Chefs on Parade 2013: Healthy Lifestyle 3-course set menu entry of St Therese MTC College Iloilo City

A week before the actual competition, I got a message from Chef Miner del Mundo inviting me for a culminating activity at the showroom of St Therese MTC College at La Fiesta Hotel. It turns out to be another food tasting session as they were preparing for a big national competition (that took place just this weekend). It was for Chefs on Parade 2013 - the biggest culinary competition and the longest running in Asia, held at SMX Convention Centre at the SM Mall of Asia.

As for this set - Healthy Lifestyle Menu, the appetizer Chef Miner made was steamed roulade of free range chicken stuffed with roasted pepper and mushrooms. It had some herb smear, cauliflower - tartufata veloute, rosemary-tomato on the sides.

It also had a pear-celery-pine nuts and micro-greens salad to whet the appetite even more. Indeed the pear and celery combination gave the appetizer some refreshing hints.

The main course consists of Norwegian Salmon and pan grilled Arctic scallops. Most conspicuous was the carrot and orange broth which also made into a foam for added presentation. Adding level to the presentation was the potato and corn napoleon on tortilla tuille with orange-onion chutney and srping vegetables on the sides. It looked like a gastronomic garden waiting to be devoured. And the salmon was perfect!

Dessert was a trio - cinnamon banana brulee pudding, glutinous rice skewer on palm sugar caramel sauce and marinated fruits.

The glutinous rice skewer is like fried ibos with a caramel sauce dip - so Pinoy yet ith sophistication. As this is the Healthy Lifestyle Set, palm sugar was used.

The marinated fruits cup was an ice breaker so to speak in the dessert. As Chef Miner explains, this is to bring out the sweetness of the main dessert at the same time provide a refreshing texture and flavour to the dessert trio.

Finally the cinnamon banana brulee pudding was my favorite. No other words but delectable. I think I finished this serving - the marinated fruits gave me the right appetite for this one.

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

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?"

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.

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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