FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Tino-um is basically a cooking technique where in the ingredients are wrapped in banana leaves then cooked. Among the most popular tino-um dishes is the tino-um nga manok of the town of Cabatuan. You can also to-um other ingredients including fishes, shrimps and vegetables, among others.  For a Bangus Belly tino-um , all you need are sliced bangus belly (bigger and thicker, of course, the yummier), tomatoes, onions, chives and some fresh banana leaves. The recipe is basic - just place the belly on the banana leaves and place all the other ingredients on top. Season with some salt and pepper, and if you want - olive oil. Then wrap it close by using some thin banana stalks as strings. Place it in a pan with just the right amount of water below it. Its for the steaming process that will eventually cook it. A good 15-20 minutes will cook the bangus belly. Or when the banana leaves themselves appear to be cooked, its time to turn off th...

If you love canned or bottles Spanish-style sardines, here a simple recipe that would sure excite your taste buds. How about some home-made Spanish-style bangus ? It's easy as 1-2-3 and simple as prepare-pressure cook- wait... All you need are thoroughly cleaned and thickly sliced bangus or you can opt to have whole small bangus. Add some crushed garlic cloves, onions, olive or corn oil, bay leaves, sliced carrots, pickles, water, salt, and whole pepper corn with the optional ingredients chilies and tomato sauce and paste. When everything's ready, just arrange everything in the pressure cooker, making sure the bangus and other ingredients are covered with the water and oil mix.  Pressure cook for about 30 minutes or until the bangus is cooked. Serve and enjoy! Link to detailed recipe >>> Spansih Style Bangus

If you're looking for simple, easy  and delicious Century Tuna recipes online, congratulations, you've found it right here! How about spicy tuna sisig or tuna sinigang ? Maybe stir fried tuna with pickles or just yang chow fried rice .  I love Century Tuna from its flakes in oil variety, the spicier the better, but when I discovered the versatility of its solid variant, it became an obsession. At first I was just into the usual tested recipes; pasta and sandwich filling, but then it got simpler – I just eat it straight from the can! Usually with a piece of bread or an apple. I just add a few drops of vinegar to spice it up a bit. Then came the experiments. Yup I got tired of that habit that one day, I decided to test my skills in the kitchen. Serendipity, you might call it yet most of them turned into good recipes that I have shared now and then. Satisfying my Palabok cravings had me experiment on this recipe on the spot. With Century Tuna in lieu of the us...

What is bitso-bitso ? Also spelled/called bichu-bichu or bitsu-bitsu , this native delicacy is made with fried rice flour dough then coated with coconut cream and muscovado sugar syrup. Its like a combination of making palitaw and banacue . The rice flour based "dough" is usually twisted and deep fried. Then it is placed/cooked in a mix of muscovado sugar then dried out. The sugar then "re-crystallize" making a crisp coating for the fried rice flour. The result is a local delicacy that crisp and sweet in the outside yet chewy inside.  Cooking bitso-bitso is done many different ways and with different mixes of ingredients. These particular ones in Santa Barbara, Iloilo are still crisp even after being exposed - they are peddled every afternoon around town for 5 pesos a piece. I particularly like the fact that the sugar coating crumbles in every bite, though messy at times, but its alway a treat to have these bitso-bitso . ...

After all the cholesterol-laden gastronomy this Holiday season, chances are we are looking forward to some fiber enriched diet. And here's a simple vegetable salad made with easy to get ingredient (that is if your based in the Philippines). Made with steamed okra and kamote tops with local langgaw (vinegar) with fresh tomatoes, onions and chives as garnish. It was a play of colors, textures and flavours all in one plate. But I may tweak the recipe a bit by adding some guinamos ( bago-ong ) to the vinegar dressing and/or olive or sesame oil. Now my mouth just waters at the thought ...

What is dampalit , you may ask? That's actually what I did when we were served  atsarang dampalit  during a welcome lunch in Roxas City. Maam Sonie, our host, explained that dampalit , is sort of a weed that grows near fishponds and most commonly used as feeds.  And they sort of have a portion of their vegetable garden that is devoted to dampalit , thus they can have this "exotic" and delicious atsara anytime. The bottled atsarang dampalit served was just a day old that we still tasted the crunch in the dampalit leaves.  While common atsaras have papaya, tambo (labong ), amargoso (bitter gourd) and even pineapple as base, its the first time I tried made from leaves of a plant.  And there's no bitter nor tartness ( pakla ) for it tastes like most  atsaras  but with a different feel and look.    It still has that sweet-sour taste that erupts in the mouth plus bell peppers giving color and fl...

Non-Ilonggos would only be familiar with bangrus which is how the Ilonggos call bangus or milkfish. So how about linagpang and guinamos ? Guinamos is the local bago-ong which is made from small shrimps pounded into a paste and is sold in mounds in the local market. It is used the same way bago-ong - as a flavor enhancer, as a dip, as a side dish (to kare-kare) and goes well with green mangoes too! Linagpang meanwhile is basically a soup with almost all of the ingredient are broiled. It's a "peasant dish" they say since it is very simple and easy to make. It has rustic origins as it is attributed to how the farmers would come home tired from the days work and all they'll do is to broil the ingredients, flake and slice them, add broth then season it with salt, among others. Fish and poultry are often the most popular meats for linagpang as they can be conveniently cooked. The process slightly differs when using ch...