FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

There are many ways of cooking adobo - be it pork, chicken or vegetables. And the recipes varies from region to region and even household to household. One of the variation of this favorite Pinoy recipe is  using achuete (annatto) to give a distinct flavour, color and aroma making it more visually appealing and of course more delicious. Here's a recipe for Chicken Adobo with Achuete and one can tweak this recipe to suit his own taste and/or with the availability of ingredients especially those with limited sources. First, marinate the chicken (cut into serving pieces) in vinegar, atchuete mix (achuete powder, water and cooking oil), garlic, soy sauce (just a little bit), laurel leaves, pepper corn and salt . Set aside for at least an hour In a pan, sauté the garlic, onions and ginger then add chicken (separated from the marinade and set aside) and stir-fry until light brown. In you're making a big recipe, try to fry the chicken in batches to ensure uniform frying/brow...

There are many ways of making an Icebox Cake and its very simple to make. While the original Icebox Cake calls for wafers and whipped cream, Filipinos tweak the recipe using local biscuits and a variation of fruits as toppings. Basically, it calls for a base that would serve as the "cake". The first icebox cake we made at home had broas as base. Later as the recipe "evolved" it became graham crackers and sometimes, chiffon cake baked or bakery bought. Just make sure that the cake is not so overwhelming in flavour so not as to contradict the over-all flavour. The cream filling is just a mixture of cream and condensed milk though at times flavored with the type of topping. For example, a mango topped ice box cake (more popular as Mango Float), ripe mangoes are blended with the cream filling to give it more flavor and color.  And finally the toppings which most of the time are canned fruit cocktails but fresh fruits give it a more appealing flavor. ...

Suman Latik is one of my favorite native delicacies. Basically, its just plain suman stopped with sweetened coconut strips or bukayo . Most of the time those sold in the markets have this two (suman and bukayo) already in one wrap and all you have to to is devour it.  But most of the time, the bukayo portion is bitin that I wish theres more. So why not make our own suman latik so you can have all the suman we want with all the bukayo toppings we desire! Here's a simple recipe for Suman Latik  

Bitsukoy / Bichocoy is an all-time favorite snack! As simple as it may seem (it's just sugar-rolled deep-fried dough), it's a delicious snack or even dessert as it could be the local version of a doughnut. While appearance may differ - some as twisted and others are really doughnut shaped, it basically tastes the same. A treat that brings back the taste memories at the same time satisfy one's craving with a sweet and delightful bite.

Located along Libertad Street in the " ilawod " portion of Santa Barbara is a hole-in-the-wall batchoyan frequented by locals but now has become quite popular and has gone almost mainstream. Almost every tricycle driver and residents in the area past the public market, know the place as " batchoyan sa ilawod ", so getting directions and going there is easy. Just follow the gastronomic mono directional signs along the way. You'll be dropped along a dirt road and then you'll smell the aroma coming from within. Let your nose be your guide... ... until you find a congregation inside a bamboo restaurant. Expect a lot of customers enjoying their batchoy or those waiting in line for their "to-go" orders. But if you come early, you can have the place to yourself. During our visit we were almost 20th in line since the resto was full (it was around 2pm). As we waited for our orders, more and more people arrived, some...

It was another Calle Real Pedestrianization Sunday and I found myself traversing the whole stretch of JM Basa street from Plazoleta Gay up to Freedom Grandstand. And like a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, a gastronomic treasure awaited at the end of my journey - Roberto's.  Despite the long queue (it almost never disappears), I absent-mindedly lined up then took a while to decide what buy. The Queen was nowhere to be seen that afternoon and I wasn't really excited to meet (and eat) the King . So it was a toss between the regular Roberto's Sio Pao (pork adobo) and the Jumbo. And it was a very delicious decision to get the Jumbo Sio Pao that time since it was the best sio pao from Roberto's I have ever tried - better than the Queens and Kings I had before. At PhP45 each, the Jumbo is filled with Chicken-Pork Adobo, Chinese Sausage and Hardboiled egg. In comparison, with the addition of ham, it would become King (PhP70) or if it has bacon (and become a l...

These mangoes are the biggest ones I've seen so far and they are as long as a 500ml mineral water bottle. A few weeks ago, I got some  unripe sefaida mangoes from Mr. Eugene Jamerlan whose farm in Brgy. Tagsing in Santa Barbara, Iloilo is fortunate to have this Indian variety mango. I was saving some of those for them to become ripe but they were so good that we all finished them. Good thing, supply of this mango seem fast from the farm and I get to have another bite of the safeda mangoes - this time, in all its ripe glory. But take notice that even though the flesh is almost golden yellow, the skin is still green unlike most varieties. You can only tell if it's ripe through the aroma and when you feel the mango says Sir Eugene. The taste is like the Indian mangoes we are all familiar with, this one just bigger and better. And just look at the seed, it is very thin and small - you get all the mango goodness you want in every bite or slice!