FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

What is bitso-bitso ? Also spelled/called bichu-bichu or bitsu-bitsu , this native delicacy is made with fried rice flour dough then coated with coconut cream and muscovado sugar syrup. Its like a combination of making palitaw and banacue . The rice flour based "dough" is usually twisted and deep fried. Then it is placed/cooked in a mix of muscovado sugar then dried out. The sugar then "re-crystallize" making a crisp coating for the fried rice flour. The result is a local delicacy that crisp and sweet in the outside yet chewy inside.  Cooking bitso-bitso is done many different ways and with different mixes of ingredients. These particular ones in Santa Barbara, Iloilo are still crisp even after being exposed - they are peddled every afternoon around town for 5 pesos a piece. I particularly like the fact that the sugar coating crumbles in every bite, though messy at times, but its alway a treat to have these bitso-bitso .

There are many ways of cooking adobo - be it pork, chicken or vegetables. And the recipes varies from region to region and even household to household. One of the variation of this favorite Pinoy recipe is  using achuete (annatto) to give a distinct flavour, color and aroma making it more visually appealing and of course more delicious. Here's a recipe for Pork Adobo with Achuete and one can tweak this recipe to suit his own taste and/or with the availability of ingredients especially those with limited sources. First, marinate the pork cubes in vinegar, atchuete mix (achuete powder, water and cooking oil), garlic, soy sauce (just a little bit), laurel leaves, pepper corn and salt . Set aside for at least an hour In a pan, sauté the garlic, onions and ginger then add pork (separated from the marinade and set aside) and stir-fry until light brown. In you're making a big recipe, try to fry the pork in batches to ensure uniform frying/browni

Got a 20-piece pack of chicken drumsticks from S&R Iloilo and already marinated half of it in barbecue marinade... then I changed my mind. Thus the recipe is " Adobo ala Confucius" .  Aside from the BBQ marinade which was the spicy variant, I only added some black pepper so it was nothing fancy. It was during the cooking portion, that I began to "fuse and confuse" the basic adobo recipe.  I boiled the chicken drumsticks in its marinade and vinegar adding some bay leaves and peppercorn. I added some left over chicken boullion cubes (and some water) to enhance the chicken flavor. The resulting sauce didn't have the sourness I wanted but instead of adding more vinegar, I added some tamarind powder mix and this one had the additional gabi (yam) for a thicker soup base. I then removed the sauce and fried the chicken to brown it more. I also sauteed in in garlic to give it more flavor. Finally, I added the

Choriso or longganisa is a staple in any market all throughout Iloilo. Though not as popular or touristy like that of Vigan or Lucban, the longganisa in Iloilo are just those standard reddish, sweet and fatty longganisas.  Artist, restaurateur, "handy chef" and author (among others) Claude Tayag , in his book, Linamnam , describes it as " overly sweet, artificially colored and comes in four sizes plus it is very similar to Cebu's and Tagbilaran in taste ". That's the choriso I (and maybe you) have grown up with. Before, we just usually boil it in water then when dried, we add oil to fry it.  But now, instead of water, I use vinegar, lots of it then when almost dried up, I then add oil.  It's because I discovered how delicious longganisa is dipped in vinegar especially those tostado ones. So to have them taste like that even without dipping, that's what I am doing now. But I always end up dipping it in vinegar ...