Faultless Fridays ... and meatless, too

Christians are obliged by the Church to do penance and seek forgiveness from sins. A common form of penance is eschewing meat on Fridays. Catholics in particular, are enjoined to observe ‘Meatless Fridays’ as prescribed by the Canon Law not just during the Lenten season but all year round.

Many Catholics think that rules of abstinence have since been relaxed: that the meatless prescription applies only for Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Wrong! This is what the new Code of Canon Law issued in 1983 says:

‘Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.’

Why meatless?

By abstaining from meat, we are giving up the most pleasant as well as the most nourishing food. As most of us are meat lovers it is a sacrificeto banish meat from our diet. But if we go crazy or sick without meat, then we might go for another form of penance.

Abstinence is not only refraining from eating meat but renouncing other pleasures of the senses as well. The essence here is sacrifice. The renunciation of something we like very much. This may be in the form of less TV, less movies, less parties, less cigarettes , less beer, less sex. The possibilities are almost endless.

Why Fridays?

Doing penance is not really exclusive to Fridays. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia: ‘From the dawn of Christianity, Friday has been signalized as an abstinence day, in order to do homage to the memory of Christ suffering and dying on that day of the week.’

Today’s Catholics no longer strictly comply with ‘Meatless Fridays;’ it has somehow been lost over the years. The rising cost and dwinding availability of some fish and other seafood and even vegetables must have contributed to this. The modern, fast-paced lifestyle may have also made ‘Meatless Fridays’ passé and inconvenient to observe.

Fish tayo

Fish is a common substitute for meat. Because I reside in Dagupan City -- where the best bangus (milkfish) comes from -- a typical meatless Friday menu for our family is often bangus served in a hundred and one ways.

My favorite is inselar a bangus (sinigang na bangus in sour broth). Bucaio, a fellow blogger who contributes to my Pangasinan Blog, explains how the simple dish is done: “To cook, fresh Bonuan bangus is sliced and put in a simmering pot of water flavored with a peeled ginger the size of your thumb, chopped tomatoes, sliced onions, salt and the innards, and calamansi juice (optional). When the fish flesh has turned opaque, add kamote tops and continue cooking till the leaves are tender. Do not overcook so the fat will not disintegrate (very important!).”

Runner-up to bangus on our meatless table is tilapia (St. Peter’s fish), the new poor man’s fish replacing galunggong (Mackerel scad). Instead of simply frying the fish, a healthier preparation is preferred. It’s called pinaputok na tilapia (popped tilapia). Fresh, plump tilapia is stuffed with chopped tomatoes and onion wrapped in foil or banana leaves and steamed to tender, juicy perfection. If one is in a hurry, there’s always the old reliable breakfast favorite, tuyo (dried salted herring). It is cheap and has a long shelf life.

Oh, my gulay

The most popular vegetable dish during meatless Fridays will, hands down, be pinakbet (shrunk/shriveled vegetable). It is widely known as an Ilocano dish, although some Pangasinenses claim pinakbet as their own.

The original pinakbet uses bagoong, of fermented monamon or other fish, while further south, it is bagoong alamang (shrimp paste). The vegetables used are basically native bitter melon (ampalaya), eggplant, tomato, ginger, okra, string beans, lima beans, chili pepper, parda, and winged beans. A Tagalog version usually includes kalabasa (squash). Most of these vegetables are easily available, and can be grown in backyard gardens.

As its name suggests, pinakbet is usually cooked until almost dry and shriveled and the flavor of the bagoong has soaked into the vegetables. Unless cooked on a meatless Friday, lechon, chicharon, or other meats (most commonly pork) are added. It is considered a very healthy dish, and convenient in relation to the harsh and rugged, yet fruitful Northern and Ilocos regions of the Philippines, where the dish originated.

Want a quick vegetable dish? Try kinilnat (Ilocano salad). Called ensalada, it uses the leaves, shoots, blossoms, and other parts of plants like sweet potato top, bitter melon, winged beans, taro, and cabbage which are boiled, drained and dressed with bagoong or patis (fish sauce). Sometimes souring agents like calamansi (calamodin or Panama orange) or cherry tomatoes are added, as well as freshly-ground ginger. A variation of this dish uses unripe mango, chopped tomato, onion, and ar-arusip (seaweeds) topped with either fish paste or shrimp paste. This dish goes well with fried or grilled fish.

What gastronomic delights! Which may get us wondering if going meatless is truly renunciation and penance.

Are you having a hard time abstaining from meat? Think of its health benefits. According to the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada, meatless diets tend to have lower levels of saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein, and higher levels of carbohydrates, fiber, magnesium, potassium, foliate, and antioxidants, such as vitamins C and E, and phytochemicals. People who avoid meat are reported to have lower body mass index than those following the average Canadian diet. Meatless diets are associated with lower death rates from ischemic heart disease; lower blood cholesterol levels; lower blood pressure; and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer.

Not yet convinced? Keep in mind our less fortunate kababayan who can’t afford three square meals, meatless or otherwise -- for whom meat is out of reach everyday of the week, subsisting instead with instant noodles, sardines, and rice.

Let us try to keep our Fridays not just meatless but also blameless.

Photo: by Myrna Co

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