A whole lot of IBOS

Ilonggos call cooked pilit rice wrapped in palm leaves as ibos. It is one of the most popular native delicacies found in local markets.

Yet at times, it cause confusion as it is referred to suman in places outside the region - for suman for the Ilonggos is biko to the Tagalogs in general.

So checking out online sources yields the follwoing:

Suman sa Ibus - A ubiquitous variety of suman in the Philippines, the glutinous rice is washed, and is then mixed with salt and coconut milk. The mixture is poured over pre-made coil containers of young palm leaves called Ibus or Ibos, and fixed with the leaf's central shaft.

This is then steamed using water mixed with "luyang dilaw" (turmeric or kalawag in Ilonggo ) — giving it that distinctly yellow colour — and served either with a mixture of shredded coconut and sugar, or latik — (reduce coconut milk until white lumps form and simmer until golden brown). (Wikipedia)

The ibos comes out in varieties depending on the type of glutinous rice one uses. It could be as pure white or one dotted with red variation. But if one uses tapul variant of pilit, it could produce a black to purplish hue of an ibos.

So how does one enjoy ibos? I personally prefer eating it with muscovado sugar. It is a "complementing balance" of taste (sweet then savoury) and texture grainy and rough that makes a burst of good flavours on your tastebuds.

Sometimes sesame seeds are added for the extra crunch and flavour to the sugar. >>> RECIPE FOR IBOS

But the most popular way I guess is having it with native tsokolate tablea or ripe mangoes.

And of course, Guimaras mangoes - sweet, succulent and delicious!

And here's an ibos recipe from Chef Maridel Uygongco and she calls it YSL. Yes, it really stand for Yves Saint Laurent, with the Yves playing on ibos.

It calls for frying the ibos and serving it with fruits and cream. Check this blogpost for the whole feature on this designer ibos.

No matter how its called, how its cooked and eaten, ibos has certainly become part of gastronomy. Be it remembering it from our childhood and craving for it now since its been years, you haven't had one, certainly ibos is here to stay. Namit gid!

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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