FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Laswa is among the most popular Ilonggo vegetable dish and among my most "blogged" about. It has so many variations despite it's simplicity and mostly dependent on the the availability of vegetables. Usually it has kalabasa, talong, okra, hantak (sitaw), tagabang (saluyot), patola and a host of other vegetables. For this recipe puso ng saging (banana heart) was added not only as "extender" but to add some texture. Cooking laswa is simple - just stew the vegetables and subak (usually fresh seafoods like shrimps, crabs, or even snails locals call bango-ngon ) then season with salt or use broth cubes . Others prefer to use dried and salted seafoods like pinakas for it adds more flavour to the dish at the same time makes this vegetable dish more appetizing. Or at times this is solely a vegetable dish (no subak whatsoever) and is perfect partnered with fried or grilled meat and fish. No matter how you cook it or what you partn

It was another "occasional lunch" today Sunday , as it was a post-birthdays celebration at home.  And occasions like this bring out the home-made and tested specialties and recipes.  Like these two native chicken recipes - Tinolang Manok with Sili and Malunggay Leaves and Linagpang na Manok. It pays to have free roaming chickens in the backyard for we just pluck them anytime if we feel like having Bisaya na manok dishes. While Tinolang Manok is almost a national recipe Linagpang na Manok is basically a recipe close to the hearts of the Ilonggos and other Panay natives.  It's basically grilled chicken (and tomatoes too) that has spicy and milky broth. Just saute (onions, garlic, sili), season (others add bago-ong) and add hot water (just like Linagpang na Bangus ). Finally add some milk (optional) and garnish with chives. And what's a handaan without any pancit dish? Here's Pancit Canton Guisado for everyone. Another eve

I've been cooking this dish for the longest time but it's only now that I've known it has name. It is called TINUTUAN. A very basic vegetable dish and just like LASWA, it is very versatile with no specific ingredients. You can just throw-in what's available and sort of edible when cooked and mixed. TINUTUAN, as I always cook it, is mostly flavored by sauteed sardines. Or at times, no sauteeing is needed. Other times, canned tuna is also good. This one in particular has malunggay, papaya, sayote and patola with a can of sardines in oil. The latter's sauce type made the dish retain its original color as opposed to one that's in tomato sauce. TINUTU-AN is a perfect side dish to fried or broiled fish or meat. But on its own, it' s already a delicious and nutritious dish perfect with a plate of hot rice. What't your Tinutu-an story?

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 (

Be it chicken inasal or grilled pork chop to seafoods especially  talaba, a spiced vinegar is the perfect dip to further one's appetite. While every region in the Philippines has it's own version of a spiced vinegar and a name for it, when in Western Visayas especially - just look for SINAMAK . But one need not to look far as it can found almost anywhere for it is a staple dip in almost every household and native restaurants.  It basically sits on the center table in most dining places and you can't miss it! The recipe varies from each household and the percentage of the "ingredients" too but always present are siling labuyo (green and red for color variation and makes it more visually appetizing), ginger (locals used langkawas or galangal but regular ginger will do) and garlic. How to make Sinamak Ingredients 2-3 cups native (coconut) vinegar (adjust according to bottle size) 1 cup siling labuyo 1/2 cup ginger, s

You can almost smell and taste the goodness of this dish. It's sinugba na pata with a sour broth and banana heart. Its almost like the recipe for the Ilonggo favorite KBL   (kadyos baboy langka) for the pork is first grilled then soured with batwan . The absence of the kadyos beans and langka is made up for by the the puso ng saging which makes a milk broth. Now what more can I say but, extra rice please!

Do you like cassava cake? It's a popular "modernized" native delicacy that got us craving for more in every bite. Good this it is very convenient to have when since it-s a staple in most bakeries and you can even order it online and be delivered right at your doorstep! I love it when its soft with a slightly burnt top that's full of cheese mixing with the condensed milk topping. It's a treat to have that creaminess mix with the sweetness and cheesiness creating a delicious explosion of flavors. But it is also easy to prepare at as the ingredients can be mostly found in the wet market or even grocery stores. Here's a simple cassava cake recipe Ingredients : CAKE   2 and 1/2 cups grated cassava 1 and coconut milk 1 and 1/2cup condensed 1 cup evap 5 Tbsp sugar 2 egg yolks 1 Tbsp flour in 2 Tbsp milk Butter for greasing TOPPINGS 1/4 cup condensed Evap Coconut 2 egg yolks 1 Tbsp flour in 2 Tbsp milk 1 cup grated cheese Procedure Preheat o

The past days of rain was the perfect time to crave for a hot bowl of soup. And it was Lomi that I was craving for. But then, all I had were mostly ingredients for Pancit Molo, so I decided to combine the specialties of Iloilo and Batangas into one, I must say delicious, noodle dish. Though, it's not really the authentic recipe for the Batangueno soup but it satisfied my lomi cravings. And it's very easy to make despite how heavy and complicated the resulting dish becomes. It's more of the fact that the noodles used are Pancit Molo wrappers and meat are the filling but you can also use dried flat noodles and plain ground meat. Check out the RECIPE .

