ILOILO FOOD TRIP

There many ways of cooking GINISANG MONGGO as the recipe varies from household to household. It's basically just a mix and match of the leafy vegetables and sliced veggies plus the subak or meat/seafood add-ins.  And is often a perfect partner of fried or grilled fish and meat, ginisang monggo is a staple in Pinoy gastronomy.  Here's a simple recipe for Ginisang Monggo with many variations to choose from.

K.B.L. or Kadyos, Baboy, Langka is the ultimate favorite dish of most Ilonggos. It is also one of the most missed native dishes as kadyos and the souring ingredient, batwan , are hard to find when outside of the Ilonggo region.  Basically, it is boiled/stewed pork dish owing its "deliciousness" to the combination of the soft and tender pork, the tamed sourness of  batwan  and the  malinamnam na sabaw . One of the "secrets" of the malinamnamn na sabaw , is the fact that the pork, whether just the plain meat or pata (hocks) are first grilled or broiled. This gives the broth a rather smoky taste that makes it more appetizing. You'd really taste ane even smell the difference when the pork is not grilled. Learn how to make the Ilonggo dish KBL (Kadyos, Baboy, at Langka) with this recipe.

Aside from tuna, my favorite canned seafood to be experimented on is canned mackerel in natural oil. I like to make some tweaks on the natural oil it comes with and my best dish so far is making a sort of savoury sinigang of out this canned seafood. Let me teach you how...

Estofado is just like cooking adobo and it becomes more flavorful when it is a day-old or two. More on the sweeter side, the recipe I grew up with has pineapple juice and anisado wine or anisette . And it involves a lot frying before especially when its pork estofado. Though one can do away with the frying but it wont be the same. Here's the recipe for Chicken Estofado

A visually enticing and mouth-watering collection of Pinoy appetizers makes up this bilao full of favorites. Making one in you own home is just easy as collecting and making these individually and then arranging them to make an appetizer centerpiece. There's steamed okra , atsara , piniritong talong , steamed kamote tops, itlog na maalat (which you can also make as a salted egg sauce ),  fresh tomatoes and onions, sweet and spicy dilis , bago-ong (either fresh or guisado ) and lato or seagrapes which you can serve fresh or salad . You can mix and match a variety of appetizers, taking into consideration its flavors at the same time colors to make it appeal more and yes - visually and gastronomically appetizing! Click the links below for the recipes: Papaya Atsara  Salted Egg Sauce Guisadong Bago-ing Alamang Lato Salad Sweet Spicy Dilis  

Linugaw  ( ginata-ang halo-halo/bilo-bilo ) is a staple during meryenda  in the province.  Though it knows no specific occasion, it is always highlighted during  All Souls Day at home . But Pista Minatay  or not, ginata-ang halo-halo is a delicious treat. Here's a simple recipe of making Linugaw

There could be as many adobo recipes as there are islands in the Philippines. As the unofficial national dish, adobo variants can be made from pork, poultry, seafood, vegetables plus even insects and worms. But let's stick to the more mainstream ingredients as here is a collection of adobo recipes on this blog. Enjoy and extra rice, please!

One of the most missed fruits especially those outside the country is sarguelas or siniguelas .  Aside from the sweet-mildly sour taste of the fruit, it also brings back the childhood memories of most Pinoys. Whether it was climbing on the tree to get these fruits or that unfortunate fall that followed such climb - it still makes good memories altogether. What are your childhood memories with siniguelas?

The mention of Lauya brings back the food memories of yesteryears. It was a typical fiesta scene in a barrio that I got to taste this cholesteroliffic and delicious pork dish. I can still vividly remember that decades old gastronomic memory - very tender and almost fall of the bone pata, vivid orange sour and sticky broth, large chunks of unripe  langka;  all in one big large  kaldero !  And it's been really a while since I've tried to recreate that taste memory and a few days ago, it was worth another try. Here's my simple recipe for Pata Lauya

So what exactly is this Filipino way of making this Italian specialty? First of all, the sauce is sweet then it has hotdogs all over and sprinkled lots of cheese. The red sauce mainly or has hints of banana ketchup. That's the spaghetti, we all might have grown with. Hello, Jollibee?! Yes, it could have been this fastfood chain's gastronomic influence (yes, I love the Jolly spaghetti until now) that we try imitating it in our own homes, thus born the home-made Pinoy-style spaghetti... Here's a simple recipe for a Pinoy-style Spaghetti .

