The Ilonggos undying love for valenciana

Another Pista Minatay has come and gone; and as always the complete "yellow rice" staple called valenciana will have its gastronomic presence felt.

Part of the malagkit delicacies served during Undas, together with ibos/suman, kalamay hati, alupe, linugaw and a lot more, valenciana stands out.

Not only of its signature yellowish hue but its the only one that's not of "dessert" category. It's like a complete meal in itself.

Basically, completing the "go, grow and glow" requirements, it has the carbohydrates, protein and vitamins & minerals in just one spoonful.

And it can come in its simplest form, like the one below, with just malagkit rice, pork, chorzio and bell peppers to some fancy with additions liek raisins, peas, chicken, hardboiled egg (just garnish though), etc. But NO hotdogs, please...

The recipe is just simple for it only involves 1) Sauteeing (Just gisa the pork, chicken, peas, chorizo bellpeppers, etc); and 2) Cooking malagkit Rice (Cook sticky rice with turmeric then add some broth cubes for added flavour.

When its halfway cooked, mix the sauteed ingredients, making sure of even mixing and wait for it to be fully cooked). Just garnish with hardboiled eggs, onion leaves, etc and serve.

It may sound simple but takes a lot of practice and maybe some burned valenciana at first.

The dukot, or the hardened part at the bottom of the pan has also become a quite a delightful spin-off of the dish as some enjoy having it as a flavourful crunchy snack bite.

Pista Minatay or not, valenciana is definitely here to stay as Ilonggos primarily love having this complete rice dish.

Maybe because most if not all have grown accustomed of having valenciana in almost all occasions like fiesta, brithdays, reunions and all other occasions thus I love calling it as the "occasional dish".

Please click for Valenciana Recipe in details.

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

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.

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?"

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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