Saving Tausug Cuisine one recipe at a time

A blend of several aromas, triggered mostly by local spices like coconut and turmeric, can be smelled from a small kitchen, greeting us as we stepped inside Dennis Coffee Garden, a restaurant on San Jose Road in Zamboanga City serving traditional Tausug cuisine. 

We were there upon the invitation of local city residents and doctors Paul and Anne Cases, who organized a unique, educational Tausug culinary experience for guests from Manila.

Soon, an array of unfamiliar dishes arrived one by one, their names and stories narrated by Mastura Wilaynaleen Tan.

Originally from Jolo, Sulu and working as a nurse, Mastura is also an advocate of Tausug culinary culture.

She begins her story with 60-year-old, Ruhaiya Jammang. An elderly Tausug and a native of Jolo, Sulu, Ruhaiya is the head cook of Dennis Coffee Garden.

Ruhaiya, Mastura explains, has prepared "Dulang," a traditional Tausug wedding feast for that evening.

A “Dulang” is a platter consisting mostly of some of the Tausug’s most beloved dishes. It's the centerpiece of every wedding ritual or “Pagkawin” of the Tausug.

It begins with Chicken Piyanggang, a dish blackened with the same burnt coconut paste used to flavor tiyula itum, an authentic Jolo dish, Ruhaiya explains.

It’s not a party unless there’s piyanggang, she says, adding the word literally means “grill after marinating.”

She then meticulously pours coconut milk to her grilled chicken then adds the rest of the coconut milk for a creamier finish.

“Yung mga mamahaling pagkain gaya sa wedding, gaya ng piyangga yun ang mahalaga sa handaan,” says Ruhaiya.

Tausug means “people of the current.” It extended its culture and influence in the Sultanate of Sulu, a royal house that ruled the region from the 1400s to the early 1900s.

"This means our ancestors have had a gourmet chicken dish even before the arrival of the Spaniards in 1500" says Mastura. “Wala pang Spanish, ganito na talaga ang dish natin. We have a dish called pianggang manok.” 

While Tausug cuisine boasts of a long history that began even before the Spaniards, there is a growing concern about its permanence.  

Sarlina Hatab, a younger generation Jolo, Sulu native working with Ruhaiya in Dennis Coffee Garden, remembers how, sometime in 2015, younger Tausugs in Sulu have started to embrace modern cuisines.

"'Yung mga new generation ngayon, parang hindi na nila pinapansin yung pagkain nuon. Mas inaano nila yung foreign food, like yung mga Frappé. Eh yung coffee namin, single origin talaga from Sulu,” she observes.

She admits, it wasn't until she worked with Ruhaiya that she learned how to cook traditional Tausug dishes.

“Yung iba dyan hindi ko talaga alam, kung hindi pa ako nag work dito” says Sarlina, adding it’s important to preserve the culinary legacy of the Tausug’s because one day, it might just land in the endangered list of culinary heritage.

Having noticed the same decline in interest in their local delicacies, Ruhaiya says it’s the responsibility of the older generation of Tausug to pass on the culinary tradition.

“Kailangan ang turuan ng katulad namin yung mga bata na hindi marurunong, para masanay sila,” says Ruhaiya.

It's a word Ruhaiya has done good with: Under her tutelage, Sarlina and other younger Tausugs from Jolo, have learned to cook other traditional Tausug dishes, like the dessert Pangi pangi, a special donut like bread formed and shaped like the letter “C.”

Making this dish takes a lot of patient and love, so it’s important for younger Tausug to understand its value, says Ruhaiya.

She added, “Mahirap talaga yung Pangi pangi, kapag hindi siya ganun shape, Hindi siya matawag na pangi pangi.”

During special occasions, desserts are ideally served first before the main course.

This is to highlight their desserts which is equally sumptuous and should be appreciated before the tummy of their table guests becomes full.

We are introduced to another dessert called “Palikambing,” a meatball-like bread filled with bananas — another specialty of Ruhaiya passed on to younger Tausug Sarlina.

To complete the “Dulang” platter, Ruhaiya served the “Tiyula Itum,” seasoned beef black soup with burnt coconut and Jolo’s version of beef kulma — that is, beef with creamy sauce flavored with coconut milk, cinammon, lemon juice and lemongrass, and spiced with Turmeric powder as a unique ingredient for the Tausug of Jolo.

“Hindi kasi siya basta-basta lang. Sa Jolo, may Jolo style na niluluto siya at yun ang signature dish na pag natikman mo, ah this is Jolo,” says Mastura.

As the educational culinary experience ended it became clear to the guests why it is a heritage that needs to be preserved.

And Ruhaiya is vigilant. She ensures she is spreading the right approach, one day at a time, one recipe at a time, so that their younger generation can master the art of Tausug cooking.

Ruhaiya is hopeful their culinary tradition will be saved from any threats of being endangered and or extinct.

“Kapag hindi sila mag-aral sa pag luto, pag mawala na ang mga kagaya namin na matanda na, wala na. Makalimutan na,” says Ruhaiya. — LA, GMA News