Malunggay Pan de Sal

There's a new "craze" in town of Santa Barbara and it's all about this 2-peso malunggay pan de sal. You should see how long the queue goes and during peak hours it takes 30 minutes or even more to satisfy your pan de sal cravings.

Actually, it's nothing new to see and hear malunggay (moringa oleifera) infused breads, drinks and other foodstuff. It's been years when this health craze boomed and what we are experiencing now are just the "remnants" of those year.

When it's open there's always a crowd at this hole-in-the-wall, but they are not the ones in the queue. Need I say more what's lining up? Even though there is more than enough bread on display, they are just parbaked pan de sal. That's the correct term for half-cooked or baked breads.

With just a single person operating the store, he seems more than capable. Four trays having around 40 breads can fit in the oven and is baked for around 7-10 minutes. When they're done, goes another 4 set of trays. He then gets the money in line and ask for your order. Just keep track of your money - that's why I had my hundred peso folded like a "money-paper plane".

And if you line up this long (I waited around 30 minutes) since most order are more than 20, you just have to make the most out of it, so "I go for broke" or in this case, I went to be come a glutton.

And it tastes heavenly! It's crisp in the outside and soft inside. Though it's a bit sweet for a salt bread ( pan de sal), you wouldn't complain once you had a bite and then multiple bites thereafter. Even after it cools down, you still taste the same sweet tasting bread though a bit more compact. I've been told that this sweeter taste was made to mask the malunggay aftertaste of most breads made from moringa.

And it's perfect at that. You won't believe it's one malunggay bread even if you've eaten a dozen or so.

A hole in the wall at the corner of Castilla and Arroyo streets in Santa Barbara, Iloilo (just look for a large pink building and a crowd of people), Jessa's Hot Pan de Sal, has the perfect recipe for a small business that can go bigtime. One very popular product at a very affordable price (it's just 2 pesos) and everyone's flocking to buy - it's really selling like "hot cakes". Or in this case, selling like hot malunggay pan de sal!

Fruits from the grocery

These packs of cut up fruits were bought from SM Delgado's grocery. Got enticed by their color and luckily, they were as good as they looked, especially the papaya. Each was just less than Php 22, really a bargain!

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

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?"

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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