FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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...

Inubaran basically means the dish is cooked with  ubad . No, it's not a typo error, it is really ubad not ubod - different from but practically the same.  CONFUSING? Well ubod is the pith or the center of a coconut tree while ubad is the pith of a banana tree. To make this dish, one has to prepare an ubad for cooking - first thinly slice, around half a centimeter, the cleaned pith (must be very white and sized like a fluorescent lamp to be sure of the quality.)  Ubad sold in local markets. You will only use the white center/core portion.Then using a barbecue stick, remove web like fibers "interconnecting" these slices (these are actually hardened banana sap). When finished you can crush is into smaller pieces and add to your cooking. Here's a popular recipe using ubad... Ingredients 1 whole (native) Chicken, cut into bite-size pieces 3-4 cups chopped Ubad, prepared as described above 1 st...

Kalamay-hati is native delicacy of the Visayas and basically made from a concoction of sticky rice flour , muscovado sugar and coconut milk. It is sold in halved coconut shells ( bao ) that are then sealed by "paper tapes". Made with almost the  same ingredients as the baye-baye , vendors along the highway in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo augment their baye-baye sales with kalamay-hati  sold in plastic cups. While purists condemn such practice, these vendors reason out the convenience (it comes in a handy plastic cup sealed with aluminum foil then wrapped in plastic and comes with a spoon). Also with such convenient size, it can be an instant snack for only Php10 a cup. Here's a basic ingredients and procdures on how to make kalamay-hati  adapted from ILoveIloilo blog . INGREDIENTS 2 cups of pilit (sticky or glutinous rice used in rice cakes) 2 cups of   muscovado sugar 4 cups of coconut milk PROCEDURE 1. Wash the pilit . Make ...

How about some hiligaynon  (that's the dialect of the Ilonggos) lessons by way of gastronomy? Kalubay is what Ilonggos call upo or bottle gourd and tawgi sounds like togue which are mung bean sprouts. This simple sauteed dish consisting of these two vegetables plus shrimps and pork is one of the favorites as the taste of the two veggies collide at the same time mix in a good way.  Here's a simple recipe for this very satisfying dish. Ingredients 1 cup tawgi (togue/mung bean sprouts), wash and cleaned 1 cup kalubay (upo), sliced Pork slices Shrimps 2 cloves garlic, minced Salt and Pepper (or pork bouillon cubes) 1 cup water How to cook Ginisang Upo at Togue In a heated pan, put pork slices and fry it in its own oil. Add garlic,  kalubay and togue . Add water and season with salt and pepper (or broth cubes.).  Boil and simmer until the pork and vegetables are cooked. Add shrimps and cook for 2-3 m...

Suman Latik is one of my favorite native delicacies - plain suman/ibos topped with sweetened coconut strips or bukayo . Most of the time those sold in the markets have this two (suman and bukayo) already in one wrap and all you have to to is devour it. But most of the time, the bukayo portion is bitin that I wish there's more. So why not make our own suman latik so you can have all the suman we want with all the bukayo toppings we desire! Here's a simple recipe for Suman Latik 

Almost as famous as its namesake festival, chicken sio pao from Dinagyang Refreshment is truly worth the trip to this hole-in-the-wall food shop. Both of its more convenient branches are located within the MaryMart Center but you will surely have second thoughts if its really worth it since ambiance is never heard of (except the one in the food court). Their main branch though is located in the district of Villa. Dinagyang Refreshment also have shorts orders from batchoy to spaghetti, and turo turo items for lunch and dinner, to chocolate cakes and brazo de mercedes for desserts. But it is their sio pao, especially the chicken that made this food shop stamp its foot in the very competitive gastronomic scene of Iloilo.

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