Celebrating the gastronomic grandeur of Jaro Fiesta

Every February 2, all roads lead to Jaro, Iloilo as Ilonggos celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Candles in different aspects - religious, gastronomic, enterprising, and more.

It is the biggest fiesta in this part of the country characterized by the pageantry and the grandeur of the occasion paying homage to Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria - the patron saint of Western Visayas.

As early as December the Jaro Plaza is teeming with the Jaro Grand Carnival with activities like carnival games, food stalls, fruit stands and ukay-ukay, among others.

It culminates on fiesta day with the coronation of the Fiesta Queen, chosen among the lasses of Jaro families. But it was rather different this year though without the latter...

But what is/was consistent is that for the past 7 years, I was at the Jamerlan household (thanks, as usual Sir Eugene) to celebrate the gastronomic part of the Jaro Fiesta. And the gastronomic grandeur of the Jaro Fiesta is ever present in one of the district's most prominent families...

So let's the fiesta food trip begin with these very Ilonggo specialties - fresh lumpia and empanada. One can have it as a snack or side dish but I like it as an appetizer or a pre-buffet eat to start my appetite on what's to come.

The ever-present pancit molo from Kap Ising, is more than enough reason to be in the fiesta.

I think I had three bowls teeming with lots of pancit molo balls and I still think I didn't have enough LOL.

Another crowd favorite is the chicken galantina, which is can be simply compared to chicken relyeno ala morcon. I enjoyed the embutido style stuffing as well as the chicken meat itself in every bite.

While the ham of the holidays is still in my system, I couldn't resist a slice of this tempting meaty goodness waving at me. Maybe, I had two or even three slices then...

And the specialty of the house - Lamb Caldereta. It is a staple on the fiesta table eversince I joined in the celebration more than 5 years ago. It is fresh from the farm lamb as the Jamerlans domesticate a number of sheep in their farm in Santa Barbara, Iloilo.

A new-on-the-fiesta-menu but very familiar to our tastebuds is the kare-kare. Supervised in the kitchen by Sir Eugene's friend, Ms. Sarah Baviera, this authentic Kapampangan-style version was easily the talk of the table. And it made me throw my so-called diet away...

The sauce was really thick - thanks to the combination of real ground peanuts and ground rice (malagkit?).

You can actually taste the labor of love and no shortcuts on this classic Filipino recipe.

And what's a fiesta without Lechon Baboy? Here it is in its chopped glory revealing all the works inside out.

And the skin, so crunchy that despite my so-called diet, I had to take a piece. Okay two or maybe three... haha

Speaking of the works, how about some Dinugu-an, which always comes with an order of lechon. Have some puto manapla too!

Macaroni salad and ube brazo de mercedes complete this gastronomic celebration of Jaro Fiesta.

And like I always say it - 'til we eat again! Burp!

NOTE This blog post is a reposting of a previous article.

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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