ILOILO FOOD TRIP

Inubaran  basically means the dish is cooked with ubad . No, it's not a typo error, it is really ubad not ubod  - different from but practically the same.  CONFUSING? Well  ubod  is the pith or the center of a coconut tree while  ubad  is the pith of a banana tree. To make this dish, one has to prepare an ubad for cooking - first thinly slice, around half a centimeter, the cleaned pith (must be very white and sized like a fluorescent lamp to be sure of the quality.) .  Ubad sold in local markets. You will only use the white center/core portion. Then using a barbecue stick, remove web like fibers "interconnecting" these slices (these are actually hardened banana sap). When finished you can crush is into smaller pieces and add to your cooking. Here's a popular recipe using ubad ...

My familiarity with Efuven started when it became a staple noodle dish prepared at home, whether on special occasion or just any given Sunday lunch.  I can only assume that we got curious about this noodle variety that we tried to use it instead of the usual pancit canton, bihon or sotanghon. Or we might also have heard others talked about it or ate in some restaurants serving this pancit.

This recipe is a favorite at home as it is appetizing and delicious at the same time easy and simple to cook. It just involves marinating and frying and is a versatile recipe so you can tweak it to suit your own taste. The ingredients are also easy to find or. substituted.  Here's the recipe for Pork Tenderloin with Onion and Bellpeppers "Stir-Fry"

If the coconut trees around the house are teeming with fruits, chances are there would always be some  Buko Salad in the fridge! Aside from being easy to make, it is also versatile to easily suit your taste and budget. Buko Salad is one of the most popular fruits salads not to mention refreshingly delicious too! And I like it frozen too - like halo halo or ice cream. The recipe is just easy that you can make it with eyes closed! Just follow your taste and you're good to go! Now, let's make some Buko Salad! Ingredients 5 cups young coconut meat strips, adjust 1 can regular size Fruit Cocktail ("Fiesta"), drained, adjust 1 can Condensed Milk 1 box all-Purpose Cream Optional * adjust amount Evaporated Milk Nata de Coco Kaong Sweet corn kernels Cheese, cubed Peanuts, crushed How to make Buko Salad In a large bowl, place cream then add condensed milk. Mix well for a uniform consistency and taste.  If you opt for a ligh

Whenever there are some leftover grilled or fried fish, a simple rule is followed for its next gastronomic life. The former is cooked Linagpang for the next meal and the latter becomes Cardillo or Sarciado . And most of the time, the fried fishes tend to have more second chances. Both Cardillo and Sarciado recipes are almost identical but differ with the addition of beaten eggs in the sauce while the sarciado has none. The former also tends to be more versatile as it can be cooked with a range of different additional vegetables while the latter is quite limited. So let's make CARDILLO na BANGUS with PECHAY INGREDIENTS Fried Bangus, sliced into serving pieces 1 medium Onion, sliced 4 cloves Garlic, minced 2 pieces Tomatoes, sliced 3/4 cup Water, adjust Salt and Pepper to taste Soy sauce or other Liquid seasonings Pechay, washed and cleaned 1 to 2 egg/s, beaten How to Cook CARDILLO na BANGUS with PECHAY In a

One of my favorites and could be yours too, is Monggo Soup with a galore of vegetables and meat. And if it is pata or pig knuckles, wow, food heaven just descended on us. I love it even more with greens like malunggay, kamote and my favorite - alugbati. Then add some "bulky" veggies like jackfruit, unripe papaya or kalabasa to complement the pork pata. So here's another recipe for Pata with Monggo - this time with Papaya and Kamote Tops.

My childhood memories about muasi or palitaw are not that good. I consider it as one of my hated native delicacies given itsbland taste even with the sugar dip.  But as time passed, I learned to appreciate it especially when its freshly cooked with the muscovado teeming the aroma of roasted sesame seeds. So let's make some Palitaw!

So what's a White Salad? It's just a Fruit or Buko Salad with all the white (and off white ingredients). Simple as it may seem, this could turn into one of your favorite salads and desserts for any occasions and events. Preparation is easy and the recipe can be easily tweaked to add more of your favorite "white" ingredients.  Here's an easy recipe for White Salad

There could be a 1001 ways to make atsara and with the bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables around, the possibilities are just limited by one's gastronomic imagination. From the popular papaya and bamboo shoots atsara to ampalaya and ubod little known dampalit (a weed), this Filipino pickle relish makes fried and grilled food tastes even better. Let's prepare a simple Radish (Labanos) Atsara

Making pinaksiw na pata is simple but tends to have a slow cooking time. But in the end its worth the wait nd you'll be almost screaming "extra rice"! It's basically just boiling and seasoning accordong to your taste preference. While basically, it got to have that hints of vinegary taste (or aftertaste) others prefer it on the sweeter side like Pork Estofado. The good thing about this Filipino recipe is that you can adjust it according to your taste preference or mood - even when the dish is almost off oven! Here is the recipe for Paksiw na Pata Ingredients 1 kilo Pata (pork leg), sliced to serving pieces 1 medium garlic head, crushed 1/3 cup vinegar, adjustable 1/2 cup soy sauce, adjustable 1/2 cup brown sugar (washed variety), adjustable 5 pieces laurel (bay) leaves 1 tbsp whole peppercorn 1 cup banana blossoms, optional Salt and ground pepper to taste Water for boiling, adjust How to make Paksiw na Pata In a pot, place pata slices and su

