FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

When there are home celebrations like fiestas or reunions, there would always be lechon baboy as the gastronomic centerpiece. And chances are there would be left-overs the following day/s or even weeks. So how to get "rid" of the kilos and kilos or this roasted pig? More often, it would end up as lechon paksiw as there would be some sarsa leftovers too. Just stew the lechon in the sarsa, add some vinegar and spices and another dish is born.  But if you're too tired of this recipe, how about a "dry" lechon paksiw or I would christen it as pinamalhan nga lechon ? An off shot of the lechon paksiw recipe, it's left over lechon, simmered in vinegar and onions and cooked until dry. And there's no standard recipe as one can tweak it to his own delight! Add some chillies and you'll have a spicy version. Place it on sizzling plate, add some sauce and you may have lechon sisig. The possibilities are endless but it all started with a lechon paksiw made dr...

One of my favorite simple gastronomic pleasures into biting into this rich and delicious ube hopia from Tinapayan . Always satisfying, I make sure I buy more than enough because it is always not enough as soon as I start this guilty gastronomic pleasure. Good thing, it's just PhP 8 each and a dozen can always make my day end in a delicious way.

Hungry? How about a delicious meal from Sarangani Bay Prime Seafood DORY KABAYAKI?! This ready-to-eat cream dory fish is marinated and grilled with Japanese Kabayaki sauce made with Mirin (Japanese rice wine ), soy sauce and sweetened with sugar. There are two EASY ways of preparing this R.T.E. DORY KABAYAKI. First, is soaking a pack of Dory Kabayaki in boiled water for about 5 minutes. The result is a saucy, tender and delicious cream dory fish with that delectable kabayaki taste. TRY THIS: Dory Kabayaki with Kimchi Click to Watch Video  Second is placing a pack in microwave oven and cook for around 4 minutes. Don't forget to cut a slit on the packaging to let moisture out or else it could burst.  The result is drier (depending on how high the oven heat settings) and more of a grilled look for the cream dory as the sauce evaporates more ans becomes stickier - but still very tasty. TRY THIS : Dory Kabayaki Pinoy-Style Bento  Click to Watch Video No matter what your prefe...

Tino-um is a vernacular way of cooking with all the ingredients wrapped in banana leaves then placed over heat, directly or indirectly. And its one of the best ways to cook lobo-lobo which are minute silver fishes around half an inch long. After washing the fish, just place them in banana leaves (partially warmed over fire so that it wont easily break) together with tomatoes, onions, garlic, chives, chili pepper and seasonings (like salt and pepper or you can opt not to). Over low heat, place the wrapped ingredients in a pan and cook for a few minutes. You can also place small amount of water in the pan to lessen the heat that directly reaches the "wrap". When done, you can also opt to sprinkle olive or sesame oil before serving. 

And here's another batchoyan that would make your crave for this delectable Ilonggo noodle dish. This time you eat the noodles, pork, innards and chicharon then sip the caldo in a rustic setting - a quaint bahay kubo under the shade of rustling trees. Barely a month old, Tay Rudy's batchoy is already making a name for itself among the townsfolk.  Served at Payag Evelyn Batchoyan in Brgy. Bolong Oeste in Santa Barbara, Iloilo, this batchoyan has the making of a hole in the wall as more and more people are discovering this place.  Getting There Your landmark is Wilcon Home Depot in Santa Barbara along the highway that connects Iloilo City and the Iloilo International Airport. Across is a branch office DPWH with a road going to the Western Visayas Sanitarium. But you won't reach the hospital as you will have to turn right towards a cemetery and another right then left. Confused? Just ask around when you enter the road, its the only batchoyan in the...

Inspired by Project Pie, wherein you create your own pizza,  I also had my own project and it involves one o the most popular Ilonggo native delicacies - baye-baye. It was a spur of the moment thought having lots of baye-baye around that I thought of making one that would certainly be a notch higher. So searching for some ingredients that I can use, I found some pecan "nuts" and dulce de leche aka "boiled condensed milk".  And after some thoughts I came up with these - Baye-Baye rolled in crsuhed pecan, Baye-Baye rolls with pecan-condensed milk filling and pecan topped Baye-Baye "sandwich squares". Now which is my favorite? The rolls I would say - I just love condensed milk. I'd certainly have another project coming very soon so stay tuned...

I don't usually eat talaba but if it's the cheesey (and garlicky) baked talaba from Tatoy's Manukan and Seafoods , bring it on! A simple way of cooking talaba , I just love the generous cheese and fried garlic topping that even non-seasoned oyster eaters like me are just tempted by the "looks" and aroma of it. Though around 3x the price of the steamed oysters (PhP180 vs PhP65 as of the last time), its still quite a steal given the quality and how delicious and very satisfied customers like me will be.