Tinagtag's Possible Origins And Other Similar Dishes

People in Zamboanga or who have went to Zamboanga may be familiar with the dessert or snack called tinagtag. It's basically fried rice noodles produced by the Muslim communities in Mindanao. Some may call it the Zamboanga Roll. However, like any dish, there's always the tendency to move from one place to another.

This would be an interesting thing to deal with when I found this video as well...

To no surprise, the tinagtag's origins aren't purely Filipino either. Try taking a look at the video above and you may notice that what's cooked above is really equivalent to what's called tinagtag or lokot-lokot in the Philippines. The method of using rice flour paste with sugar, letting it drip into hot oil in circular motion (some even use their hands in the absence of a strainer), frying it, and then later shaping it is very similar. 

For some Filipinos in Mindanao - the dish may have come from Malaysia or Indonesia which are very close to the Philippines. I mean, Zamboanga satti can trace its roots to Malaysia too. the foods of Malaysia and Indonesia are strongly derived from Middle Eastern culture due to the spread of Islam. Though, you may also find tinagtag is also sold in India - a country where most of the inhabitants are Hindus. Though, the Mughals did take over India and they were descendants of the Persians. 

While tinagtag is basically street food (and also basbousa which is also very similar) - there's the more expensive kunafa. Kunafa is usually made with vermicelli (rice noodles or bihon), cheese, pasteurized milk, and some corn starch to make the mixture sticky. I tried eating kunafa imported from Turkey (but bought from a local Arabian-owned restaurant) which was a more expensive version of tinagtag. It used mozarella cheese. I think using labneh over mozzarella might be a little more practical. I tend to think of using less costly substitutes if possible. Though, the mozarella experience can be unique due to how chewy and crispy the texture has become in contrast to using labneh which would be eating something crunchy and soft instead.

Basically, it really shows how trading has overtime influenced Filipino cuisine.