Mojos? No, it's fried breaded pantat!

Now you ask, what is pantat? It's is catfish, and is popularly cooked as inasal (barbecue grilled) and adobado (adobo style with coconut milk). I am not really a pantat-eater and can't remember the last time I enjoyed having one (apologies to pantat-natics out there). But my recent trip to Roxas City changed all that and if asked when was the last time I had a good pantat experience, I surely have a ready answer.

I attended the CAPIZtahan 2013 festivities as one of judges in the Seafood Cooking Competition. We were hosted by Ma'am Sonie who gave us a very satisfying 3 day-2 night gastronomic experience in Roxas City. Everything was fresh, home-made and just within reach. One of the discoveries I had there was a pantat cooked unlike the ones I am familiar with. It was Maam Sonie's son, GB, who introduced this on our table when he requested pantat to be cooked the way they liked at home.

It turned out to be a fillet of pantat marinated in kaffir lime then breaded and fried to resulting to a Mojo potato like dish dish on the table. Even though I am no pantat-natic, I still reached out to taste this relatively new way of having pantat and it was love at first bite! It was still hot and crisp that I thought I may not savour it's taste, but I was wrong. The freshness of the fish was enhanced more by the tang of the kaffir lime that complemented the "crisp and fried" coating. It was so good that it didn't last long on the table but good thing, refills kept coming.

We only stopped when it was time to pack our bags and head back to Iloilo City but it could have gone until dinner. Though I think it could be done with other fishes but it was the pantat, that made it more memorable for me as I never ate so much of something I really don't "like" before. And the taste memories still live on.

Now, what was the last thing you ate for the first time? You know what my answer is ...

Ready-to-cook Pancit Molo balls

It was only today that I remembered buying a pack of ready-to-cook pancit Molo. Locals are fortunate to buy them at groceries here saving them time, money and effort in the tedious preparation of pancit Molo. Anyway every pack of the RTC pancit Molo has the balls and the lang-lang . Its the balls that entice the buyers and the lang lang that "dictates" the price and weight. For this blog entry, I opted for the AR brand (150 grams for PhP 21) since they had the more photogenic combination at that time though I'm more partial to the Cares brand. Separating the contents makes you realize that what you actually bought but for that price, it's already a bargain, can be cooked in many ways and can serve 2-3 people. It is then up to you what you can make out from a pack or more. For this preparation, I used 2 chicken broth cubes and just estimated the amount of water. Upon taste test I added a pinch of salt, a dash of pepper and few drops of soy sauce. I boiled the lang

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

Quix! Mart now open at Stoplight-Diversion Road

Steady but surely, home grown and local convenience store Quix! Mart is on a roll. Opening its 4th branch at the busy intersection known as "Stoplight", the 24/7 mini mart will "make life in Iloilo easy and convenient". With no less than Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog leading the opening rites, the opening of this local brand's fourth branch is a testament of the very good business climate Iloilo City is currently going through. Even with the entry of big developers and international chains, local businesses thrive and go with the business flow. Located near one of Iloilo's very own university belt, Quix! Mart offers snacks on the go like assorted rice toppings, sandwiches, cool treats like sundaes and the slush (Mountain Dew and Mirinda) and lots of desserts choices. That's on top of the 24/7 convenience of the grocery they have. For a quick grab of your favorite ice cream, siomai, sandwich, and many others, Quix Mart is conveniently locate

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.

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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