00:00For us Filipinos, when it comes to saltiness, it's not just the simple taste of food.
00:06As a country where islands are built and surrounded by sea water,
00:11saltiness is a part of our culture and life.
00:15And all of that comes from the simplest ingredient of saltiness, salt.
00:22Salt is a very important mineral.
00:26We think of it as pleasurable to the mouth.
00:30But salt also is a vessel for delivering minerals to the body.
00:34That's why, when you eat with natural salts,
00:37not only do you get the saltiness,
00:39but you also absorb important minerals that the body needs.
00:43Calcium, magnesium, and other stuff.
00:46One thing that salt does to food is,
00:49it brings out, not just the saltiness,
00:52but the salt brings out the natural flavor of food, right?
00:56No matter where you go in the world,
00:58salt is very important.
01:00And even, as they say, the history of salt.
01:03If you compare our salary to salt,
01:06because before, in the olden times,
01:08people were paid in salt because it had so much value.
01:12Because, especially during the time of Alexander the Great,
01:16what was the value of salt?
01:17Not just for absorbing food,
01:19but they needed warriors,
01:21because without salt,
01:22the muscles, the body, will not be able to function properly.
01:27Maybe in my time, they say,
01:29even if I just swallow salt,
01:32and we think it's very lowly for that,
01:35but you know, even if you just swallow salt,
01:37during that time,
01:39it was natural salt filled with minerals.
01:42So, even if you just eat rice and salt,
01:46there is nourishment, and it is healthy.
01:49Salt is a big part of Filipino food.
01:52Proof of that is the various ways that we Filipinos
01:55make salt that can be found in different parts of the country.
02:00Like the one we sometimes know,
02:02Asing Sabuyo sa Sambales.
02:05And if you go to Bohol Island,
02:07you will find one of the most unique types of salt,
02:11the Asintibuok that is made in the town of Albuquerque.
02:15Here, we met Ma'am Veronica and Sir Nestor
02:18of Asintan Inong, where they still use
02:20the Asintibuok that is made in the town of Albuquerque.
02:23We also met Sir Nestor and Ma'am Veronica
02:26of Asintan Inong, where they still use
02:29the Asintibuok that is made in the town of Albuquerque.
02:32We also met Sir Nestor and Ma'am Veronica
02:35of Asintan Inong, where they still use
02:38the Asintibuok that is made in the town of Albuquerque.
02:41In the beginning, our forefather is our father
02:44on our mother's side.
02:46And then, he gave it to our father.
02:49Our father started in the 1940s.
02:52Our forefather is in the 1800s.
02:55When our father got old,
02:58he stopped using it in the 1980s.
03:02By the year 2010,
03:04our youngest brother passed away.
03:08Among the three brothers,
03:10he really has a passion
03:13to make the Asintibuok again.
03:16Because he knows how hard it is,
03:18what sacrifice our father made.
03:21That's why he said,
03:22even if he doesn't know the Asintibuok,
03:24even if there's no money in the Asintibuok,
03:26and then he convinced Sir Nestor.
03:29At first, Sir Nestor didn't want to use it
03:31because it's really laborious.
03:34And then, there's no money.
03:36Because the Asintibuok was only used
03:39as a barter in the town of Albuquerque.
03:41Usually, only the Asintibuok is used
03:43by the farmers.
03:45Because they use it to sell calabao,
03:48beef for farming.
03:50And then, to make nilugaw
03:52for the low-class families.
03:58The Asintibuok is a labor-intensive
04:00and long process.
04:02And because of this,
04:03only a few people continue
04:05to make it here in Bohol.
04:07Making the Asintibuok at first
04:09was really hard.
04:11Because manually,
04:13we don't have a vehicle
04:16or a mechanism
04:19to make the Asintibuok easily.
04:24Especially the carrying of wood
04:29or ropes up there.
04:31And because of this,
04:32the carrying of coconut husk
04:36is really a burden on our father's shoulders.
04:40I witnessed the process of making it
04:42when I visited Bohol.
04:44And you can't help but be amazed
04:46at the dedication of the people
04:48who continue to make this traditional
04:50and artisanal salt.
04:52In the beginning,
04:54you will carry the coconut husk
04:57and soak it
04:59for 3 to 4 months
05:01before removing it
05:03and chopping it.
05:07You put it in a pan or a pan.
05:09Natural seawater will enter the pan.
05:12The high tide will enter.
05:14That's why the coconut husk
05:16will naturally soak in the seawater.
