ILOILO FOOD TRIP

Pancit Molo is among Iloilo's culinary specialties and a great contribution to the Philippine gastronomic scene. Named after one of the city's districts, Molo, the dish has an obvious Chinese influence being like the wonton . No wonders there as Molo is a rich Chinese enclave where generations of old Ilonggo families in the area have family ties to the Chinese - from other parts of the country and to China, itself. One of the first questions always asked 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. And here's one basic recipe for this much beloved Ilonggo soup - Pancit Molo

We've been frying " pancit molo " ever since for two reasons - a more convenient way of sending these sumptuous balls over great distances (as pasalubong) AND it also tastes great like an all meat lumpia . Its basically pancit molo balls that instead of swimming in a savory broth, they find themselves browning in hot oil. And of course, the curiosity level is up when one sees "fried" before pancit molo.  Here's the simple Fried Pancit Molo recipe

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 with 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

Pancit Malabon is almost like Pancit Palabok but the noodles used makes the big difference. It makes use of thicker rice noodles and the sauce is also somewhat thicker plus it has lots of seafood toppings given the place where it originated (Malabon) is a coastal city. The noodles and sauce are already mixed when served with lots of toppings one can imagine. Here's a recipe for Pancit Malabon

While kangkong is mostly associated with Pork Sinigang , Apan-apan  and other recipes, it makes a good appetizer and snack when fried ala tempura and partnered with a delicious dip. Here's a recipe for Crispy Kangkong

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. Here's the recipe for Malunggay-Dilis-Egg Soup

Laswa is to the Ilonggos as what dinengdeng and pinakbet  are to the Ilocanos. These are mainly vegetables based dishes with a few meats and seafood. What makes laswa different is that guinamos or bago-ong is not part of the recipe.  In both Ilocanos dishes,  bago-ong  is a major flavour enhancer giving both dishes a distinct  bago-ong  taste.  Laswa , on the other hand, is a tamer version since  guinamos  is rarely used and it just relies on garlic, onion and tomato plus a little salt as flavour enhancer. Thus, it is a perfect combination with fried or grilled fish or pork! Here's the basic recipe for the Ilonggo favorite - Laswa