Tabon-tabon, an Exotic Southern Philippine Fruit

                      

The tabon-tabon which is scientifically named atuna racemosa is a native tree of Northern Mindanao in Southern Philippines. It also grows in Papua, New Guinea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and other tropical Asian countries as well as in the Pacific islands.

Some people consider the tabon-tabon a nut because it has a hard outer shell with a single seed that does not split or open to release the seeds to the world. The difference between tabon-tabon with other nuts is that its kernel is juicy.

Tabon-tabon tree has elliptical leaves and can grow from 8 to 10 meters tall and bears fruit all year long. The brown ovate-shaped fruit has a hard shell. Inside the shell is a single large seed. When cut vertically in half, the fruit bares a cross section of a seed that resembles a brain. The fruit must be used within 10 days after harvest because it hardens after several days.

The seed of tabon-tabon is not usually eaten. It is mainly used as an ingredient of raw fish dish called in the local dialect as kinilaw. The seed is scraped off with a spoon and then the bits are squeezed to extract their sap to mix with vinegar and other ingredients. The sap of tabon-tabon removes the “fishy” smell of the fish and neutralizes the acidity of the vinegar. Without the sap, the vinegar will “cook” the fish meat and toughens it. Tabon-tabon is an essential ingredient in kinilaw prepared Northern Mindanao style.

Many people in the coastal areas of Northen Mindanao love to eat kinilaw and tabon-tabon is always associated with the dish. Tabon-tabon along with tuba or coconut toddy, suwa or native lime, wild native chili peppers or siling labuyo make the taste of the dish distinctive from those that are prepared from other parts of the Philippines. One fruit is enough for one kilo of kinilaw. The anti-bacterial properties of the tabon-tabon extract not only make the dish desirable but also keep it safe to eat.

A study at Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro has found out that the fruit has anti-bacterial properties. This is probably the reason why over a long time there have been no reported health issues or food poisoning related with the consumption of raw fish added with tabon-tabon sap. Another reason is that only fresh fish is used in the preparation of kinilaw.

Aside from its culinary use in the locality, there are no other reported applications of tabon-tabon such as herbal medicine. In other places in the Pacific the seed of the fruit is made as putty for sealing canoes, as wood glues, and as basket water proofing.