05:18And then,
05:20the trees will gather
05:22the coconut husk.
05:24At high tide,
05:26you have to sacrifice.
05:30For 3 to 4 months,
05:32you have to wait
05:34for the coconut husk
05:36to soak in the pan
05:38before removing it
05:40and chopping it.
05:42When everything is ready,
05:44the burning process will start.
05:46After that,
05:48we put it in the filtration.
05:50We filter the hardened ash.
05:52And then,
05:54for one day,
05:56we filter it.
05:58Preparation for the cooking time.
06:00And then, cooking time.
06:02Another preparation for
06:04preparing the clay pots
06:06in the sapogon.
06:08It takes almost 7 to 8 hours
06:10for it to cook.
06:12And then,
06:14we let it cook overnight.
06:16The next day,
06:18until the clay pot is ready
06:20and not too hot anymore.
06:22Then, we take it out and clean it.
06:26Despite the many other ways
06:28of making salt from other parts of the Philippines,
06:32it is also a reality that
06:34these people are slowly forgetting.
06:36The truth of salt in the Philippines
06:38is that
06:40we import over 90%
06:42of the salt consumed in the Philippines.
06:44Because we are archipelagos,
06:46we can no longer produce
06:48sufficient salt
06:50for our consumption
06:52in the Philippines.
06:54We have a law that prohibits
06:56the sale of
06:58natural salt.
07:00The salt that you make
07:02from the sea
07:04or other sources,
07:06it's illegal because
07:08it has to be iodized.
07:10For health reasons.
07:12So, that's our law.
07:14Salt law.
07:15Natural salt is prohibited.
07:17All of our salt must be iodized.
07:19Now,
07:20in the field of export
07:22and manufacturing,
07:24our product that has salt
07:26is also rejected.
07:27Because the iodine,
07:29or the iodization of salt,
07:31here in the Philippines,
07:32is not acceptable.
07:33Because it's not healthy
07:35for humans.
07:36So, it's a huge irony
07:38that we love salt,
07:39but we don't control
07:41our supply.
07:43Number two,
07:45it's not proven that
07:47iodine is healthy.
07:49Because it's also contracted by other countries.
07:51In spite of this,
07:53there are communities and families
07:55like Ma'am Veronica and Sir Nestor
07:57who continue to value
07:59the traditions of making salt
08:01and make an effort
08:03to introduce it to the world.
08:05And to give pride
08:07to the dedication of the people
08:08who continue to make it.
08:14So, while their team,
08:16Ma'am Veronica and Sir Nestor,
08:18is busy making,
08:19one of the very key ingredients
08:21that I will use here in what we are cooking,
08:23I will prepare the other ingredients first.
08:25So, our squid,
08:27let's just cut it into portion size.
08:29If you will do this at home,
08:31this is optional.
08:33We will just add bell pepper.
08:35Different colors, of course.
08:36For this recipe,
08:38this is one of the dishes
08:40that in less than 5 minutes,
08:42when you have prepared everything,
08:44you will be able to cook the squid.
08:45So basically, you just need
08:47your pan to be very hot.
08:50Because this is just quick.
08:51And of course,
08:52you want our pan to be hot
08:54so that you can retain
08:56the perfect texture of our squid.
09:01Just a tip,
09:02so that your product will be more consistent
09:06when it comes to squid,
09:08basically, you cook its head first.
09:12As you notice,
09:14its structure is different,
09:16its appearance is different,
09:17and the thickness of the head.
09:20So, this has a tendency,
09:21if you cook them at the same time,
09:23the squid part will be undercooked.
09:28So, the small attention to detail
09:31is that instead of cooking them at the same time,
09:34you should cook them first for around 2-3 minutes
09:37before you cook the rest of the squid.
09:47I'm just cooking the squid
09:49that they use to cook their asinti buok
09:51because our butane there is a bit weak.
09:55So at least,
09:56as I said earlier,
09:57you need to cook it quickly.
09:59Perfect source of high heat.
10:26Okay.
10:50We can say that the asinti buok is a labor of love.
10:54And now, with the help of social media,
10:56it's getting more and more popular.
10:59It's like a good income
11:02that despite the challenges
11:04that the salt industry is facing in the country,
11:06one of the salts that reflects
11:11our belief in the taste of saltiness is still alive.
11:14I'm so happy because
11:16because of asinti buok,
11:17I've been to a lot of places.
11:19It's free.
11:20This is also a legacy that I can leave to my children
11:24or to our family.
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