FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

If this picture is worth a thousand words, there would be thousands of the word namit (delicious) written all over the page.  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, only difference is this one's wrapped in coconut leaves and shaped like tubes. Latik is made with gata and sugar boiled until it is syrupy and caramelized. Not really surprised to have found this in the kitchen but the fact I have some native delicacies to blog really excited me ... So I got one, opened it and poured some home-made coconut syrup known as latik . You get a more mouth-watering look at it in the topmost photo. Still not satisfied, here are two bot-ong's swimming in latik with a spoonful of coco jam. Now have bite...

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...

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...

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! 

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...

All roads lead to Jaro, Iloilo City every February 2, as Ilonggos celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Candles in different aspects - religious, gastronomic, enterprising, and more. As early as December the Jaro Plaza is teeming with the Jaro Grand Carnival with activities like carnival games, food stalls, fruit stands and ukay-ukay, among others. It culminates on fiesta day with the coronation of the Fiesta Queen, chosen among the lasses of Jaro families.  The district Jaro, Iloilo celebrates biggest fiesta in the region characterized by the pageantry and the grandeur of the occasion paying homage to Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria, the patron saint of Western Visayas. Check out my Jaro Fiesta blogposts for 2013 , 2014 and 2015 !