FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

I could still smell the aroma and taste the flavor of this Bourbon Barbecue Ribs that still linger in my senses after today's grand opening of Bourbon Street Bar and Grill 's branch at Festive Walk Iloilo. Enjoying these ribs will now come with a view of modern Iloilo as Bourbon Street's newest branch features an al fresco veranda that opens up to the Iloilo Business Park.  One can particularly admire the Park Square (featuring the monument of Ilonggo hero, Gen. Martin Delgado ), Casa Emperador housing the Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art (ILOMOCA) and Megaworld's condominium row - closest being the sunset-lit One Madison Place. Located in Iloilo's most happening spots, Bourbon Street's first branch is located at the  (then) center of city’s most popular night spot area – Smallville. Presently, it is located at The Avenue Complex, just a stone's throw from its original location. But this new branch at the 2nd floor of Fe...

One simple recipe at home where it involves a few ingredients and easy cooking is soup made with balunggay ( malunggay or moringa), balingon ( dilis or local anchovy), tomato and egg. Though it can be considered as a cardillo recipe because of the addition of fresh egg, it stands as its own dish, at least at home.  Its simplicity makes it a good soup or even side dish complementing fried or grilled dishes. Just place malunggay, dilis and quartered tomato (just make sure to wash them - soak the dilis in water remove impurities) in a pan of boiling water. After 5 minutes (or until all are cooked) add beaten egg and season with salt - if the saltiness of the balingon is not enough. Now ain't that easy and healthy!

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 Pork 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 pork cubes 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 pork (separated from the marinade and set aside) and stir-fry until light brown. In you're making a big recipe, try to fry the pork in batches to ensure uniform frying/browni...

Choriso or longganisa is a staple in any market all throughout Iloilo. Though not as popular or touristy like that of Vigan or Lucban, the longganisa in Iloilo are just those standard reddish, sweet and fatty longganisas.  Artist, restaurateur, "handy chef" and author (among others) Claude Tayag , in his book, Linamnam , describes it as " overly sweet, artificially colored and comes in four sizes plus it is very similar to Cebu's and Tagbilaran in taste ". That's the choriso I (and maybe you) have grown up with. Before, we just usually boil it in water then when dried, we add oil to fry it.  But now, instead of water, I use vinegar, lots of it then when almost dried up, I then add oil.  It's because I discovered how delicious longganisa is dipped in vinegar especially those tostado ones. So to have them taste like that even without dipping, that's what I am doing now. But I always end up dipping it in vinegar ... ...

Here's a very easy vegetable recipe that even non-seasoned (no pun intended) cooks can do like a boss. In just minutes, one can make this delicious side dish that goes well with fried or grilled meat or fish.  INGREDIENTS Okra, sliced into bite sized pieces Kangkong, cleaned and hardstalks removed Butter Garlic, chopped Onions, chopped Seasoning (salt, liquid seasoning like soy sauce,etc PROCEDURE Method 1 Saute garlic and onions in heated butter Add and toss okra slices. Cover for 2-3 minutes Add and toss kangkong. Season to you desired taste   Method 2 Place okra, onion and garlic microwave-safe container and cook inside microwave oven for a minute. Add kangkong and butter then microwave for another minute Mix, add seasoning and serve.  Add fried garlic toppings if desired.

It wasn't until I laid my eyes my on its flaky and crisp crust with its delicious aroma emanating that discovered the empanada specially baked by Tinapayan. With a crunch I opened the empanada to reveal what’s inside - a hot mix of moist shredded pork, carrots, peas and raisins among others, giving a flavourful blend that could rival any sio paos around. Ms. Evelyn “Owa” Que, the amiable owner of Tinapayan is very proud of her creation especially the crisp and flaky “crust”. She said the empanada has been on the shelves on her bakeshop for years now and maybe since Tinapayan offers a gazillion of delicious product, it may have been “relegated” in the background. I quite agree since with all the breads, cakes, loaves, cookies, buns, sweet squares and bars, etc, you’ll surely have to have an eagle eye to find what you’re looking for. But you’ll get distracted along the way since the quantity and quality that overwhelms you prove to be a galore o gast...

Tired of the usual paksiw recipe for left-over lechon ?Why not try making the left over roasted pig into something a lot healthier - by making it part of vegetable dishes. At home, we've tried making left over lechon into KBL ( kadyos baboy langka ) enjoying Lechon na, KBL pa . It can be made into sinigang, sisig and sinabawan . One can even sugba  ( ihaw or grill) to give it another taste dimension. Believe me, sinugba nga lechon  tastes awesome! And one of our latest recipes is "lechonizing" a monggo recipe. Usually, we cooked monggo with kalabasa and alugbati with the addition of pork. But if there's leftover lechon, the dish looks and tastes even more delicious especially with the lechon skin. Just cook the monggo dish as it is, then add lechon and the rest will be gastronomic history! Extra rice please! Check out the detailed  MONGGO GUISADO RECIPE CONTENT