Apan-apan is an Ilonggo favorite sidedish yet often times it can become a viand as it is a flavorful combination of kangkong and bago-ong cooked adobo style. One can even add slices of meat or even tulapho for a tastier version. As it is like adobo, the variations of this dish varies widely but still simple to make. One can even add slices of meat or even  tulapho  for a tastier version. As it is like adobo, the variations of this dish varies widely but still simple to make. Here's a simple recipe for Apan-apan Ingredients 2 bundles of Kangkong  3 cloves of Garlic, finely chopped 1 Medium sized Onion, sliced 1 tablespoon of Guinamos (you can also use ready to eat bago-ong sold in groceries) 1/4 cup Vinegar or more Cooking Oil Sugar (optional) Sili (optional) How to make Apan-apan  Cut the hard(er) stems/stalk of the kangkong . Wash and clean the kangkong then set aside. In a wok sauté garlic and onion then add guinamos or bago-ong ala

I just love Fried Lumpia. The gastronomic sensation of having crispy fried lumpia dipped in vinegar garlic sauce always makes me salivate just with the thought. Usually its a mixture of ground meat and vegetables when we make lumpia, but at times if we made a big batch of pancit molo filling then it also makes a good fried lumpia. Fishes like bangus and tilapia also makes delicious lumpia filling. Here's a basic Fried Lumpia recipe

Mention Valenciana to the Ilonggos and they’ll instantly crave for this special dish. Ilonggos really love valenciana because most if not all have grown accustomed of having it in almost all occasions like fiesta, birthdays, reunions and all other occasions thus I love calling it as the "occasional dish".     Basically, " go, grow and glow " dish, it has the carbohydrates, protein and vitamins and minerals in just one spoonful. And it can come in its simplest form with just malagkit rice, pork, chorizo and bell peppers to some fancy with additions like raisins, peas, chicken, hardboiled egg (just garnish though), etc.  Here's a simple recipe for  Valenciana Ingredients 3 cups Glutinous Rice ( malagkit ) 1 cup plain rice (optional) 2 cups Pork, sliced 1 cup Pork or Beef    Liver, sliced 2-3 pieces Chinese sausage, sliced 2-3 large red bell peppers, sliced lengthwise 1 cup Green Peas 3 small boxes Raisins (optional) 1 large ilonion, chopped 6 cloves g

Pork Estofado always makes our fiesta food fare. Just like adobo, the older it gets the tastier it becomes. While there are many recipes and tweaks in making estofado, I just stick to a simpler recipe with ingredients that are just readily available in your cupboard. While it may seem very hard to cook, its actually a very simple dish - just fry and stew!  Here's the recipe for Pork Estofado

I really find the name of this dish funny when I was a kid. It sound nonsense then but now when I hear "hototay", my stomach grumbles upon anticipation of this delicious .meat and vegetable dish soup. Though recipes may differ from restaurants to households - it still is one Chinese dish that satisfies hungry Filipinos.  Here's a simple recipe for Hototay

This savory and delicious combination of pork ang vegetables is always an extra rice magnet. Much more so if drizzled with hot sauce, a personal favorite. A much simpler version of Pork Menudo, the only difference is the absence of tomato sauce. Just some bread crumbs to thicken the sauce. No need for fancy ingredients either, to give its Spanish origins a gastronomic salute but just in its simplest form, it could already be a hunger satisfier. Now let's begin...

While watching these slabs of pork belly boiling in the pan, I envisioned it smothered in thick sauce. So an on-the-spot recipe was born! I then proceed to brown the pork belly then Googled a recipe for a tamarind-based sauce. Inspired by the recipe I found, I made some twist by adding ingredients my eyes laid on in the fridge and in the cupboard. Not bad for an experimental recipe... So here's my Braised Pork in Honey-Tamarind Sauce

A specialty of Cebu, Pancit Bam-I is a noodle dish that has been adapted in most parts of the country. It can be found in simple turo-turo and karinderyas as well as restaurants and hotels - each giving their own twist to the recipe.  But the common denominator for this pancit is the mix of two kinds of noodles - sotanghon (vermicelli) and canton (egg noodles). And just like with most pancit dishes, the recipe can be adjusted to satisfy your own tastebuds.  Here's a simple recipe of Pancit Bam-i 

While the original kilawin recipe calls for raw meat or seafood to be part of the dish "cooked" with  the acidity of vinegar, this dish is an offshoot adaptation of the recipe. Its more of friendly to those who don't want to ingest something "raw" but in some sense get the know how  kilawin  tastes. It's basically deep-fried pork (left-over   lechon kawali   is perfect for this recipe) served  kilawin -style.  Here's the recipe for Crispy Pork "Kilawin"

Bukayo is a native Filipino delicacy which is made mainly with coconut strips and sugar. There are two popular 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 candy type reminiscent of bandi, which takes a shape of its own and is more convenient to be eaten on the go. Both share almost the same recipe with some more or less tweaks to make the other. Here's a Recipe to make the Dry-type Bukayo. Ingredients 3 cups Young coconut meat, shredded 2 cups Muscovado Sugar, adjust 1/2 cup Coconut juice or plain water Vanilla extract Calamansi rind (optional) How to make Bukayo In a wok, place coconut juice or water and sugar then mix thoroughly. Adjust the amount of liquid so as to dissolve the sugar but not to runny.  Bring to boil then add coconut meat gradually to make sure i