Pinamalhan: Paksiw made "dry"

Rooting from the local dialect word mala meaning dry, pinamalhan is one of the many ways Ilonggos cook their fish and as the name suggests, it is cooked dry .... well almost.

There are no fancy ingredients, utensils nor methods in making this simple and versatile dish. (Very) Simple for the fact that you just put all the ingredients and cook until dry, and versatile that you can use almost any kind of fish, from those little lopoy to sapsap to bangus.

Basic ingredients include vinegar, soy sauce, salt and other seasoning (depends on the cook) so as the additional ingredients like ginger, onion, tomato, peppers, garlic, chives, etc.

It all depends how fancy you may want it to look and taste like but in the end it will always just be a simple dish.

Pinamalhan Recipe

courtesy of FOOD MAGAZINE Sept. 2008 Issue

Lupoy as the recipe suggests is the collective name of those silvery fish that looks likes "fresh" dilis or balingon. There's no better of enjoying them other than pinamalhan.

Bangus is my (and almost everybody's) favorite fish and being cooked as pinamalhan makes it more delectable though most of the time, we tend not to cook it dry so as to savour the "sauce". So we have a "wet" pinamalhan.

Sapsap aside from being fried, broiled or cooked in broth also makes a good pinamalhan.

Ah! The (in)famous salmonite as we call this pinkish little fish. Never saw them cooked in another way besides pinamalhan, at least in our house.

Abo. One of my favorite fishes but not as pinamalhan but fried.

Last but not the least is the fish I considered to be the Ilonggo signature fish, bilong-bilong Why? I still am looking for the answer ....

Courtesy of WeekendPastime

Aloy. This fish, they say, that can make you drunk so better take it in moderation. But how can you say no to this after it has been fried "tostado".

Courtesy of WeekendPastime

Ultimate Ilonggo Favorite: KBL Kadyos, Baboy, Langka

K.B.L. or Kadyos, Baboy, Langka is the ultimate favorite dish of most Ilonggos. It is also one of the most missed native dishes as kadyos and the souring ingredient, batwan , are hard to find when outside of the Ilonggo region. Basically, it is boiled/stewed pork dish owing its "deliciousness" to the combination of the soft and tender pork, the tamed sourness of batwan and the malinamnam na sabaw . One of the "secrets" of the malinamnamn na sabaw , is the fact that the pork, whether just the plain meat or pata (hocks) are first grilled or broiled. This gives the broth a rather smoky taste that makes it more appetizing.. Learn how to make the Ilonggo dish KBL (Kadyos, Baboy, at Langka) with the recipe below. Ingredients 1 kilo Pata (pork hocks) or pork cubes, GRILLED and sliced into bite size pieces 1 unripe Jack fruit, cubed 2 cups pigeon pea (kadyos) 6-8 pieces batwan fruit (or tamarind powder) 1 piece pork broth cube (

An Ilonggo favorite - Valenciana

Found in almost all occasions like fiesta, birthdays, reunions and others, Ilonggos really love valenciana because most if not all have grown accustomed of having it in special gatherings at home. A complete " go, grow and glow " dish because it has the carbohydrates, protein and vitamins and minerals in just one spoonful, Valenciana is really an " occasional dish ". Here's the recipe for Valenciana

Batwan

Ilonggos know batwan or batuan by heart as the fruit is almost endemic to the Western Visayas. Its scientific name is Garcinia binucao, derived from the Tagalog name for the fruit, binukaw. It is a large green fruit with large seeds and its a favorite souring ingredient in most Ilonggo dishes especially KBL or kadyos, baboy, langka and the Ilonggo-style paksiw known as "pinamalhan". It is characterized by a tamed sourness compared to tamarind and kamias . The fruit is sold by pieces or kilo in wet markets and even big grocery stores. Batwan is the preferred souring ingredients for the Ilonggo favorite- KBL. The photo shows boiled batwan with skin and without skin (right) A favorite riddle when we were young - "Among the many fruits in the forest, but one (batuan) is the best. What is it?"

Takway

The gabi (taro) is just one of those plants which is edible from "roots to tops". The most popular of which is the tuber part which is used in a variety of dishes and mostly in combination with coconut milk. Its leaves, of course, is the main ingredient of a Bicol specialty, laing . It is dried then chopped and sauteed with other ingredients including, again, coconut milk. Then there is takway . The local term for its tendrils/runner, that part which is torn between being a stem or a root for it neither grows upwards nor downwards - it grows sideways . Scraped off of its outer skin, takway is often a key ingredient in vegetable dishes like laswa and the gabi tuber with coconut milk and local snails know as bago-ngon . It is also popular when cooked adobo style with guinamos , the local bago-ong . It is very popular in the region that even big supermarkets sell takway in style - cleaned and plastic wrapped in styro with some additions to make it easier to prepare.

A native (foods) welcome in Guimaras

Even after having breakfast less than an hour that time, we couldn't say no to this lot of native delciacies that welcomed us in Guimaras. First and foremost, Guimaras best known produce is their sweet mango famous almost worldwide. And it comes with it's best partner, ibos. This brown baye-baye variety is made from toasted rice thus giving it a more disctinct flavour compared to it's more "caucasian" cousin. I like the one wrapped in banana leaves compared with the one in plastic for it gives it a more native feel. So when you're in Guimaras, be sure to check out the markets for these native delicacies that can make your trip more gastronomically satisfying.

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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