Chef Tatung “Myke” Sarthou was the lone Filipino chef presenter at Madrid Fusion 2017 held in Madrid, Spain last January 2017. In his presentation, ““What Is Lost Is Found: Rediscovering Pre-Spanish Philippine Cuisine,” he talked about sea salt and Mindanao cuisine.
He told Yummy.ph, “I thought the Philippine sea salt was a very interesting topic to talk about because saltiness is a cornerstone of Philippine cuisine. Condiments like bagoong, guinamos, or the patis all need salt. The Philippines is an archipelago but the irony of it all is that we import up to 80% of our salt consumption.
Salt seems very basic, all flavors are put out by salt. We have a habit of putting a bit of salt to bring out the sweetness of all these fruits and vegetables. So salt not only aids you in bringing out the saltiness of food but also acts as a counterpoint to certain flavors to enhance it more.”
