FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Tak what?  Takway is what Ilonggos refer to the part of the gabi plant that grows sideways , termed as tendrils. When scraped off of its outer skin and thoroughly cleaned, takway is often a key ingredient in vegetable dishes like laswa and the  ginat-an dish consisting   of the gabi tendrils and tubers with coconut milk and local snails know as bago-ngon .  Spicy Takway Adobo It is sold in local wet markets or in groceries (like SM here in Iloilo) already cleaned, packed and ready to be cooked. And the most popular takway dish is adobo style with guinamos , the local bago-ong . Local restaurants like Bauhinia Filipino Cuisine and the buffet offering at Camiña Balay nga Bato offers inadobo nga takway . Takway sold in the groceries Cooking adobo nga takway is like cooking the usual adobo - and there are a hundred and one ways to do it. If you have an adobo recipe you are frequently using, just substitute pork/ch...

I just had a hearty lunch of steaming rice topped with a creamy and flavourful concoction of ginata-ang bago-ngon, takway and dagmay. Bago-ngon is a local snail with good with any vegetable dishes like this or laswa. Takway is the tendril jutting the sides of a gabi plant while dagmay is a rootcrop related to gabi and ube. Mix them all together and one gets this native Ilonggo vegetable dish that will not only satisfy but also brings back gastronomic memories.

The gabi (taro) is just one of those plants which is edible from "roots to tops". The most popular of which is the tuber part which is used in a variety of dishes and mostly in combination with coconut milk. Its leaves, of course, is the main ingredient of a Bicol specialty, laing . It is dried then chopped and sauteed with other ingredients including, again, coconut milk. Then there is takway . The local term for its tendrils/runner, that part which is torn between being a stem or a root for it neither grows upwards nor downwards - it grows sideways . Scraped off of its outer skin, takway is often a key ingredient in vegetable dishes like laswa and the gabi tuber with coconut milk and local snails know as bago-ngon . It is also popular when cooked adobo style with guinamos , the local bago-ong . It is very popular in the region that even big supermarkets sell takway in style - cleaned and plastic wrapped in styro with some additions to make it easier to prepare. ...

Seafood and vegetables often make a good medley when cooked together. A few of the celebrated Ilonggo vegetable dishes are made with this combination like laswa and ginata-ang tambo . Others like nilatik or the Ilonggo adaptation of pinakbet can also be revised to include seafood. Laswa is probably the simplest among the Ilonggo vegetable dishes. Its a stew of differnet kinds of vegetables usually kalabasa (squash) , tagabang (saluyot) , hantak (string beans) , okra , talong (eggplant), takway (taro plant tendrils) and a lot more. Dried seafood like pinakas na guma-a (daing) or balingon (dilis) often accompanies this recipe for the saltiness of the fishes add flavour to the mix of vegetables. Another favorite is ginat-an na tambo (bamboo shoots with coconut milk). Shrimps and/or crabs create a perfect dish in combination with the bamboo shoots, saluyot and at times, corn all cooked together in coconut milk. Another coconut milk based vegetable dish is the quintessential ni...

Takway are the tendrils growing sideways from a gabi plant ( more at Wyatt's Kitchen ). Its outer layer is scraped off to reveal a fleshy stem. Sold mostly in wet markets but for convenience it can also be found neatly packed in groceries here in Iloilo City. It can be cooked in variety of ways but the most popular is "being sauteed with guinamos". Simply enough, one just sautes it with pork bits then add guinamos and vinegar until it becomes tender. The result is a simple dish that would demand additional cups of rice. Photos courtesy of LABETH of SSC Forum

Takway are the tendrils growing sideways from a gabi plant (more at Wyatt's Kitchen ). Its outer layer is scraped off to reveal a fleshy stem. Sold mostly in wet markets but for convenience it can also be found neatly packed in groceries. Takway is mostly made adobo but with guinamos and pork bits. Although they are also added in laswa, pinakbet or any other dish. Another green and leafy vine that can be used like kamote tops is what locals call "lupo". With a hint of bitterness at first, this can be used in fish sinigang or ginisang monggo. More ....