Park Inn by Radisson proudly announces the appointment of two culinary virtuosos to spearhead its gastronomic endeavors in Bacolod and Iloilo. Chef Rufino "Fines" Dungca Jr. assumes the role of Executive Chef at Park Inn by Radisson Bacolod, while Chef Diego Trillana steps into the position of Executive Sous Chef at Park Inn by Radisson Iloilo. Chef Rufino “Fines” Dungca Executive Chef, Park Inn by Radisson Bacolod   Chef Rufino "Fines" Dungca Jr., with over two decades of culinary expertise, brings a distinguished blend of experience and innovation to his new role as Executive Chef at Park Inn by Radisson Bacolod. Renowned for his exceptional skills in pre-opening operations, Chef Fines has curated culinary delights across the globe, from luxury resorts in Abu Dhabi to esteemed hotel establishments in Manila. His most recent position, serving as the Head Chef at Jumeirah Al Wathba Desert Resort & Spa in Abu Dhabi, further solidifies his reputation as a culinary

What makes the Ilonggo fresh lumpia different from most lumpiang sariwa is the absence of the sauce for the flavours is already "built-in". It is conveniently eaten on the go and sold in some stalls and bakeshops in the malls.  I got to discover this delicious fresh lumpia courtesy of Mr Eugene Jamerlan who helped the maker, Ms. Charito del Rosario, in marketing her delectable products (she also makes empanada). Each costs PhP15 and Ms Chari takes a minimum order of 50 pieces. That's too many and too expensive I thought.  Well, it's just her a sideline job for her and she doesn't make it on a daily basis, just upon order. But if you're lucky enough to order at the same time she has a big order, she can lower the minimum to maybe around 20 pieces.  Her recipe is very simple based on the actual product and it has a delectable clean taste where in you can savour the melange of the ingredients at the same time retaining some of the

When one speaks of tambo or bamboo shoots, ginat-an nga tambo   would always be the first that comes to mind. While the latter would have  dahon sang tagabang  ( saluyot  leaves),  okra ,  takway  ( gabi/ taro tendrils) with shrimps or crabs,  paklay  or  pinaklay nga tambo  at home would just be plain and simple - bamboo shoots sauteed with meat. It could almost be mistaken as a lumpia filling! Though the recipe varies from region to region, it seems that pinaklay is consistent to be something that is cut into thin strips. Be it vegetable, meat or combination of both made into one dish. Potatoes and carrots would most probably be the most common but ours would sometimes be made with labanos (radish), singkamas (jicama) and tambo with most ground or small bits pork or hibe or dried shrimps. With the variation of recipe, there would be around a hundred and one paklay recipe! Bon apetit!

Overshadowed by the more popular KBL (Kadyos, Baboy, Langka), another classic dish that makes Ilonggos crave and yearn for that simple but delicious eats is the combination of kadyos, native chicken and ubad. The ever popular-to-the-Ilonggos-but-alien-to-others is kadyos – pigeon pea. Soft beans with hues playing from dark purple to black and gives a distinct violet shade to the broth it makes. READ MORE Chicken also provides protein for this dish and to make it more Ilonggo, most of the time native chickens referred to as “Bisaya” or "darag" are used. NATIVE CHICKEN LITSON And then there's ubad – it’s no typo error; yes it’s ubad with an “A”. Not to be confused with ubod, both are different yet share a similarity. Ubod is the pith of the coconut tree while ubad is the center of the banana trunk. To get the fresh ubad, one has to peel the banana trunk to obtain that fleshy and white core that looks like a fluorescent lamp. The prepare the ubad, the banana pi

Suman Latik is one of my ultimate favorite native delicacies ( check out more ) and most of the time these are sold in the public markets in pairs. It consists of a flattened ibos (or suman as referred up north) topped with bukayo - coconut strips sweetened by muscovado sugar. But most of the time, my appetite hungers for more than a pair of these or the bukayo portion is bitin that I wish there's more. And at times we just make our own at home so that we can enjoy this suman-bukayo combo to our heart's content. But the wrapping of the sticky rice in banana leaves when cooking and unwrapping it for eating, is labor extensive - sort of. So out of the blue, we just thought of making it "Trifle-style". Inspired by the British dessert which Tinapayan at Iloilo Supermart recreates in Ube and Strawberry , our Suman Latik "Trifle" is a native delicacies version made with layers of suman/ibos and bukayo. It's a delectable presentation, easy