FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Another Pista Minatay  has come and gone; and as always the complete "yellow rice" staple called valenciana will have its gastronomic presence felt. Part of the  malagkit  delicacies served during Undas, together with  ibos/suman, kalamay hati, alupe, linugaw  and a lot more,  valenciana  stands out. Not only of its signature yellowish hue but its the only one that's not of "dessert" category. It's like a complete meal in itself. Basically, completing the "go, grow and glow" requirements, it has the carbohydrates, protein and vitamins & minerals in just one spoonful. And it can come in its simplest form, like the one below, with just malagkit rice, pork, chorzio and bell peppers to some fancy with additions liek raisins, peas, chicken, hardboiled egg (just garnish though), etc. But NO hotdogs, please... The recipe is just simple for it only involves 1) Sauteeing (Just gisa the pork, chicken, peas, chorizo bel...

What's in a name? Usually, dishes are named from their main ingredients, others from the method of cooking techniques while some dishes from the place of origin. But this curious specialty from Kong Kee Restaurant has even a more curious name. It is called " No Name ". I first encountered "No Name" as a noodle dish called Pancit No Name but luck wasn't on my side then as the dish was taken off the menu for a long time. But the name "No Name" still lived in my memory... And imagine how excited I was when I found "No Name" on the menu of Kong Kee. Though, it has been there for a long time, it just took me longer to find it.  So, No Name is a sort of chop suey like dish having a melange of vegetables like bell peppers, mushrooms and onions to name a few. For meat, it has squid, pork and innards.  All these are then smothered in thick savoury sauce made spicy by the chilies mixed in the dish. An order of this a...

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...