ILOILO FOOD TRIP

Every region in the Philippines has it's own version of a spiced vinegar and a name for it. In most parts of Western Visayas especially in Iloilo, it is known as sinamak .  One can find it almost anywhere for it is a staple dip in almost every household and native restaurants. Be it chicken inasal or grilled pork chop to seafoods especially talaba, sinamak is the perfect dip to further one's appetite.

Ginat-an nga Tambo is truly an Ilonggo favorite!  It is a staple is most homes and carinderias as it is always a crowd and palate pleaser.  The dish is a mix of young bamboo shoots and coconut milk - the main ingredients, plus other vegetables and seafood. Depending on the availability and the taste preferences, the dish may have okra, saluyot, takway and corn kernels among others. For the seafood component, it may have shrimps, crabs, bago-ngon  (local freshwater snails),  dried fish like pinakas/daing . Whatever your choice of seafood and vegetables, this dish is always worth the extra cup of rice. So, let's make one of the most popular version of this Ilonggo favorite dish - Ginat-an nga Tambo with Pasayan Here's the simplest recipe of this dish Ingredients 1/2 kilo tambo or bamboo shoots, thinly sliced 2 cups pure coconut milk  1 onion (sibuyas), thinly sliced Shrimps, your take on how many pieces 1 bundle of tagabang (saluyot), w...

Don't be surprised if you're given this malagkit rice specialty when you ask for Suman when in Iloilo. While suman (sa ibos) to almost any part of the country is the native rice delicacy or kakanon wrapped in coconut leaves, that one is just called  ibos  in the Ilonggo community. Suman for that Ilonggos is that typical deep brown native delicacy and it may come topped topped with latik or not. The color of the suman depends on the sugar being used. Muscovado will give it a dark brown hue and richer flavour which is the most typical. Using washed sugar will give it lighter brown hue while refined white sugar gives it a somewhat typical ibos or suman Tagalog look. Here's a simple recipe for Suman Ilonggo or Biko.

Lechon Paskiw always comes second to Lechon Baboy as the former is just a literal aftermath dish. 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.   But you can always make one, even if there's no occasion just by buying lechon by the kilo or just making a turbo broiler made lechon. Check this previous recipe for Turbo Over Broiled Lechon Liempo Here's a simple recipe for Lechon Turbo Paksiw

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"

I love kutsinta! The stickier the consistency the better. As 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

Grilled stuffed squid is one of the most inviting grilled seafood there is. Be it in a seafood restaurant serving grilled specialties or just in the comfort of your home, the gastronomic lure of inihaw na pusit is too tempting to resist. The preparation is just simple - just stuff the squid with tomatoes and onions , add seasoning and then grill until ready. The trickiest part when cooking squid in general is how to avoid making it rubbery as overcooking it will make it that way. Here's a basic Grilled Stuffed Squid recipe that you can make easily at home. Ingredients Squid, medium to large size (just big enough to be stuffed) Tomato, diced/chopped (enough to stuff the squid) White Onion, diced/chopped (enough to stuff the squid) Onion leaves Salt  Black pepper  Dip ( Calamansi, sliced Tomatoes, sliced onions, sliced Chilis, Vinegar, Soy sauce, Sugar ) Procedure Clean the squid, inside out. Remove the ink s...

One of the first questions always asked about Pancit Molo is " Where's the Pancit ?". With pancit as a sort of "prefix" to the name of the dish, first timers always for the noodle-like component of the dish. It's then explained that the pancit is actually the molo ball wrappers which is basically of the same mix as any pancit/noodles. Pancit Molo is more of a household specialty and the recipe varies from household to household. From the meat filling mix to the soup, there could be a hundred and one ways of making pancit molo. Here's a simple  Pancit Molo recipe.

Ilonggos really love valenciana because most if not all have grown accustomed of having it in almost all occasions like fiesta, brithdays, 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 the recipe for Valenciana Ingredients 3 cups Glutinous Rice ( malagkit ) 2 cups Pork, sliced 1 cup Pork, Beef or Chicken  Liver, sliced 2-3 pieces Chinese sausage, sliced 2-3 large red bell peppers, sliced lengthwise 1 cup Green Peas 3 small boxes Raisins 2 pcs.Onion, chopped 4 cloves garlic, crushed salt and ground pepper to taste  2 pcs. pork/chicken bouillon/broth cube...