FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

When there's more than enough green mangoes at home, they often end up as  binuro nga paho  so we can enjoy their green-ness for a longer period of time. Making "pickles" out of these fruits differ from household to household, so it depends on the recipe you grew up with or if you have none, the one that you find online. Here's a simple Binuro nga Paho  recipe Ingredients 12 pieces Green mangoes (carabao/Philippine variant) 1/2 cup salt, adjust 1 head garlic Water How to make Burong Mangga Chop off the "head" part mangoes where the stem is and wash thoroughly. Slice the mangoes (skin on) into wedges away from the seed. Squash each clove of the garlic with the side of the knife. You can also leave the skin on. In a big container (large mayonnaise plastic containers with cover works best), layer mango wedges then sprinkle with salt and place garlic. Adjust the amount of salt and garlic when needed When lay...

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...

Named after its resemblance to trains, teren-teren is a popular bakery staple in most Iloilo bakeshops. And this one from the iconic Buho Baker y is no exception when it comes to popularity.   It is how the  individual breads (with sweet stuffing) are connected to look like train "cabooses" that gave its name. The "stuff" is just  like sweetened dough, almost like the ones in hopia but just colored but when its fresh hot off the oven, it is heaven in every bite! Just be careful since the filling is hot! And what can be more iconic than having your teren-teren order, handed down to you via the most popular hole-in-the-wall in Iloilo! 

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?

Probably this is among the only few surviving food items of my younger years that still is "unchanged". From the packaging to how it looks and tastes like, this is still the kropeck I grew up with.  Come to think of it, there is nothing extra ordinary about this kropeck. Got these from Iloilo Supermart, it's one of those generic snacks in the shelves that don't even a second look. Only those who grew up with it might find it interesting enough. And ceetainly  can relive the childhood memories it comes with. Up close, it looks like a miniature gulaman bar sold in the groceries. An orange and shrimp flavoured one, that is. Aside from groceries, it cam be found in stalls at the malls and some bakeries and old-world restaurants too.

While the most popular Ilonggo recipe for Adobo has istiwitis or achuete / annatto, sometime experimenting on other region's adobo recipes an open up our taste. So what is "white" adobo? It is basically the usual adobo recipe minus one major ingredient - soy sauce or toyo . I like it especially when the garlic mixes with the oil and vinegar concoction - a burst of flavorful aroma that you could almost taste. Here's a simple recipe for Pork Liempo White Adobo

A mouth-watering combo that it makes me salivate even by just looking at this picture anytime of the day - and it's past 2AM now. Grilled or fried meat or seafood plus a tasty vegetable side dish is always a gastronomic winner. And this early, I scream for extra rice, please! Apan-apan  is the local Ilonggo term for a simple dish made with  kangkong  basically cooked adobo-style but with additional  guinamos  (the local  bago-ong ). It is a side dish but with it being so flavourful, it could easily outdo any dish it is paired with. I just love squeezing some calamansi over my apan-apan to add some tanginess and making it more appetizing. CLICK FOR RECIPE There are a hundred and one ways of making sinugba or inihaw na baboy - or even thousand. It may differ in the marinade, cooking process and others. But for the simplest and still my all time favorite is just rubbing salt to fresh pork (and maybe some calaman...

This June 2025, indulge in a curated selection of dishes highlighting Filipino culinary artistry and local ingredients as Courtyard by Marriott Iloilo proudly introduces its Hunyo A La Carte Specials. Available from June 1 to 30, 2025, between 10AM and 11PM, these exclusive offerings are served at the hotel's Courtyard Lobby Bar, providing guests with a unique and flavorful dining experience throughout the month. Together with the Iloilo Bloggers Inc. , it was a delightfully delicious lunch trying out all these special dishes that fused some well-loved recipes with local Ilonggo ingredients. Let's start with these d elicious crab cakes made from locally sourced crabs from the town of Concepcion in Northern Iloilo.  Igbon, Concepcion Sustainable Crab Cakes Perfectly fried with a resounding crunch from the outside yet it was moist inside letting our palates savor the freshness of the crabs. T opped with poached egg and drizzled with batuan hollandaise sauce, it was a perfect st...

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...

Other places in the Philippines have their own version of this cassava-based delicacy. In most parts of Western Visayas, this native delicacy is called alupe (or alupi). It is made with ground balinghoy (cassava) mixed with coconut milk and meat plus sugar and other flavorings. It is then wrapped in banana leaves and steamed. What looks like an unappetizing mixture before (steaming) becomes a pleasure to both the sense of smell and taste as it results to a flavourful snack that would surely bring back memories. Or will surely make one for those tasting it for the first time. Now only if it ain't that sticky and messy to eat!

Another Ilonggo dish named after its main ingredients is the kadyos, manok kag ubad . Kadyos is a local legume, though also found in other parts of the country but most recognizable in Ilonggo cooking. It comes in pods and ranges from deep violet to green in color and makes a purplish broth (for violet beans).  Native chicken or darag , is most commonly used when making the dish but one can also used broilers. But the free range chicken gives better flavour to the dish. And ubad , yes it's with an A, is the pith of the banana tree. Aside from being a sort of extender to the dish, it also creates a a different texture and it is almost flavourless. Read more about Ubad .