Happy New Year 2021

A new year has begun and hoping it will be a better one. We have survived 2020 - considered a very bad year in modern times and hoping that 2021 will be a lot better.

As always, I begin every new year with a post about Media Noche as it has been a tradition eversince to welcome the new year with a midnight feast along with firecrackers and fireworks.

Mirroring out set-up in welcoming 2020 last year, it was another Filipinized "grazing table" inspired Media Noche that welcomed 2021.

Though a far cry from an actual grazing table, it was just a set up of density and layers on top of the colors and flavors.

So what's for Media Noche? There was lechon belly on top of the traditional ham and the sausages for the protein.

An assortment of French bread, garlic herbed toasts and penny roll Tinapayan Bakeshop served as carbo partners.

A big bowl of Pancit Molo also complemented the breads with a variety of cookies and biscuits from the sausage and cheese (wannabe) 🤣 board.

We had two sets of tomato based past using regular spaghetti and angel hair spag. More nibbles such as sio mai, seafood tofu, lobster balls and chicken nuggets plus fries and assorted vegetables.

We also had macaroni salad as well as buko-gelatin-fruit salad. We also had suman latik which was sticky rice topped with bukayo.

Our inconspicuous 12 fruits tray looked like a backdrop alongside a full bloom fresh cutflower. A separate all-fruits mix served as visual and palate teaser. Tinapayan's Mango Mouse Float served as the main dessert.

Soda, wine, fruit punch, bubbly fruit juices and soju served as the food downers (right down our throats) to complete our Media Noche to welcome 2021.

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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