Happy New Year 2019

Amidst the fireworks and revelries, food ushers in the new year with the traditional media noche. So what's on our table welcoming the new year 2019?

Though the new year is barely a day old but already it seems to be full of life and of course, gastronomic delights starting with this traditional midnight meal welcoming the year ahead.

Our media noche is always a mix of the traditional and all-time favorites mingling with the new food finds! So check out our fare welcoming 2019...

For starters, there's the duo - GLAZED HAM and QUESO DE BOLA.

It's almost, always Purefoods Fiesta Ham (or Right Choice Piña Ham) and Magnolia Edam Cheese Ball on the table.

There's also TUNA SPAGHETTI with CHEESE WHIZ TOPPING, RIGATONI CHICKEN SALAD and RIGATONI CHICKEN SOUP from the assorted Christmas goodies basket I got from all the party raffles.

For the soup, I just sliced the cooked rigatoni pasta into 3-4 pieces while the salad had the whole pasta in it.

There's also FRUIT CAKE from Courtyard by Marriott Iloilo which was a part of their Christmas giveaway to their partners.

Our breads came mainly from Tinapayan Bakeshop - PANETTONE, CHEESE PIMIENTO LOAF, BACON N CHEESE LOAF and DINNER ROLLS (not in photo). The cheese pimineto loaf is my favorite - no matter what occasion is.

Completing the Tinapayan hoard is the indulgent BLACKOUT CHEESECAKE which came out the day after a massive blackout engulfed a big portion of the Visayas.

We decided to keep it light with red and green grape sparkling juices rather than having wines.

And speaking of grapes, we had a fresh bunch coming for the DENILA GRAPES FARM to complete our basket of 12 round fruits for the traditional new year centerpiece.

Hoping a more bountiful and fruitful 2019 - not to mention more meaty, cheesier and more chocolatey!

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 cooking weed called Lupo

Lupo is a weed that is commonly found in ricefields and roadside in provinces. It is most prevalent in Ilonggo cooking compared to others as it is mostly the Ilonggos who can recognize lupo , though maybe called differently in other places. Most commonly used in laswa or monggo dishes to add greens like kamote tops, it also makes a good partner in sinabawan na isda recipes. It has hints of bitterness but don't expect it to be ampalaya-bitter like. It is mostly sold in wet local wet markets by the tumpok .

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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