Sooo Pinoy in Iloilo at Green Mango Fastfood

A quick tour around Iloilo City gave the Sooo Pinoy foodie team a breather from all the Ilonggo dishes that welcomed us all with gusto. It was just the first day of Unilever Food Solutions Food Trip na, Pilipinas as it travels around the country in 10 cities dining in more than 100 restaurants trying to discover what makes Filipino, truly our own.

Passing by the Iloilo Central Market then unto Fort San Pedro to have a glimpse of Guimaras Island. A quick stopover at San Jose Church and Plaza Libertad for a bingka break and a courtesy call at the Iloilo City Tourism offices at the new Iloilo City hall and at the Freedom Grandstand.

Then it was off to Green Mango Fastfood along Valeria Street where Chef Mandy Hisuan Jr. welcomed us with the Filipino fastfood best seller – Lechon Kawali. It was so invitingly appetizing that we didn’t waste time finishing them off our plates.

The Sooo Pinoy event had the participating restaurants prepare their best seller at the same time concoct special recipes for the foodie team to assess – taste, presentation and price.

And it was the Pepper-crusted Sibingan with Carrot and Mango Slaw served with Balsamic Vinegar that made us gave a thumbs up. For a blue marlin dish to cost (if ever) around PhP125 is already a steal aside from being perfectly cooked like the lechon kawali.

Green Mango Fastfood started almost 5 years ago as Iloilo City’s answer to the demand of a fastfood restaurant that serves Filipino dishes. It has combo meals like the Pork Adobo and Beef Caldereta plus Pinoy soups like Sinigang na Baboy or Bangus to assorted Pancit dishes like Pancit Canton, which was voted among the country’s Top 10 during the Sooo Pinoy Campaign in 2010.

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

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...

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...

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. ...

Ginat-an nga tambo

Ilonggos and fans of Ilonggo cuisine would instantly recognize this native cooking of tambo or bamboo shoots. With coconut milk and greens like saluyot, takway and okra plus sahog like shrimps or crabs – this would automatically induce a lot of cravings. Especially when you’re abroad where raw ingredients are often hard to find and if they are luckily available, it still doesn’t taste like the one you might have grown up with. Even so, it is more than enough one's craving for this Ilonggo cuisine, no matter where you are in the world. Here's a Ginat-an nga Tambo recipe courtesy of ILOVEILOILO blog INGREDIENTS • Tambo or bamboo shoots • 1 coconut to produce the pure and the diluted Coconut Milk or “gata” • onions (sibuyas) • “Subak” -bago-ngon- for the simplest recipe -shrimps or pasayan – for the regular recipe - 3 crabs or alimango- for the ultimate recipe • leaves -tugabang (saluyot leaves) – for the simplest recipe -okra or takway- for the regular and f...

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