Sweet and Spicy Dilis Surprise

Pinoys love dried food and experimenting with them. The dried anchovies dish called "dilis" is an example.

This Sweet and Spicy Dilis is most commonly sold in any sari-sari store for Php 1.00 for small packs, Php 5.00 for bigger ones and around Php 30+ for the large packed dilis meant to be sold in pasalubong shops and grocery stores.

The Sweet and Spicy Dilis is a very distinct snack not only because of its sweet taste but mostly because of its orange color.

One day, Kuya Jun surprised us with a bowl of still hot sweet dilis and I was amused that it also came in orange. I told him it was such an effort from him really to add food color when food colorings do not even contribute to the taste. But he said he did not use one! So of course I inquired.

Apparently, Ate Irene, his niece who is from Canada, taught him how to make it.

Procedure (with ingredients highlighted in orange):

Mix sugar and water in a frying pan and cook until viscous or malapot. Add ketchup and mix. Add chilli or sili if desired. Then fry the anchovies in it.

So that's the secret to the orange color -- ketchup!

When the sweet dilis is still hot, it looks glossy. But when it dries up and cools, it looks exactly like the ones bought from sari-sari stores or pasalubong shops! The orange covering, which we now know to be ketchup mixed with sugar and water, becomes powdery.

Now this is really an awesome recipe because it's actually quite easy to accomplish. But of course, this is coming from a person who has no extensive cooking experience. =)

- Jam