Of anisado and estofado

Anisado wine or anisette (as I found out in Google) is an essential ingredient whenever we make Pork Estofado at home.

Out of curiosity, I tasted it and find it bittersweet like gin or vodka but with tons of sugar in it. It also had a vanilla essence that made it pleasing to the nose.

Searching for more in Google, I found out that it is also used mainly in processed meat making like tocino, longganisa, etc.

I assume it has this preservative effect on the food and mostly likely indeed the estofado we cook at home are made in big batches that it often last for days. As what they say the older it gets the more delicious and flavourful it becomes.

And speaking of estofado, though I didn't cook this one, I have a recipe that stemmed out from my experimentation at work before.

I just cooked it using the taste memories I had at home and with some additional ingredients. But everybody loved my estofado that time that even I made a big batch it didn't last as long as I wanted it to be.

If my memory serves me right, first I fried pork cubes (the big cuts) until "more than" golden brown and also fried saging na saba and pineapple slices too.

Then I made the sauce from pineapple juice, anisado wine, onions, garlic, soy sauce, bay leaves, salt, seasoning, and lots of sugar.

Click for PORK ESTOFADO RECIPE

The estofado I grew up with calls for a very sweet sauce so that explains the last ingredient and just pineapple juice won't do as good.

Plus the meat (whether pork or chicken or both) had to be fried until almost "burnt" looking so as not to have an anemic looking estofado.

After which I just simmer all the fried ingredients in the concoction until they soften enough to melt in one's mouth.

And yes, estofado that is a day or two old tastes much better as the sauce seeped in for more flavour. Extra rice please!

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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