Greetings Foodies Bee Hive!
It has been two months since I got home in my beloved hometown in the province of Nueva Ecija. Before I got home I got very excited because I am again about to taste the foods that I used to eat when I was young. To tell you the truth I kind of missed the foods in my hometown and one of the foods that I have been drooling to eat again is "Kinamatisang Lid-deg", it is one of the most common dishes in my hometown.
"Kinamatisang Lid-deg" is characterized by the use of tomatoes as the main ingredient (aside from the snail) and has very little soup making it very tasty. In the Ilokano dialect, we call tomatoes "Kamatis" hence the word "kinamatisang". The taste of the tomatoes and the snail when combined is perfect you can't help but eat it on its own especially when the soup is a little hot and spicy.
This dish can also be transformed into multiple variants by adding some ingredients to it. You can add fish sauce and more water and voila you've got a "Binagoongang Lid-deg", in the Ilokano dialect we call fish sauce "Bagoong" hence the word "Binagoongang". Add some tamarind and voila you've got another dish called "Inalsimang Lid-deg", in Ilokano dialect "inalsimang" means "soured" in English.
In the Ilokano dialect, we call the freshwater snail "Lid-deg" and can be gathered from the lake at the heart of our hometown. I can say that our hometown is one of the luckiest towns in my country because we got our own freshwater lake where numerous fishes, shrimps, and snails can be caught and gathered all year long. Residents from our town don't need to buy freshwater fish, we just go to the lake and catch some fish.
This dish is very easy to prepare and cook (cooking time is about 15 minutes)
By the way, the snail that I used to cook this dish came from one of my cousins whose part-time job is fishing. Every morning he will go to the lake with his fishing rod and catch some fish but before he goes fishing with his fishing rod he would have to check the "sigay" (net) that he planted the other day if it catches some fish. And after that, he then proceeds to fish with his fishing rod and after he fishes with his fishing rod he then gathers some snails from the shallow part of the lake.
- Lid-deg (freshwater snail)
- Tomatoes
- Ginger
- Onion
- Garlic
- Green pepper
- Salt
- Cooking oil
Wash and slice the tomatoes
Wash and slice the green pepper
Peel and slice the ginger
Peel and slice the onion
Peel and slice the garlic
Wash the snails by rubbing them against each (I tend to repeat this step until the water that I used to wash the snails becomes clear to make sure that all the mud is removed from the shells of the snails)
1. Sautee half of onion, garlic, and ginger (the other half will be used later on)
2. Add the sliced tomatoes
3. Add some water and let it boil, when it starts to boil break down the tomatoes using a ladle or spoon to make the breaking down of tomatoes faster
4. When you got this consistency, or if the tomatoes become saucy you can now add the freshwater snail
5. Add the freshwater snail
6. Add the remaining half of onion, garlic, and ginger
7. Add the sliced green pepper for some kick
8. Let it boil for about 5 minutes while stirring occasionally to even the cooking and it is done
I am a Computer Engineer, blogger, farmer, father, and husband. I love countryside living, nature, farming (rice/vegetables), and has two decades of experience as an I.T. professional
