Victorias Foods : Heritage Recipes Cherished through Generations

Victorias.

Mention this Negros Occidental component city and it makes me think of two things.

First is SUGAR. It is home to Victorias Milling Company - the Philippines largest sugar refinery at the same time the world's largest integrated sugar mill.

And second, is HOT SARDINES. I can still remember this iconic brand wayback in the late 80s and 90s, in its bright yellow labeled cans.

Opening a can or bottle of Victorias Hot Sardines or Bangus, I can still vividly recall the contents swimming in rich soya or olive oil. And as far as I can remember, I always have that sublime gastronomic experience each time we have a Victorias meal.

I considered it a luxury back then as it was among the really few oil-based products in the sea of tomato-based canned sardines.

Years passed and with more new competing brands out there, Victorias has still maintained its quality and tastes deliciously the same - as always.

A TASTE OF NEGROS

With a good portion of my taste memories having known and being a "suki" of this brand, I really didn't have second thoughts to be part of Victorias Food Corporation's " A Taste of Negros " campaign.

With this thrust, VFC highlights pride of place and pays homage to its origin - Negros, which just two hours away from Iloilo.

And along with all the iconic Negrense delicacies (chicken inasal, piaya, local sweets like Napoleones to its fresh seafood), VFC prides itself to be that delightful Negrense ingredient to help elevate any homecooked meal.

Created from a heritage recipe born in a Negrense kitchen and cherished through generations, Victorias Food Corporation only uses fishes caught from the fishing grounds of the Visayan Sea and milkfish farmed in the fish pens of Bacolod, where the brackish water is perfect for raising the finest quality bangus.

Further demonstrating VFC’s loyalty to the region where it has its origins, as well as their promise to using only quality ingredients, most of what goes into Victorias Foods Spanish Style Bangus and Sardines in Soya Oil are sourced in the Visayas, bringing those real Ilonggo flavors to Filipino homes.

Enter Chef Tope Arañador. A graduate of Center for Culinary Arts (CCA), Chef Tope honed his kitchen skills at Zenaris Restaurant in Canada, Mandarin Oriental, Stella and Madison Restaurants in Manila and since 2013, he has been bringing creative and exciting creations to the Ilonggos as the owner and head chef of PUNOT Restaurant.

With his passion for Ilonggo gastronomy and Visayan comfort food, Chef Tope adds unexpected twists to favorite dishes with Victorias Foods Spanish Style Bangus and Sardines in Soya Oil , making everything truly a delightful gastronomic experience.

LEVELING UP THE "DE LATA"

For our VFC cuIinary journey, Chef Tope first served us Sardines and Tomato Pizza . With Punot's signature thin and crunchy crust and using the VFC Sardines in Soya Oil, it was a visual delight to begin with.

The tomato sauce, mozarella cheese, onions, capers, fresh tomato slices and herbs - all created perfect unison with the sardines as the main topping.

And it was a real delight on the first bite! Not only the toppings of choice appealed to the eyes it had taste - both literal and figurative. I took my second piece after that...

Next was the Bangus Bruschetta which was the ultimate visual delight. Beautifully plated, every angle comes out with the dish as photogenic as it can be.

Chef Tope's version consisted of toasted bread and topped with tomatoes and VFC Bangus in Soya Oil. A perfect fusion of international and local ways of cooking and ingredients.

Completing the trio of dish creations was the Sardine Pasta with Sundried Tomatoes and Kangkong.

I had a sort of deja vu with this as I may have experimented on the same ingredients before. But Chef Tope edged me out with the use of the sun dried tomatoes.

I liked how the pasta had flaked sardines in its sauce as well as big chunks of it as toppings. With that you can actually taste how well the canned sardines goes well with the dish plus see its versatility for other pasta or dishes as well. The kangkong, olives and sun dried tomatoes created a symphony of flavors complementing the sardines.

These are just three of the many dishes Chef Tope and VFC has prepared for us to enjoy. I heard that there are a dozen more being concocted at Punot.

So I suggest for you to follow Victorias Foods Corporation on Facebook as they already have posted a few of these recipes.

I might also be trying to recreate the recipes (and blogging them too) to make myself also on-hand on trying out to level up my favorite de lata.

And as for the bottled ones, I'd reserve them for a good plate of hot rice enjoying every bit of the sardines or bangus and that really delectably seasoned (hot) olive oil.

Namit gid!

Victorias Foods Corporation products (Hot Sardines and Hot Bangus on Soya Oil) are available in these supermarkets in Metro Manila, Luzon and Panay as well in various states in the US.

Victorias Foods Corporation (VFC) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Victorias Milling Company, Inc. (VMC). To know more about VFC, click this link.

Fruits from the grocery

These packs of cut up fruits were bought from SM Delgado's grocery. Got enticed by their color and luckily, they were as good as they looked, especially the papaya. Each was just less than Php 22, really a bargain!

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

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?"

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.

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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