Ingredients
Tamilok
- about 20 fresh tamilok, from split mangrove wood
To clean
- clean seawater or salted water
- coconut vinegar
Kinilaw dressing
- 150 mlcoconut vinegar or cane vinegar
- juice of 6 calamansi
- 1red onion, thinly sliced
- 3siling labuyo, chopped
- 2cm ginger, julienned
- salt and pepper
Optional
- chopped tomato
- coriander
- a splash of coconut milk
To serve
- cold, with rice or on its own
- with a cold beer
Directions
- Discard any that are discoloured, slack or smell at all sour.
- Squeeze each one from the head end down toward the tail, forcing out the dark gut contents. That dark line is the digestive tract full of wood pulp, and it is gritty and unpleasant if left in.
- Squeeze every one and check it. Rinse them thoroughly in clean seawater or salted water, several changes.
- Rinse them repeatedly, since sediment clings to them. Slice the onion very thinly and the chilli finely, and julienne the ginger.
- Combine the vinegar, calamansi juice, onion, chilli, ginger and seasoning. Use coconut vinegar if you can, which is the Filipino standard and is softer than cane vinegar.
- Leave them in the dressing for 10 to 20 minutes. Do not leave them for hours. Taste the dressing and adjust the sourness and heat. It should be sharply sour and hot, which is the character of any kinilaw.
- Serve it cold, in a bowl, with the dressing. The taste is briny and slightly sweet with a distinct woody, almost oyster-like note, and the texture is soft and slippery.
Technique
- Tamilok is a bivalve mollusc rather than a worm, despite the name and the look of it.
- It is harvested in Palawan and in Aklan from fallen mangrove trunks.
- Kinilaw is the Filipino family of raw seafood dishes dressed in vinegar.
Substitutions
- There is no substitute for tamilok.
- Cane vinegar in place of coconut vinegar.
Variations
- With coconut milk added to the dressing.
- Cooked into a ginger soup.
- Sautéed with garlic, for those who prefer it cooked.
History
Eaten in Palawan and Aklan; the creature is a saltwater shipworm mollusc rather than a worm, harvested by splitting fallen mangrove wood.
Frequently asked questions
What is Tamilok?
Tamilok is a snack from Philippines: woodworm from rotting mangrove trunks, eaten raw with vinegar, calamansi and chilli. Eaten in Palawan and Aklan; the creature is a saltwater shipworm mollusc rather than a worm, harvested by splitting fallen mangrove wood.
How long does Tamilok take to make?
Tamilok takes 20 min of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes 4 servings as a snack. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Tamilok?
Yes, within limits. There is no substitute for tamilok. Cane vinegar in place of coconut vinegar.
What is the most important thing to get right in Tamilok?
Leave them in the dressing for 10 to 20 minutes. Do not leave them for hours. Taste the dressing and adjust the sourness and heat. It should be sharply sour and hot, which is the character of any kinilaw.
