Laswa is to the Ilonggos as what dinengdeng and pinakbet are to the Ilocanos. These are mainly vegetables based dishes with a few meats and seafood. What makes laswa different is that guinamos or bago-ong is not part of the recipe. In both Ilocanos dishes, bago-ong is a major flavour enhancer giving both dishes a distinct bago-ong taste. Laswa, on the other hand, is a tamer version since guinamos is rarely used and it just relies on garlic, onion and tomato plus a little salt as flavour enhancer. Thus, it is a perfect combination with fried or grilled fish or pork! ctto