FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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. Ubad sold in local markets. You will only use the white center/core portion. 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.) .  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 recipe for Inubaran na Manok Ingredients 1 whole (native) Chicken 3-4 cups chopped Ubad, prepared as described above 1 stalk Tanglad (Lemongrass) 1 thumb size Ginger, slic...

One of the favored treats when I was a kid was this deep-fried dough clustered balls rolled in sugar crystals called serafina . You probably know thay serafina look exactly like goat's poo - just with a different color! Actually, it's nothing spectacular but for kids, food that appeals to the eyes is already considered delicious. And of course, sugar works well with kids, I must add. I remember one particular incident during my kiddie years when were we enjoying a pack of this treat while strolling around backyard of a neighbor. We suddenly came to the goat's pen and suddenly stopped eating them.