A bingka-rrific Holy Monday

Bingka is very much synonymous with Holy Week here in the heritage town of Sta. Barbara, Iloilo.Unlike in the plazas of Iloilo City, where bingka stalls are a staple year round, it is only during Lenten season that these bingkas in our town make their presence felt - bigtime. Eversince I was a kid, rows and rows of bingka stalls dot the town plaza during this time of the year. Townsfolk would feast on these native delicacies after participating in the Holy Week rites creating a fiesta like atmosphere in the plaza. This bingka tradition in our town remained almost the same with the exception of new players coming in while the old ones fade out.

So today, Holy Monday, I started my local bingka feast as I bought from two different stalls. The first thing I've noticed is that bingkas sold here in our town are very much different from the ones I've tried in the city. While the latter are thin, chewy and moist, bingkas here were much thicker, spongy (and air-filled) and sort of dry inside out. Yet both seem to have a distinct taste of their own that I both love.

So to start my bingka quest, here' a rather good looking one, inside out yet it had soemwhat a sour aftertaste especially at mid part. It was fresh from the oven when I bought it so it doesn't mean it's old. It also has a generous buko strips filling compared with other bingkas.

This one may not be as big nor is filled with generous coconut strips but it tastes much better then the previous one. It also seems not fully cooked but it was also hot off the oven when I bought it.

I'll be making round more of the bingkas stalls this Holy Week and this is actually the start of it, so expect more in the days to come.

Fruits from the grocery

These packs of cut up fruits were bought from SM Delgado's grocery. Got enticed by their color and luckily, they were as good as they looked, especially the papaya. Each was just less than Php 22, really a bargain!

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.

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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