ILOILO: Beyond batchoy and biscocho

Of all the Philippine destinations I’ve been to, it is perhaps Iloilo City that I’ve been to most frequently. Not only because of the warm hospitality of my aunt Dra. Alicia Tayag Saldaña and my cousins who live there, the general charming disposition of the Ilonggos, but also because of its plentiful nami (delicious) gastronomic delights the city has to offer that makes me keep coming back for more. It has been like my second home since I was bitten by that Ilonggo bug during my first visit in 1978. Over the years, I’ve found every excuse to go there, mainly to satisfy my craving for a whiff of that Ilonggo thing with fresh oysters, managat (mangrove jack fish), imbao (mangrove clams), diwal (angel wing clams), lampirong (scallops), lechon, batchoy and inasal (in that order). Though most of it is available in the metropolis, somehow it never tastes the same unless one goes back to the original scene of the crime.

TURO-TURO By Claude Tayag

(The Philippine Star) October 18, 2009 12:00 AM

Claude Tayag during the Media launch for Tinapayan's Chocolate Festival 2009

One of the Ilonggo treats I never fail to buy every visit is the mazapan de pili of Tinapayan Bakesop of Evelyn Que at the Atrium. It’s been one of my must-eat or must-buy pasalubong items before flying home over the years. Coincidentally, there’s an ongoing chocolate festival, “Sinful Desires @ Tinapayan,” running until Oct. 31. Held annually for the last five years, it is the much-awaited, month-long celebration dedicated to chocoholics. Witnessing the launch firsthand, the chocolate spread was a visual feast. Tinapayan Bakeshop has been the venue for this festival wherein the latest and trendiest designs and flavors in cakes, pastries, breads and other chocolate goodies are featured and made available exclusively for the whole duration of the event. It prides itself on using only the finest ingredients. Every week, special chocolate cakes, bars and breads will be featured. >>> Read More

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 pork broth cube (

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 usu

A native delicacy called Inday-inday

Now you may ask, what is Inday-Inday ? It's another repetitive-feminine named native delicacy that is made from rice like its more popular sister - baye-baye . While the latter is has its own original flavor and make, inday-inday is actually a combination of two well loved native delicacies - muasi ( palitaw ) and bukayo . But the muasi portion is not the the usual palitaw recipe for the it's more firm and gummy (I don't know the English term for kid-ol ). Actually its more like a hardened kutsinta and this makes it more to my liking since I'm not really fond of muasi in the first place. And its not quite easy to find inday-inday in the market today, though I've seen and tried it in Sabor Ilonggo stalls but their's is more like suman latik for the based is ibos -like. Ibos is malagkit rice boiled in gata which is called suman in Tagalog. Despite the uncertainty for its nomenclature (I've read that inday-inday is just plain pal

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.

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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