FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Another Ilonggo dish named after its main ingredients is the kadyos, manok kag ubad . Kadyos is a local legume, though also found in other parts of the country but most recognizable in Ilonggo cooking. It comes in pods and ranges from deep violet to green in color and makes a purplish broth (for violet beans).  Native chicken or darag , is most commonly used when making the dish but one can also used broilers. But the free range chicken gives better flavour to the dish. And ubad , yes it's with an A, is the pith of the banana tree. Aside from being a sort of extender to the dish, it also creates a a different texture and it is almost flavourless. Read more about Ubad .

If a picture is worth a thousand words, there would be thousands of the word namit (delicious) written all over this native delicacy called bot-ong. Bot-ong is made with glutinous rice mixed with gata wrapped in banana leaves in a pointed shape then boiled until cooked. It is like ibos but with different shape and wrapper. Ibos is mostly tubular and wrapped on coconut leaves while bot-ong is pointed at one end and wrapped in banana leaves. Ibos and Bot-ong being wrapped and still uncooked. Photo from Google While the dips could be interchangeable, ibos is usually paired with sugar, bukayo or ripe mango while bot-ong with latik which is  made with gata and sugar boiled until it is syrupy and caramelized. One of my fave bot-ongs now comes from Brgy. Lanag in Santa Barbara, Iloilo from the same makers of  Puto sa Lanag .  I could eat 5 or even more in just one sitting when the bot-ong is warm and drizzled with the latik.  Will give details on how to ord...

Bingkahan sa Mohon makes one of the most popular bingka places in Iloilo City. It has been one of my blog frustrations before not having a feature on them. I've tried many times before but I ended up with more frustrations - having no more bingkas left or my reserved order was given to others. It's not easy to get them since I live far from where they are located. But finally I ended this streak of bad luck; I got "tons" of bingka from Mohon and I loved it! What makes it delicious aside from the concoction is the amount of coconut strips in each of these small round bingkas. While others have microscopic amount, Mohon bingkas have more than enough that sometimes it feels like eating bucayo rather than bingka . Sold for PhP 10 per pack of four, this quick fix will surely makes one crave for more and oftentimes come back and buy some more. Good thing I bought 5 packs that time, more than enough for me to savour every bite. With the h...

Kusahos is my favorite way of enjoying beef. it is basically sun-dried beef strips marinated adobo style - that is with vinegar, garlic and soy sauce, among others. After an overnight marination, it is then sun-dried for a few days - watch for flies as this is a fly-magnet! The drier it becomes, the better tasting it will become. It is then deep fried or at time placed directly over charcoal, for a crunchy-lious local beef gastronomic experience.  Here's the recipe for Kusahos

Bujawi (budjawi, budyawi) is what Ilonggos refer to the fruit of the buri or century palm tree . Abundant in many parts of the province of Iloilo, the buri has many many uses from the leaves to its trunk. It produces a fermented drink (tuba), alcohol, vinegar, syrup, and sugar. The trunk yields large quantities of starch. The bud (ubod) is used for salad or as a vegetable. The kernels of the young fruits are edible and are made into a sweetmeats. The mature seeds are used for beads? (rosaries) and buttons.  The petiole yields so-called buntal fiber of which, the famous Baliuag and Lucban hats are made, or which, when crudely extracted, is sometimes twisted into rope. Mature leaf is used for covering tobacco bales, rarely as a thatch for houses, while the ribs are used for making brooms. From the unopened leaf is obtained a very fine fiber, corresponding to raffia fiber, which is utilized in making cloth, fancy articles, and as string. Fibers ...

Named after one of Iloilo City’s districts, Pancit Molo is one of the more identifiable pancit dishes in the country. It stands out uniquely among the noodle dishes mainly because of its non-traditional pancit look. It is a derivative of the Chinese wonton (filled dumplings) made into a soup.  One of the first questions always asked is "Where's the Pancit?". With pancit as a sort of "prefix" to the name of the dish, first timers always for the noodle-like component of the dish. It's then explained that the pancit is actually the molo ball wrappers which is basically of the same mix as any pancit/noodles. Pancit Molo is more of a household specialty and the recipe varies from household to household. From the meat filling mix to the soup, there could be a hundred and one ways of making pancit molo. Pancit Molo Filling I suggest to make this days before the actual cooking of pancit molo so that the flavours will be full....