Sooo Pinoy in Iloilo at Freska Ilonggo Seafood Restaurant

Among the quintessential methods of cooking seafood for the Ilonggos is pinamalhan. Rooting from the Hiligaynon word "mala" meaning dry, pinamalhan is describe as a "paksiw made dry". Various kinds of fish - from bangus and sapsap to bilong-bilong andsalmonite are stewed in vinegar, garlic, soy sauce, pepper - the recipe varies almost from each household, basically a paksiw recipe or maybe almost like that of adobo. It is then stewed and when almost dry, oil is added to give it a smooth finish.

This style of Ilonggo cooking was highlighted by Chef Pauline Gorriceta Banusing during the Unilever Food Solutions' Sooo Pinoy event dubbed as Food Trip Na, Pilipinas in Iloilo City last March. In cooperation with the Department of Tourism, the campaign aims to get into the belly of what makes up Filipino cuisine . For the first leg (out of 10) of the nationwide food trip, Iloilo City hosted the Sooo Pinoy foodies at Freska Ilonggo Seafoods and Inasal Restaurant.

For a food blogger like me, it was an honor at the same time pressure for oftentimes "first impressions lasts". And I was very excited to be part of the event (having prior knowledge about the Sooo Pinoy search for the Ultimate Food Blogger who will go on a food tour in 10 cities and dine in 100 restaurants around the Philippines). Too excited in fact, that I was the first one to arrive at the venue - 101 Luna Steakhouse at Sarabia Manor Hotel. There I had a little chit-chat with Ms Pauline and she explained that she opted her steak house to serve as in order to give a more intimate ambiance.

But more than that I said to myself since Ms Pauline created an impressive table set up which gave our guests an impression of how the things that are about to come. And when the foodies came it was a perfect set up to give a cheerful and gastronomic Ilonggo welcome! The group was composed of foodies Unilever Food Solutions, PR firm Stratworks, representatives from the Department of Tourism Region 6 and Iloilo City Tourism Office. National and local media were also present represented print and broadcast journalists as well as bloggers.

Ms Pauline prepared a brunch consisting of typical Ilonggo dishes and first out of the kitchen was Chicken Binakol served on a palayok. It is known as the chicken soup of the Ilonggos and is noted for it's three main ingredients - native chicken, coconut meat and coconut juice. Can be almost likened to chicken tinola just with the galore of coconut ingredients. The recipe varies from each house hold but Freska's recipe had potatoes as well as papaya and ginger giving this hearty soup a taste of the familiar but with an Ilonggo twist.

Next was KBL and nothing is more Ilonggo than this made with Kadyos, Baboy and Langka. It is basically a mild sinigang utilizing local beans - kadyos or pigeon peas which gives the dish a light purplish hue and distinct soft bean taste and texture. Pata (pork leg with knuckles) is usually utilized but pork cubes also widely used. At home the pork is usually broiled to give the soup a smoky taste making it more appetizing. Unripe langka (jackfruit) cubes, boiled until soft completes the dish. The Ilonggo souring ingredient of choice is almost always batwan (batuan), a green fruit growing in clusters on the batwan tree. The seeds when stewed gives any dish a mildly sour flavour as compared with other souring ingredients. It can laso be used in making pinamalhan.

Every restaurant featured for the Sooo Pinoy campaign has to highlight their best sellers at the same time create a unique dish of local flavour using new ingredients. And for Chef Pauline's Sooo Pinoy dish, she used local "langgaw" or vinegar for her Ilonggo dish with a twist - Pinamalhan nga Pink Salmon Fillet. Usually pinamalhan is found in households using "standard" fishes but Pink Salmon to be made into "pinamlahan", it's just Sooo Pinoy as it can be.

With freshly squeezed dalandan juice to down these delectable Ilonggo dishes, dessert consisted of Guimaras mangoes and buco gelato. A perfect blend of the mango's sweetness and the gelato's creaminess! But that's not all as we all went home with a one-of-kind loot bag with hard to find items (in Manila that is) - kadyos beans and batwan seeds. A perfect way to end the very wonderful meal of Ilonggo specialties and a perfect startto showcase the best of Ilonggo cuisine.

To know more about this local gastronomic affair, food lovers are invited to like the “Sooo Pinoy page on Facebook and follow @SoooPinoy on Twitter. More photos - Flavours of Iloilo on Facebook.

Unilever Food Solutions' Sooo Pinoy: Food Trip Na, Pilipinas
Iloilo Leg - Day 1 Restaurant 1: Freska Ilonggo Seafoods and Inasal
Chef Pauline Gorriceta Banusing
Smallville Complex, Brgy. San Rafael
Mandurriao, Iloilo City
(033) 321-3855
http://www.freskagroup.com/

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 (

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.

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

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

An Ilonggo favorite - Suman Latik

Suman Latik is one of my favorite native delicacies - plain suman/ibos topped with sweetened coconut strips or bukayo . Most of the time those sold in the markets have this two (suman and bukayo) already in one wrap and all you have to to is devour it. But most of the time, the bukayo portion is bitin that I wish there's more. So why not make our own suman latik so you can have all the suman we want with all the bukayo toppings we desire! Here's a simple recipe for Suman Latik

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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