FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Among the many reinventions of the fruit salad, one of the most interesting I find is the addition of sago as base or "extender". Though the latter may sound "negative", but once you've seen and tasted this new take on a fruit salad, you'll be asking for more! Just at it looks, the recipe is very simple. It calls for cooked sago, canned fruit cocktail and some fresh fruits. This one has bananas and avocados giving a contrast in taste and texture plus to the eyes. Just a can of evaporated milk and sweetened by condensed milk used to blend them in all in a concoction bursting with color and flavour. Only the imagination limits the possibilities of how creative one can get in making a sago fruit salad to suit his own taste and senses. Make one now!

I’ve been to Netong’s Original Special Batchoy inside the Lapaz Public Market many times but I’ve never chanced upon their pata. Finally, one rainy Sunday afternoon, the “elusive” pata has been conquered! It was unplanned – I was eyeing the Pancit Noname at Lapaz Bakeshop but it was already taken off menu when I inquired so I was off to Netong’s. There, a gigantic “kalaha” (frying pan) filled with the cholesteriffically appetizing pata welcomed my visit. Before I was informed that it’s only during Sundays that Netong’s serves their own pata recipe, on other days it’s another. Also it’s linaga during the morning and this Mon-Sat pata is served around 3pm onward. So I was just in time for Netong’s very own recipe. There are two pata orders – for Php20 you get that piece of skin only and for Php40 you get the one with bones. After much debating in my thoughts, I got two orders of that skin-only pata, I was after quantity that time. Service was prompt and just a few minutes ...

While the most familiar Pochero recipes are the ones stewed with tomatoes (or tomato sauce) or the Cebu variant which is like bulalo or nilaga, the pochero i grew up with is just very simple. It's just pork cooked with saba (cooking banana) and kamote tops. I just love the mild sweetness of the broth brought about by the bananas and the kamote tops.  Most often I end up taking all the greens on my plate. The pork goes well with a toyo-mansi (soy sauce and calamansi) dip that also makes a good "dressing "for the kamote tops. There are times the recipe changes to cabbage or pechay, carrots, potatoes or sayote and yes, there's still saba. But in the end, it still has the same familiar taste of the pochero I grew up with. The recipe is just very simple - just boil the pork first until tender. Add the "hard" veggies like potatoes, saba, etc then finally when the leafy veggies when its almost done. Just season it with salt or broth cubes for a savory brot...