into tiny pieces, sauteed in garlic, onion and premature puppies. I think soy sauce is added just for color, but it is just the best. Served in a hot sizzling plate, with the sizzling oils splattering all over your clothes and your face. Condiments are encouraged: soy sauce with calamansi.

So there you go. Top five things I am craving right now.

P.S. Just kidding about the puppies, are you insane?!?