This is Life...: TINUMIS

T I N U M I S

Tinumis is one of the foods I grew up eating. When I was young, my Tito Boy used to cook it every Saturday. He usually finished cooking it around 10:30 am and I remember getting a cupful of this hot black soup and eating it while watching cartoons. I’ll be eating a lot with rice during lunch time and adding to the yum factor is the “sawsawang patis na may pinigang siling panigang”.

Now, my Mom cooks it and has become a somewhat a staple food in every occasion lately. Oddly enough, it is served not only during our lunch or dinner time, it is requested whenever there are birthdays, fiesta and get togethers.

As I grew fondly of cooking, I was eager to learn how cook this somewhat ‘heirloom recipe’ if we may call it. With the basic knowledge from my Inang (that’s how we call our Lola Elena) Tito Boy, Ninong Baby and Tito Tony (yes, all in the family knows how to cook and they all have their specialties), this made it easy for me to learn how to cook it from my mother. The secret of it all as she says is the “pangsangkutsa” or pre-cooking of the meat. “Sangkutsahin mo hanggang lumabas ang mantika” was always her reminder for the flavour of the meat to be enhanced.

Tinumis may be similar in appearance with Dinuguan, but as I learned from experience and by family tradition, they are different because of the ingredients mainly the souring agent. Tinumis uses Sampalok while Dinuguan uses Suka or Vinegar. So far, in other places I visited, their Tinumis were almost the same as ours. But some use pork instead of the Cara Beef we usually use.

This is how to cook Tinumis as I learned from my Mother.

INGREDIENTS:

1 kilo Cara Beef (Carabao’s meat. You could use beef or pork)

1 bowl Pig’s blood

Half a head of Garlic

1 Onion

3 Tomatoes

3 bunch Mustasa

1/2 kilo Sampalok

Isang tumpok na Sampalok Leaves (usbong ng Sampalok)

1 Liter water

1/2 cup Patis

4 pieces Siling Panigang

Salt to taste.

PROCEDURE:

1. Sautee garlic, Onion and tomatoes. Make sure they are cooked thoroughly. Mash the tomatoes until they are pureed.

2. Put meat. Add ½ cup of patis. ( I never use vetsin, Patis is my vetsin).

3. “Sangkutsahin mo hanggang lumabas ang katas ng karne.” Save some of the juice coming from the meat during the "sangkutsa" process. This will make the soup tasty.

4. When all the juice from meat has come out and meat oil comes sizzling, fry the meat a little until it turned slightly brown. Then pour the blood, stirring constantly to prevent coagulation. Cook blood thoroughly. Blood is cooked when it turned chocolaty brown.

5. As the water boils, sing “sampalok ay… inyong nilalaga, pinipiga, sinasala.” If you have a bad voice, buy the instant sampalok instead. But I suggest, you do a little voice lesson because natural sampalok is way better than the instant. The difference in taste is miles away. (Sing that also). Seriously, use the REAL SAMPALOK! Just don’t sing na lang.

6. Add water and bring to a boil until the meat is tender. Put the saved meat juice.

7. Put salt and additional patis according to your liking.

8. Cut the mustasa leaves an inch. It is somewhat bitter and to get rid of its bitter taste, put it in a container, pour hot water and salt over. Crush it by hand gently and wash with cold water.

9. Put in the boiling soup and then lower the fire. Put the usbong ng Sampalok after being finely cut.

10. After 5 minutes turn the fire off.

11. Then it is ready. Enjoy!