While Desiree has her Jollibee chicken urges to satisfy upon arriving at the islands, I have my own food craving to slake.
My craving is for a bright green, rather branchy-looking seaweed called
guso.
I love the stuff.
Along the coasts of the Philippines, guso is an everyday food, sometimes
called sea grapes, harvested from shallow coastal waters and sold fresh in
local markets. You will usually find it in small, damp bundles, its tiny
beadlike clusters still crisp from the sea.
Preparation is simple. Rinse it gently in cool water and serve it raw.
Most often it is combined with tomatoes and onions and dressed with vinegar or
calamansi limes. The flavor is clean, light, and not particularly salty. The
texture offers a light snap when chewed. There is no need to complicate it.
Guso is best when handled lightly and eaten fresh, a straightforward reminder
that good food does not have to be elaborate to be satisfying.
I also find guso to be gorgeous in appearance. I think a heaping bowl of
guso looks like an intricate carving of the finest jade. I am happy just to sit
and study it.
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—Mitchell
Hegman
