Guimbal, Iloilo is EDEN TOWN 2010

The town of Guimbal emerged as the over all winner in Eden’s Sarap ng Pasko 100 Days of Christmas competition. It bested 99 other towns and city in the country by garnering more than 35,000 votes. The town received PhP2 million worth of prize and will be featured on limited boxes of Kraft Eden Cheese. The awarding ceremony was held last Dec.16, 2010 at the town plaza right after the traditional “Simbang Gabi”. Special guests together with the Guimbalanons were able to savour the winning recipe – Pininyahang Manok with Cheese.

Exactly a hundred days before Christmas, 100 towns and cities nationwide were asked to infuse their indigenous dishes with Eden Cheese; thus challenging the culinary expertise of locals. A nationwide vote decided the Top 9 towns that will make it to the culminating activity known as Keso de Gallo. The community then would be able to savour of the winning dish after attending a gracious holiday tradition that brings everyone together in one faith. Only one town will be declared as the first ever “Eden Town” and it is Guimbal, Iloilo!

Rich in history, the town of Guimbal houses one of the oldest churches in the country. This town built five Moro Watchtowers to guard them from any Moro pirate attacks even before pre-hispanic era and now against marauders who used to capture and sell them as slaves in Mindanao. It is also home of the famed Bantayan Beach which is where one of the Moro Watchtowers were built. Explore more of what Guimbal has oto offer, starting with their dish Pininyahang Manok with Cheese. Source | Related article

Some Text and Photos courtesy of Keso De Gallo official website

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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