Baye-baye and bingka welcome the PCL delegates to Sta. Barbara, Iloilo

My historic hometown of Sta. Barbara, Iloilo welcomed around 300 councilors from all over the Philippines around a week ago.

It was the Philippine Councilors League’s quarterly National Convention in Iloilo City and part of their activity is a tour around Iloilo. Sta. Barbara offered a historic, cultural and gastronomic tour the delegates surely enjoyed.

A flag raising ceremony at the Flag Pole Park commenced their tour seeing the 30x60 feet flag atop the 120 feet pole.

A performance by the award winning Kahilwayan Tribe gave them a preview of the town’s rich historic past.

It is a combination of dance, music and acrobatics telling the story of how the Sta. Barbaranhons led by Gen. Martin Delagado fought for freedom.

The tour also included a visit to the centennial museum and going around the plaza, the Catholic church and convent, the Cry of Sta. Barbara Marker, bobbin lace making at WUTHLE and the oldest existing gold course in the country.

They also visited the famous poso or what I fondly call “drinking water that burns”. It is famous for its tea-like color or other would say “whiskey”. It’s a free flowing drinking water source for a majority of the townsfolk.

It ended with a galore of native delicacies like baye-baye and the popular puto-bingka. Also on the food list were puto manapla de Sta. Barbara which became my instant favorite. Others were ibos, alupe, bitso-bitso, cassava cake and suman latik.

It was indeed a showcase of the best of my hometown but aside from that it also opened my own eyes to some good food finds right here in my doorstep. Now there’s more reason for me to go around town, discover more of what it has to offer and eventually share them to the rest of the world!

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...

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...

Lauya nga Pata sang Baboy

It was a typical fiesta scene in a barrio that I got to taste this cholesteroliffic and delicious pork dish. I can still vividly remember that decades old gastronomic memory - very tender and almost fall of the bone pata, vivid orange sour and sticky broth, large chunks of unripe langka; all in one big large kaldero ! And it's been really a while since I've tried to recreate that taste memory and a few days ago, it was worth another try. Here's my simple recipe for Pata Lauya

Kadyos : The Ilonggos' signature beans

Now where do I start? I think I have enough feature on kadyos (and KBL ) that I find having a new post ... redundant. But there are times I can’t resist taking a photo and making another blog post. Like this instance, I chanced upon kadyos being “plucked” from its pod. Never got this one before so it would seem a good photo op. But now I’ve got one what’s next? Of course the perennial kadyos cuisine – KBL . Kadyos, baboy, langka is an Ilonggo favorite, no doubt about it. The beans being endemic almost in the region makes gives it (and the dish) a sense of popularity and a following. Ilonggos away from home often crave for the dish and it’s often one of the first they request when finally back home. The common yet special dish usually consists of broiled pork leg boiled until tender with kadyos beans, jackfruit and some greens. Batwan , another almost endemic fruit to the region, gives the broth a distinct sourness very different from others li...

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Search This Blog