WARNING: Cholesterol Overload

Today, I was ninong to a little baby boy named Glenn Corvin. He is the third boy in the family of two college classmates. The bunyag was at St. Joseph the Worker church and reception at home so it was, ahem, full of homemade dishes consisting mostly of Ilonggo delicacies.

Anyway, during fiestas or restaurant buffet meals, I never eat rice (though sometimes 2-3 spoons) for I just stack up on the meat and vegetables.

So let's see what my plate looked like. I had valenciana for I cannot resist those crunchy pork bits. I immediately "accepted" the very inviting karne prita. I had fried chicken for a taste test. I waved back to the waving estofado by having two slices. My dinuguan-craving was satisfied with a cupful (minus the puto, of course there wasn't any). And topping it all off is the usual centerpiece of any celebration, the lechon.

All were of the usual taste I have grown up with but I'd say the best was the lechon! It had this melts-in-your-mouth fat and skin combination to DIE (no pun intended) for. Aside from the perfectly roasted whole lechon (skin was light dark brown without any hint of being sunog anywhere), the skin was very thin and crunchy unlike most lechons I had that were mahunit (almost rubbery) and the fat (clinging to the skin) was very thin. Of course, I wouldn't let this opportunity pass by without knowing where they ordered this roasted pig.

It was an Oton-based lechon house that goes with the named Bitong's. Knowing where they bought it had me excited since I have a new suggestion (which I will really enforce lol) where to get one at home during fiestas or any celebration.

So what made this warning? Aside from having another set of lechon skin (additional 3 pieces; 1x1 inch) and fat (never had the "non-fat" part due to excitement), I indulged in too much dessert, 3 cups of buko salad, almost half a llanera of leche flan and a slice chocolate cake.

Not having rice, no-soft drinks-only-water for drink and standing "ovation" after eating couldn't have possibly balanced what I indulged in for lunch today, that's why I bought a box of C-lium fiber to be taken in the next few days.

Guilty!

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

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 por...

Easy Century Tuna Recipes

If you're looking for simple, easy and delicious Century Tuna recipes online, congratulations, you've found it right here! How about spicy tuna sisig or tuna sinigang ? Maybe stir fried tuna with pickles or just yang chow fried rice . I love Century Tuna from its flakes in oil variety, the spicier the better, but when I discovered the versatility of its solid variant, it became an obsession. At first I was just into the usual tested recipes; pasta and sandwich filling, but then it got simpler – I just eat it straight from the can! Usually with a piece of bread or an apple. I just add a few drops of vinegar to spice it up a bit. Then came the experiments. Yup I got tired of that habit that one day, I decided to test my skills in the kitchen. Serendipity, you might call it yet most of them turned into good recipes that I have shared now and then. Satisfying my Palabok cravings had me experiment on this recipe on the spot. With Century Tuna in lieu of the us...

Bitso-bitso

What is bitso-bitso ? Also spelled/called bichu-bichu or bitsu-bitsu , this native delicacy is made with fried rice flour dough then coated with coconut cream and muscovado sugar syrup. Its like a combination of making palitaw and banacue . The rice flour based "dough" is usually twisted and deep fried. Then it is placed/cooked in a mix of muscovado sugar then dried out. The sugar then "re-crystallize" making a crisp coating for the fried rice flour. The result is a local delicacy that crisp and sweet in the outside yet chewy inside. Cooking bitso-bitso is done many different ways and with different mixes of ingredients. These particular ones in Santa Barbara, Iloilo are still crisp even after being exposed - they are peddled every afternoon around town for 5 pesos a piece. I particularly like the fact that the sugar coating crumbles in every bite, though messy at times, but its alway a treat to have these bitso-bitso . ...

Budyawi

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 ...

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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