FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

My first memories of aripahol , were just exactly like this - steamed grated coconut meat and pounded pilit ( malagkit ) rice wrapped in banana leaves. Almost every afternoon then, I hear the manuglibod , yell her stuff and we'd almost always buy aripahol . But then as time went by, it became "scarce" as the  manuglibod , suddenly made her disappearing act that eventually led to the non existence of  aripahol  in our place or even in town. Then came to my senses another kind of aripahol - puto lanson.  This one's made with grated balinghoy  ( kamoteng-kahoy or cassava) mixed with butter and sugar then steamed. But still, my tastebuds crave for the aripahol I grew up with. I got quite  surprise a few days ago upon seeing this very familiar sight - a delightful combination of pilit, white coconut meat and green banana leaves. And that familiar smell! Aripahol nga pilit kag niyog finally made a comeback at home. I've been s...

Non-Ilonggos would only be familiar with bangrus which is how the Ilonggos call bangus or milkfish. So how about linagpang and guinamos ? Guinamos is the local bago-ong which is made from small shrimps pounded into a paste and is sold in mounds in the local market. It is used the same way bago-ong - as a flavor enhancer, as a dip, as a side dish (to kare-kare) and goes well with green mangoes too! Linagpang meanwhile is basically a soup with almost all of the ingredient are broiled. It's a "peasant dish" they say since it is very simple and easy to make. It has rustic origins as it is attributed to how the farmers would come home tired from the days work and all they'll do is to broil the ingredients, flake and slice them, add broth then season it with salt, among others. Fish and poultry are often the most popular meats for linagpang as they can be conveniently cooked. The process slightly differs when using ch...

Buho Bakery is one of the more iconic neighborhood bakeshops in Iloilo City. Just the mere mention of it brings back memories of yesteryears and of course it's claim to fame bread - panso . While its a take off from pancho , which is a desiccated coconut filled bread, panso from Buho is more of the commercialized version of it. But nevertheless, it's so delicious especially when its hot off the oven. "Buho" means hole in Hiligay-non and it's this hole on its wall that gave it it's monicker. At certain times of the day they are closed, but everytime you'd crave for their breads, you just knock at thins window and it'll be opened to take your orders.   The filling of these bread is like coloured and chewey dough with some slight flavor.  And the bread, which is very good on its own, is their basic bread recipe used for their other products like teren-teren, pan del eche and more. These panso costs PhP2 each and you...

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 por...

It was a curiosity order via an online buy and sell community chatroom. And for only PhP20 a piece, these Kalamay sa Buri were worth the sugar high and the calories.  Also called "parak" or "pinarak" in the local foodie dialect, Kalamay sa Buri is a sweet native delicacy made from the sap or juice of the buri palm tree.  The stately Buri Palm Buri is among the largest and most common palm found in the Philippines which can live up to 30 years or more.  ( Text and above photo source ) While the leaf is considered the most important part of this palm tree - which is made into hats, ropes, brooms, mats, bags and more, buri also offers a lot as a food source. Boiled Budyawi Buri buds locally known as  budyawi  are eaten boiled, raw in salads or processed into sweets like kaong. It is like boiled corn with each kernel enclosed in a pod of its own. Budyawi Pods signal the death of the buri palm The trunk of the buri tree contains a good qual...

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 .

A favorite of many Ilonggos, ginat-an nga tambo is heaven to them and fans of Ilonggo cuisine. With coconut milk and greens like saluyot, takway and okra plus subak like shrimps or crabs – this would automatically induce a lot of cravings.  Especially when you’re abroad where raw ingredients are often hard to find and if they are luckily available, it still doesn’t taste like the one you might have grown up with. Even so, it is more than enough one's craving for this Ilonggo cuisine, no matter where you are in the world. Here's a recipe for Ginat-an nga Tambo

Now where do I start? I think I have enough feature on kadyos (and KBL ) that I find having a new post ... redundant. But there are times I can’t resist taking a photo and making another blog post. Like this instance, I chanced upon kadyos being “plucked” from its pod. Never got this one before so it would seem a good photo op. But now I’ve got one what’s next? Of course the perennial kadyos cuisine – KBL . Kadyos, baboy, langka is an Ilonggo favorite, no doubt about it. The beans being endemic almost in the region makes gives it (and the dish) a sense of popularity and a following. Ilonggos away from home often crave for the dish and it’s often one of the first they request when finally back home. The common yet special dish usually consists of broiled pork leg boiled until tender with kadyos beans, jackfruit and some greens. Batwan , another almost endemic fruit to the region, gives the broth a distinct sourness very different from others li...

If a picture is worth a thousand words, there would be thousands of the word namit (delicious) written all over this native delicacy called bot-ong. Bot-ong is made with glutinous rice mixed with gata wrapped in banana leaves in a pointed shape then boiled until cooked. It is like ibos but with different shape and wrapper. Ibos is mostly tubular and wrapped on coconut leaves while bot-ong is pointed at one end and wrapped in banana leaves. Ibos and Bot-ong being wrapped and still uncooked. Photo from Google While the dips could be interchangeable, ibos is usually paired with sugar, bukayo or ripe mango while bot-ong with latik which is  made with gata and sugar boiled until it is syrupy and caramelized. One of my fave bot-ongs now comes from Brgy. Lanag in Santa Barbara, Iloilo from the same makers of  Puto sa Lanag .  I could eat 5 or even more in just one sitting when the bot-ong is warm and drizzled with the latik.  Will give details on how to ord...

This is Chicken Bacon with Potato Salad Pesto. It is among the many Danish specialties served at Munks Coffeeshop and Resto in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo. Located inside Liz Complex in Bangga Dama, the cafe is partly hidden by a bank (PNB) from the highway but it's just a minute walk from the road. There, you'll find the husband and wife tandem of Peter Munk Andersen and Lynette Gorriceta Andersen. Peter is from Denmark but has worked in the Danish Embassies in Poland and Japan together with his wife who hails from Bacolod.  In 2016, they both decided to retire and put up Munks Cafe in the heritage town of Sta. Barbara, Iloilo. The resto has a homey feel once you enter and feels different from the outside surroundings. And just like the mom and pop restos (family managed) across Europe, both of them prepare the orders - from the actual cooking to the plating until it is served. You could even ask them about your order or have a...