At sunrise, I coast onto the beach and hop out of the barangay boat with a net full of freshly caught tuna.
The tuna will be given to some members of my tribe where they will cure the fish in sinamak, a flavored vinegar.
The tuna marinades and cooks in the acidity of the vinegar without needing to start a fire, while I begin slicing citrus and ginger and mix it in coconut cream to serve with the fish.
K I N I L A W
This is our take on Kinilaw, commonly described as Filipino ceviche. Tuna is cured in a flavored vinegar called sinamak. Typically the tuna is diced and cooked entirely in vinegar. Our dish is non-traditional as the tuna is cured only on the outside, similar to seared tuna. I chose this method as it is actually closer to the pre-colonial method of consuming it. Vinegar was used to tenderize and marinate the meat, but kept raw as it was freshly caught from the sea. Each slice of tuna will have a few drops of coconut cream. Ginger, lime, pickled shallots and flower petals to garnish.