Manok Fiesta sa Bauhinia!

Prior to the galore of fiestas last Sept. 10, I had my share of another kind - Manok Fiesta at Bauhinia. A galore of exciting and scrumptious chicken recipes that had me “crowing” for more!

“Manok Fiesta is our latest batch offering made possible with Magnolia’s Authentic Free Range Chicken products” says Arvi Clavel-Sumayo, Marketing Specialist of Great Foods Concepts Inc., operator of Bauhinia Filipino Cuisine at The Avenue Complex.

“We have 10 delectable recipes making use of what usually referred to as “native chicken” she continues.” We have classic recipes like adobo and afritada to tinola, pinirito and inihaw. And we made sure include favorite Ilonggo native chicken dishes like binakol and tinu-om”.

Being a savoury soup, their Chicken Binakol has the familiar tinge of ginger moderately sweetened by young coconut meat and coconut water with the flavour of authentic manok “Bisaya”.

Their reinvention of Tinu-om nga Manok takes this delicacy a notch higher. The same concept - native chicken wrapped, cooked and yes, served in banana leaves, but innovated with peanut-coco crème sauce and selected mushrooms. “It’s an experience of a genuine cuisine fused with modern culinary arts” says Sumayo.

Their mouthwatering Adobo (with other meats) is braised in annatto and chili oil for a delectable and savoury spicy kick while Piniritong Manok is served with Filipino chicken gravy and authentic chicken oil.

Nilasing na Manok is among the more interesting finds on the menu. But as one would expect it to be marinated in beer or other alcoholic beverage, it turns out to be braised chicken in tuba reduction. Now that’s a natural and genuine “high” that comes with a satisfied tummy.

I really loved the home-made aroma and taste of their Tinolang Manok. With lemon grass and ginger essences plus greens and garnishes, the broth was poured right before our eyes.

I think you can even make a request for the flavour that suits your taste – they’ll add or tone it down as your palate prefers.

And I would ultimately request a Sinampalukang Manok that is more on the sour side. Using tamarind as soup flavour base, this is basically a sinigang recipe with select fresh and organically grown vegetables. Extra rice, please!

“Another must-try is our Chicken Afritada” she recommends. “It is peppered with sumptuous chorizo Bilbao with assorted vegetables and flavourful tomato sauce”. But her personal favorite turned out to be Inihaw na Manok. With a galore chicken inasal restaurants around, I asked myself could this be any better …

… And I ended up eating almost the whole plate of Bauhinia’s version of chicken barbecue, even wrestling the last piece of chicken from Ms. Sumayo, as we all satisfied our tummies with these mouthwatering chicken creations.

“Bauhinia is known to give its diners an exciting and innovative twist for the traditional Filipino fare” finishes Sumayo. “And our Manok Fiesta is just one of the many ways we are living up to that recognition.”

(Bauhinia is located at The Avenue Complex, Glicerio Pison Avenue, Smallville, Mandurriao, Iloilo City. For reservations, call 329-6951)

This article was part of my column FLAVORS
that appeared on The News Today on Sept. 16, 2011

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

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.

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?"

A native (foods) welcome in Guimaras

Even after having breakfast less than an hour that time, we couldn't say no to this lot of native delciacies that welcomed us in Guimaras. First and foremost, Guimaras best known produce is their sweet mango famous almost worldwide. And it comes with it's best partner, ibos. This brown baye-baye variety is made from toasted rice thus giving it a more disctinct flavour compared to it's more "caucasian" cousin. I like the one wrapped in banana leaves compared with the one in plastic for it gives it a more native feel. So when you're in Guimaras, be sure to check out the markets for these native delicacies that can make your trip more gastronomically satisfying.

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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