"White" Adobo nga Baboy

While the most popular Ilonggo recipe for Adobo has istiwitis or achuete / annatto, sometime experimenting on other region's adobo recipes an open up our taste. So what is "white" adobo?

It is basically the usual adobo recipe minus one major ingredient - soy sauce or toyo. I like it especially when the garlic mixes with the oil and vinegar concoction - a burst of flavorful aroma that you could almost taste.

Here's a simple recipe for Pork Liempo White Adobo

Ingredients

1 kilo Pork liempo with fat

1 cup vinegar (adjust)

3 pcs dried Bay leaves

1 large head garlic, crushed

Black peppercorns, crushed (adjust)

1/2 Tbsp Salt (adjust)

1 Tbsp Sugar (adjust)

Water, optional (adjust)

How to make Pork Liempo Pork Adobo

Wash then cut pork liempo into 2x2 inches cube or smaller like 1.5 x 1.5 inches.

Mix all the ingredients then "massage" the mixture to the pork cubes.

Arrange pork cubes - fatty part down, in a pan then pour the mixture.

Bring to a boil then lower heat then simmer for 30 minutes or until pork is tender to your preference.

Make taste adjustments (from time to time) by adding more of the seasonings.

When done, transfer to a serving or storing container (meat adobo dishes tastes more delicious after a few days - agree? )

Enjoy with hot rice.

Yes, it's done without soy sauce. The pork and vinegar (with pork fat) naturally brown themselves self but not as dark when using soy sauce.

The measurements here are just guides since I cooked this white adobo without measuring. I used more than 1 cup of vinegar since I love the resulting (unhealthy, yes) sauce vinegar mixed with the natural pork fat with garlic. Water listed on the ingredients can be used to tone down the sourness of the vinegar but in this particular recipe I didn't use it, instead I added more vinegar. My piece of advice is to taste what you are cooking and adjust the flavor to suit your own. 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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