Drinking water that "burns"

While most towns and places take pride on native delicacies and dishes, Sta. Barbara, Iloilo has a drink that can actually do more than quench one's thirst.

It doesn't stop flowing even during summer, it is colored like tea and it "burns".

But before you take out your white hankies and start waving it; or line up, bathe or take a sip in the hopes of curing physical pains, it's not actually that "miraculous" in that sense.

Known as "poso", this has been the drinking water of most Sta. Barbaranhons since time immemorial. There are around five poso "water stations" around the poblacion and the most popular and the biggest is known as Sulbod just behind the Sta. Barbara public market.

Others are found along Montinola Street, near the elementary school, one known as "Licup" (bearing the name of the family where it is found) and (an already defunct one) near the municipal hall. There are also poso wells in baranggays as far/near as Guno among others.

A few days ago, I got a sample of this poso water that came all the way from Brgy. Guno and it's hue alone is most interesting. With just one look and it can be mistaken as (iced) tea or even whisky but one sip of this odorless liquid despite it's hue, one can sense how smooth it is as it effortlessly slides down the throat.

Soft and smooth is typical description of the poso water when asked. Compared with distilled or even mineral water, one can actually taste/feel how soft it is that is likened to silk.

It may have a somewhat minute aftertaste, after all it comes from a natural source deep underground, much deeper they say than most water tables.

So today I set out to one of the posohans in our and naturally I had my sights at Sulbod. Arriving there, there were lots of townsfolks doing their chores so I decided it was off limits for me then. Good thing I follow my instincts and just a minutes I found myself in one posohan just a few steps away from the town market.

There I met Manong Norlito, a father of three, busy washing and filling some "galunan" and earns extra by delivering poso water to various households through his pedicab.

Most households still prefer drinking poso and requests pedicab drivers like Manong Norlito to have them delivered at the doorstep. The poso water itself is free for all as one finds a queue of plastic containers lining up to have their fill. I found out that one big plastic container only gets around PhP10 for people like Manong Norlito who washes, fills and delivers them.

As the queue got longer, more "water boys" lined up and one of them shared what I was waiting for - how it burns. He just got his lighter out and placed it near the mouth of the tube and instantly it caught fire.

An amazing sight to see indeed to see water actually "burning". But of course, it's the gases that catch fire and burn. Like geysers, it takes a while for the gases to build up and after a few minutes, say around five, this water burning "miracle" can again be witnessed.

Just click the embedded video below

Instinctively, I checked out the back of the wall where the tube protrudes and found just a cemented block where a pump might have be installed but as gravity or anti gravity works, there is no need for pumps as the water flows freely up and out of the tube.

It takes a while for me to get use to the fact that there's now open/close contraption for the posohan. It could even be more dangerous if it will have since it might cause gases to build up and could blow up. And that wouldn't be much of a miracle then ...

Those interested to witness and even taste Sta. Barbara's famed poso water can visit this particular poso station near the Sta. Barbara Public Market. Just take any Sta. Barbara jeepneys from Iloilo City and request to be dropped near the market. Just ask around for the poso and you'll be pointed to this one. The nearest one from "here" is at the back of the market known as "Sulbod".

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

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

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.

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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