Buko Pandan is among the most popular Pinoy desserts and easiest to make. Its just a combination of young coconut strips called buko , gelatin cubes with the essence of pandan and a creamy concoction made with milk and cream. The preparation of a basic Buko-Pandan recipe is mainly on the making if the pandan-based gelatin.  Here's a simple recipe for Buko-Pandan:

This simple sauteed dish consisting of these two vegetables plus shrimps and pork is one of the favorites as the taste of the two veggies collide at the same time mix in a good way. Kalubay is what Ilonggos call upo or bottle gourd and tawgi sounds like togue which are monggo sprouts.  Here's a simple recipe for Ginisang Upo at Togue

On most Filipino occasions, aside from lechon baboy, a pancit dish would always be present. Be it bihon, sotanghon, canton or combinations like bam-i (sotanghon and canton); it is always on the handa-an table. And like many Filipino dishes, the pancit recipe varies from household to household much more in different restaurants and food place. Here's a basic recipe for a Pancit Guisado where you can tweak using more or less ingredients of your choice.

Pancit Lomi is another Pinoy noodle soup dish which has a big Chinese influence on it. It has a rich, thick and egg "enriched"broth that complements the meat and vegetables. The noodles used is among the thickest in the Philippine culinary scene and most of the time, soaked in lye water to give it more texture. Because of its popularity around the country, the recipe varies from household to household as well as in the carinderias and restaurants offering the dish. Here's a simple Pancit Lomi recipe...

I love making on-the-spot appetizers and side dishes. Usually, I just check out the fridge and pantry to see what's available and then start my "experiment". Seeing that there was more than okra and kamote tops, it took no more than a second for me to decide to make one of my fave side dishes. And it is as easy as 1-2-3... Here's a simple recipe for Kamote Tops and Okra Ensalada

One of the many variations of a Pinoy staple dish, Pork Adobo, is using achuete (annatto) to give a distinct flavour, color and aroma making it more visually appealing and of course delicious  It still basically follows the same recipe but just minimizes the use of the soy sauce. It is the flavor combination of the achuete oil , garlic and vinegar that makes this adobo version stand out. Here's a recipe for Pork Adobo with Achuete. 

I just love nilagang mais ! And I love it even more that a pack consisting of around 5 pieces costs just Php15 in our town. So most of the time I buy two or even three since I know I can finish one pack in just one sitting. Most of the time its the native variety that's sold and peddled in and around town, either as nilaga or sinugba (PhP15/2 pieces).

For Pinoys, bangus or milkfish is an all time favorite. It's versatility to be made into 101 recipes (or even more) is just what makes it a hit in every Filipino kitchen - whether in restaurants or at home. Fried, grilled, stuffed,  cooked in broth or whichever way you prefer it-  there's always a recipe. Here are the links to some well-loved and favorite Filipino Bangus Recipes.

Bukayo is a native Filipino dessert delicacy which is made mainly with coconut strips and sugar. There are variants - moist and dry (also called  bocarillo ). The former is typically made into toppings and fillings for  suman latik  and  inday-inday , among others, though I just love eating it right from the container. The latter is more of a hard candy type reminiscent of  bandi , which takes a shape of its own and is more convenient to be eaten on the go. Basically both share almost the same recipe with some more or less tweaks to make the other. Here's a recipe to make Bukayo.

Pancit Bihon is probably the most common of all the pancit dishes in the Philippines. From home to caridnerias, pancit bihon is a staple for its also the easiest pancit dish to prepare. Made rice noodles with assorted meat and vegetables, pancit bihon guisado is one delicious noodle dish even those who haven't cook can easily prepare. Here's a simple Pancit Bihon recipe made special by the addition of Lechon

Cassava cake is among the most popular Pinoy native delicacies. In Iloilo, one can find it in the stalls insides malls and groceries in ready to go boxes or in bite size pieces ready to satisfy one's cravings. But it is also easy to prepare as the ingredients can be mostly found in the wet market or even grocery stores.  Here's a simple cassava cake recipe:

