Filipino Whole30 Eats: Tinapa and Talbos ng Kamote Egg Scramble

Eggs with tinapa (smoked fish) and talbos ng kamote (sweet potato greens),
ube (purple sweet potato), and a slice of mango on the side

One of my go-to breakfasts is a simple egg scramble from Stupid Easy Paleo’s Stephanie Gaudreau that she calls “Breakfast of Titans.” I love it. It’s so easy to make, and the combination of fluffy egg, salty smoked salmon, and power packed spinach just hits the spot for me when I wake up hungry and ready to eat the day. During my April Whole30, I kept coming back to it, switching from salmon to different kinds of sausage now and then, but sticking to the three-ingredient template. I’ve also tried replacing the spinach with other veggies, such as Swiss chard, arugula, and even beet greens, and those variations were good, too. So for this food project, it only seemed fitting to put a Filipino slant on the recipe and try it with some Filipino ingredients. 

In place of the salmon, I chose tinapa, a salty, smoked fish usually fried whole and typically served at breakfast with rice (of course). (Fair warning: this fish will cast a strong, pungent aroma – the way a few delicious things do.) As for the spinach substitute, I went with talbos ng kamote, a highly nutritious leafy vegetable trimmed from sweet potato plants that is ubiquitous in the Philippines. (One thing about us Filipinos: we use every part that we possibly can from our foods.)

Needless to say, I gobbled this up once I put it on my plate.

I’ve been trying to think of a Filipino version of “Breakfast of Titans,” but I don’t think we have a term analogous to “Titans” in our folklore or mythology. Something like “Almusal ng mga Lakan” (“Breakfast of the Noble Chiefs”) might be the closest I can get.

(Thanks to Stephanie, of course, for the original recipe.)

Translations

Almusal (ahl-mooh-sahl): breakfast

Kamote (kah-moh-teh): sweet potato

Lakan (lah-kahn): title of the supreme ruler of a chiefdom in pre-colonial Philippines

Talbos ng kamote (tahl-boss nang kah-moh-teh): sweet potato tops or greens

Tinapa (tee-nah-pah): smoked fished, usually scad or milkfish

Ube (ooh-beh): purple sweet potato

Ingredients

• 2 pieces of tinapa (scad, in this recipe)
• 3 large eggs
• a handful or two of talbos ng kamote (stems removed)

Instructions

1. Shred the tinapa into pieces, removing the head, tail, and bones. (I’m not going to lie to you; there are a lot of tiny bones – but they’re easy to remove.)
2. Heat a pan with your favorite cooking fat in medium heat. Sauté the tinapa pieces for a few minutes.
3. Crack your eggs and pour them directly into the pan. Mix everything with a spatula.
4. When the eggs are half-cooked, add the talbos ng kamote, a handful at a time. Keep stirring until the greens are wilted.
5. Plate your egg scramble and add a sweet potato  (or any other readily available veggies or fruits).

Makes 1 serving.

How this is Whole30
This dish was made from compliant ingredients, everything healthy and whole.

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