Really inexpensive cookery

When my fiance and I traveled to the Philippines earlier this year to visit the family that I have there, I wanted to bring home an array of things that will always remind me of where I came from. Out of the many things that I got there, I have mostly used a clay pot called a palayok. Although I think that the best clay pots come from Vigan (and I was able to get a "display" version of a palayok there but not a full-sized one - maybe next time!), I was able to get my hands on one in my mother's hometown.

This is a side view. My pot is lots smaller than most of the ones I've seen. In fact, this can only fit just a few cups of water. Palayoks come in all different shapes and sizes. When I was in the Philippines, I saw a house with a palayok that was probably several feet in diameter. At my grandfather's house, they have a very large base (the part that the pot is sitting on). I was told that my grandmother used to cook mostly outside using the clay pots.

The cooking experience is definitely different. Because mine is such a small size, it's a bit difficult to keep a fire going. I really wish that I could have brought home a much larger set, but my family back there was very confused and astonished as to why I wanted to bring one back. I would have brought a pot that was at least one foot in diameter. While we were in Vigan, we were able to sit at a pottery wheel and try to make a pot. It was difficult, to say the least, and I admired the men who were able to make such sturdy objects. The display palayok set that I got from Vigan is heavier and the shape is much more rounded. 

I wanted to share this with you because I think that this would be a very good alternative to more expensive cookery. My set cost me around $4-5 US dollars. Palayoks are obviously hard to come by in the U.S., but you might try taking up a pottery class or find someone who knows how to make clay cooking pots. The base looks like it would be easy to form. In a survival situation, one would probably have to make do by bbq-ing or grilling meats and vegetables, or by eating their vegetables raw. But, it's fun to cook in a clay pot and it's handy to have during the summertime when we don't want to cook indoors.