My Friend Susan's "Binalot"

I met Susan at the TESDA Women’s Center, which is one of the national training institutes in the Philippines that is dedicated to promoting the skill development of Filipino women. Susan is currently a household work trainee. She is a proud of mother of two children who are taking up nursing and aeronautical engineering. She has dedicated most of her life raising her children and now needs to go back into the workforce so that they can continue their studies. She, like many of the women I met, is at this institute in the hope of working abroad. Susan is also the one who has been my unofficial trainer for some of the household work equipment they are using at the center. She loves to joke around and when I’m around her, I am often laughing to the point of tears.  Susan is also a talented cook and is known for bringing food to share with the other trainees. One day, she invited me to join them for lunch to taste her most famous “alamang” (Filipino shrimp paste sautéed with fried pork) and boiled Chinese eggplant.  All trainees at this institute eat lunch at a designated area on the 3^rd floor, equipped with white plastic tables and chairs (they can eat at the canteen but they must purchase an item, which is not very cheap so most opt to eat in the open air area). The day I joined them for lunch, Susan wanted me to have a traditional and unforgettable Filipino 

dining experience. She brought me rice wrapped in banana leaf and topped with adobo. The rice was incredibly moist and had a nice subtle scent from the banana leaf.  She said that this is the traditional “binalot” experience.  “Binalot” means anything wrapped. So before the time of tupperwares and containers, Filipinos packed food this way. I gather that she doesn’t do this kind of binalot too often because banana leaves cost quite a bit in Manila, as one of the workers mentioned (because there are very few banana trees in the city).  We ate this with her famous alamang, which she drizzled with calamansi (Filipino lime) juice. Her alamang did not taste fishy—a characteristic she claimed comes from washing the fresh paste first and also in terms of the cooking technique—she sautées some pork first until the fat has melted and it is crispy and then she adds garlic, onion, and tomatoes.  Then, she finishes it with the shrimp paste. It was one of the best alamang I had had because of this and also because it was flaky, dry and the pork was sufficiently crispy. She served this with boiled eggplant, which she cut open in the middle and topped with the alamang.   She even brought some green mangoes in case I also wanted to top them with it, which is usually how it is also eaten (i.e.,  the saltiness of the alamang balances the sourness of the mangoes).  This was one of the best meals I’ve had so far not just because of the food but also because I know it was a labor of love for Susan—she is here undergoing physically intensive training at the center from 7:30 am to 5pm from Monday through Friday. And I’m sure her work does not stop when she goes home.  So for her to take the time to prepare this for me was something very special.  Susan’s binalot contained more than just food but also her spirit of generosity, creativity, and kindness, all of which made this moment very special for me.