I don't usually eat talaba but if it's baked talaba with garlic and cheese, bring it on! I just love it even more if there's a generous amount of cheese and fried garlic topping that the non-seasoned oyster eater like me are already satisfied by the "looks" and aroma of it. But baked talaba costs around 3x as much as the steamed talaba so why not make one at home. Here's a very simple recipe for Baked Talaba with Cheese and Garlic

You can find Pork Barbecue in almost every corner and in every house hold. Just the smell of it being cooked sends our stomachs grumbling. There is no basic recipe as it varies from place to place and even from household to household. But in the end, pork barbecue alwats makes us say "extra rice, please!"

Bago-ngon is a local snail that has found its way to some popular Ilonggo cuisine. I only of three ways or dishes making use of bago-ong as the main ingredient. One is with  ginata-ang tambo  (bamboo shoots with coconut milk) and another is being a  subak  (meaty components of vegetable dishes) in  laswa  dishes.  But the most popular  bago-ngon  dish is is another one with coconut milk but this time  gabi  (taro). Here's the recipe for Ginata-ang Bago-ngon with Gabi .

The seaweed known as lato is popularly referred to as "sea grapes" as it consists of little globules that resemble a miniature bunch of grapes. It is commonly served as kinilaw or native salad with vinegar and mixed with tomatoes and onions among others. Here's a simple recipe on how to make Kinilaw na Lato or SeaGrapes Salad

The stickier the consistency the better. That's how I love my kutchinta. Among the most popular native delicacies or kakanin , the are so many variations to its recipe. Some are not as sticky as the others yet still having that signature taste. Others also are visually different having colors like yellow or even green from the original dark orange-brown hue. But nonetheless, its still our own preference that would tell apart a delicious kutsinta.   Here's a simple Kutsinta recipe

Almost every Ilonggo knows this dish and even more loved it. With thinly sliced young bamboo shoots simmered in coconut milk and cooked greens like  tagabang  ( saluyot), takway  and  okra  plus sahog like shrimps, crabs or bago-ngon (local snails) – this would automatically induce a lot of cravings. Especially when you’re abroad where raw ingredients are often hard to find and if they are luckily available, it still doesn’t taste like the one you might have grown up with. Even so, it is more than enough one's craving for this Ilonggo cuisine, no matter where you are in the world. Here's a recipe for Ginat-an nga Tambo using local snails called Bago-ngong. INGREDIENTS Tambo   (Blanched and squeezed to get rid of bitterness) Gata (Divide into two parts. Dilute one part) Bago-ngon  (Check link for preparation) Tagabang (saluyot) and/or O kra and/or  Takway  and/or Corn kernels, optional Salt or seasoning ...

Peanuts are among the most popular street foods in the country. You can find them almost anywhere, anytime and in different varieties too. Lately, I've been eating assorted peanuts without much thought about blogging about it. Until came such a time when I had four variants in my stock that I finally thought of sharing them online.

Kare-kare is a Filipino stew made usually with pork or beef with a peanut based thick sauce. As it is quite plain when it comes to flavour despite its thick sauce, it is often partnered with guisadong bago-ong (sauteed shrimp paste) to get the full goodness of this favorite Filipino recipe. Here's a simple recipe for Kare-kare.

No need to introduce sisig as it is one of the most popular and most adapted Kapampangan cuisine all throughout the country. As the recipe reaches its peak, many variations has taken off and one of them is considered "healthy" alternative as it involves seafood - bangus or milkfish. And there are as many ways of making bangus sisig as there are for the original pork sisig . Just choose one that fits your own taste! Here's a simple Bangus Sisig recipe

Tortang Talong is a favorite breakfast staple that is easy and simple to cook. I just love it when it is cooked tostado giving it more crunch especially on the sides. Tomato ketchup is my favorite dip but I won't say to no toyo-mansi. Simple as it may seem, others add ground pork to the egg mixture and use the meat as topping on one side. One can use hotdogs, bacon, and ham, giving it a more "sophistication".  Here's a simple recipe for Tortang Talong

The original "Sarap to the Bones", Bulalo is one of the most popular beef soups and can be found in different parts of the country. Like most dishes, the recipe tends to vary from one region to another but the basic is just it is slowly boiled beef shanks with bone (marrows) with an assortment of vegetables.  Its one easy recipe but takes a lot of patience to prepare since it requires hours of boiling the meat until tender that it almost falls off the bones... Here's  a basic recipe on how to cook BULALO

Shrimps are among the most popular seafood and there are some many way of cooking them. Even those first time in the kitchen can easily whip up great tasting recipes. The secret (or no secret at all) is the fresh quality of the shrimps - it pays to have suki in the market. So, let's star the shrimp jumping ... Here are some easy Shrimp recipes...

