My mother’s native town, Panacol is a secluded farmland area in Aguilar Pangasinan. Before you go there, you must endure hours of a rough and dusty road. However, for me, it’s still worthy.

The place doesn’t offer beaches but it still a cool way to relax, contemplate things, and stay away from the noisy “urbanized” area of the Metro Manila. There, you smell nothing but dried leaves and at night be mesmerized with the fireworks display featuring the fireflies.

We also love to stroll around the bank of the raging river where I use to catch frogs so I can scare my nieces and sisters. My little cousins would also love to pick snails that we’ll later give to the oldies so they can make a sumptuous meal out of it.

One day, while strolling around, one lady approached me. She was offering a bag of shellfish and out of the willingness to help, I bought the bag for P100.

When we got back, my mother said they were called paros, a freshwater clam. She noted that price is high because the locals are not giving attention to them. Anyway, she still cooked it by simply steaming it.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of paros (soaked in cold water for a few hours)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bundle of dahon ng sili
• 4 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 knob ginger, crushed
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup water

Procedure:

1. In a pan put all the ingredients except the paros. Put into boil.
2. Put the paros and cover. Put into boil until cooked.
3. Serve and enjoy.

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