Offal or variety meats are looked upon differently, depending on one’s culture. In the Philippines, they’re put to good use with a lot of delicious and sought after fancy dishes made from these various animal innards. In fact, they’re so mainstream that some dishes made with these variety meats are sold canned alongside cans of sardines and corned beef.

Ever the lazy girl (I confess, I hate cooking during summer), I went the way of the instant food by reheating a can of ready-to-reheat bopis. Bopis is a Filipino dish made of coarsely chopped pig lungs and hearts, stewed in vinegar, onions, peppers and annatto seeds for that distinctive reddish color. Unfortunately, it’s also something I never learned to cook so I have to rely on it being served during feasts, in restaurants, or in instant food form. In this case, I had to go with a canned version, reheated and laid on a bed of freshly steamed rice.

To go with it, I had a small grilled eggplant salad, sliced cucumbers and mango cubes. The grilled eggplant salad is a standard side dish to local fish and seafood dishes. It was added more to increase my vegetable intake, rather than as an accompanying dish to the bopis, because honestly, the flavors don’t really blend. Still, it was a satisfying meal

Inihaw na Talong v. 6 May 2008
(Grilled eggplant. Serves 1.)

1 small eggplant, washed. I recommend using the oblong kind and not the round ones, simply because I’ve never tried using the round ones.
1 tbsp chopped onions
1 tsp bagoong (fermented shrimp paste) or some salt to taste.

1. Grill the eggplant over open flame until the skin chars.
2. Peel then cut off the top. Lightly mash the eggplant flesh.
3. Mix the onions and bagoong (or salt).

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