What to do with left-over lechon? More often it usually ends up as LECHON PAKSIW . But one can really have too much of it this Holiday season. Why not try this very simple and in some ways a "guilt-free" left-over lechon recipe. Here's the recipe for Lechon with Monggo, Puso ng Saging and Kamote tops

Bangus  or milkfish is one of the most abundant and versatile fishes around. It can be cooked in so many way - sinugba, pinirito, sinigang, paksiw and relyeno, among others. One of the easiest yet delectable is cooking it paksiw Ilonggo-style called pinamalhan . It rooted from the Hiligaynon word " mala" meaning dry. Here's a simple recipe for Pinamalhan nga Bangus.

Locally known as sambag or sampaloc in Tagalog, tamarind is mostly associated with sinigang , a dish made with meat or fish with a sour broth. Yet it can also be a dessert with hints of sourness when it's made into a candy. Its an acquired taste but if you already love the sourness of tamarind in soups, chances are, you'll love it even more as a candy. Here's a simple recipe on how to make a Tamarind Candy

Here's a collection of pinirito na isda that would surely make you crave for one or remember the taste of home. Enjoy and extra rice please! ALOY. Aside from fried, pinamalhan is another great way to cook aloy. But one can also fry pinamalhan na aloy to get a burst of flavors BANGUS. No matter how it is cooked, bangus will always be delicious and here's fried daing na bangus . Another Ilonggo favorite is bilong-bilong whether fried or pinamalhan . I'm not sure if this is GUMA-A but it is surely delicious. Perfect for cardillo - that is covered in sauteed garlic, onions, tomatoes and egg . Or try sweet and sour / escabeche ABO. I love this fish since when fried it can be as crunchy as chicharon

Most places in the Philippines have their own version of this cassava-based delicacy. In most parts of Western Visayas, this native delicacy is called alupi (or alupe ). It is made with grated  balinghoy  (cassava) mixed with coconut milk and meat plus sugar and other flavorings. It is then wrapped in banana leaves and steamed. Here's an easy recipe in making Alupi or Cassava Suman

It's avocado season once again and when there's lots of these delicious fruits around I tend to make some simple desserts. I got a kilo of avocado from a street side vendor and it was 6 pieces of medium size fruits. The simplest thing to do with avocados is just to add condensed milk for a creamy dessert. From this, you can make it into an ice cream, smoothie or which ever dessert you imagination can take you.  Here's a simple recipe for an Creamy Avocado Dessert

Adobong Pusit or lukos is among the most popular ways of cooking squid. It combines the Pinoys favorite way of cooking - adobo , with one of the most delicious bounty of the sea. For some, the blackness of the dish is a sort of turn-off but to those who have discovered the gastronomic delights of this cooking; it's a taste of heaven - on a plate with hot rice! Here's a simple recipe for Adobong Pusit

PM SENT.  And after around 30 minutes my order arrived. But it wasn't any electronic nor some trendy DIY home gadgets. Amd definitely not about fashion and accessories. It was fresh fruits with prices like the ones you would get from your suki at the public market! Welcome to the Santa Barbara #OnLineMarket #OnLineLaswahan initiated by the Facebook Group HOW MANY SANTA BARBARANHONS ARE THERE IN FACEBOOK? To make physical/social distancing implementation work at the same time help maintain a robust economy in these tryong times, the ban on selling in the Facebook page was temporarily lifeted to give way to locals to sell their produce. Different members sell different produce. Just like in many seller group chats online, they post a photo of their products with the price and delivery info. Transactions are made in the comments or through Messenger. The PROs and CONs are like any online selling with the main consequence is...