When I was in college, there were weeks when my baon was just instant noodles or whatever the canteen at the Student Union had left by lunchtime. Then a package from home would arrive. Along with the sweets, fruits, and dried fish, my mother would sometimes send tinuto. wrapped neatly in banana leaves. By the time I unwrapped it in the dorm, the gabi leaf bundles had softened, the coconut cream had settled into its oil, and the smell seafood and a hint of tuba vinegar told me my mother had sent me a piece of home.
Tinuto is a weekday rescue, something my nanay made when she knew I needed more than cafeteria meals. It’s proof that comfort can be wrapped and carried across seas.
What is Tinuto?
Tinuto is a traditional Marinduque dish that resembles laing but with its own identity. It takes gabi (taro) leaves, fills them with seafood like balaw (tiny shrimps) or tuna, (and in times when these are not available, sardines in cans) and wraps them into neat parcels. These bundles are simmered in coconut cream and, uniquely, tuba vinegar, which is a touch that sets it apart from other coconut-based dishes.
The result is both creamy and bright, earthy from the gabi leaves, briny from the seafood, and sharpened by the sourness of vinegar.
Tinuto, Laing, and Pinangat
Filipino cooking has a family of gabi-based dishes that look similar but taste distinctly their own. In my an earlier post, La La Laing Beside You, I wrote about how laing in Marinduque is often paired with sikad sikad (sea shells). Tinuto plays in that same field, combining sea and land, but delivers it differently. Where laing spreads across your plate, tinuto folds flavors into a single packet you open like a gift. It’s like Pinangat, which is more common in Southern Tagalog, which takes shrimp or fish, wraps them in gabi leaves, and steams the bundles in coconut milk until soft. The tinuto, borrows this wrapping style of pinangat and the creaminess of laing but stands apart with its filling of seafood like balaw or tuna and its unmistakable splash of vinegar, which brightens the dish and gives it a flavor balance found nowhere else.
Why Vinegar Matters
Marinduque dishes often carry a tang of sukang tuba (vinegar). It’s probably for preservation. But I think vinegar is what gives tinuto its unmistakable character. In many coconut-based Filipino dishes, richness dominates, but in Marinduque cooking, a splash of suka shifts the balance. It cuts through the fattiness of gata, makes the seafood taste fresher, and adds a spark that keeps the dish lively instead of heavy. This reflects an island preference for sharp, bright flavors, proof that there’s always room for boldness.
How to Cook Tinuto (Small shrimps wrapped in gabi leaves and cooked in coconut cream)
Ingredients
- 12 large gabi leaves, whole and intact
- 1 kilo balaw (tiny shrimps)
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups gata (second press coconut milk)
- 2 cups kakang gata (first press coconut cream)
- ½ cup vinegar (tuba or cane)
- 3 tbsp bagoong
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 thumb ginger, minced
- 3 stalks lemongrass
- 4 pcs Siling labuyo minced
- 2 pcs Siling labuyo whole
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Wash and pat dry gabi leaves. Trim stems carefully to avoid tears.
- Mix seafood with onion, chili, salt, labuyo chili minced, and a little coconut milk.
- Place a spoonful of filling onto each gabi leaf. Fold into parcels and secure.
- Add lemongrass, garlic, and onions on pot.
- Arrange parcels on top. Add water and coconut milk.
- Cover and simmer on medium heat.
- Add vinegar. Allow vinegar to cook down before stirring.
- Cook until gabi leaves are tender.
- Add whole chili.
- Add coconut cream, lower heat and cook until gata thickens and oil rises to the top. (about 30 minutes)
- Serve hot with rice. To eat, unwrap a parcel gently and scoop up the filling with a bit of leaf and sauce.
Notes
Cooking Tips
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Don’t stir too early. Let the vinegar settle first to avoid curdling.
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Check the leaves. Use only young, whole gabi leaves without holes. Mature leaves may cause an itchy aftertaste.
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Substitutes. If balaw isn’t available, you can use small shrimps, tuna, or sardines instead. Dried fish bacalao is also sometimes used. Soak it in water first to reduce saltiness.
