ILOILO FOOD TRIP

Tulapho can be considered to be Ilonggo chicharon dating back to the Spanish colonial period. It is an old tradition of using animal fat to fry other foodstuff and tulapho could have been the by product of extracting fats from pork. They say some bakeries (in Molo) use the fat ( lard ) from the tulapho in making biscuits. Tulapho is perfect in adding crunch to various dishes like pinakbet  just like the Ilocanos add bagnet to theirs. It is also a good partner when making ginisang guinamos (the Ilonggo bago-ong ). Here's the simple recipe of making Tulapho

The Holidays are almost over and when you check the fridge chances are, left-overs from the season of gastronomy still lurk behind. And luckily left overs re my specialty when it comes to making mix and match recipes, most especially after the Christmas and New Year. If you still have ham left from your Noche Buena and Media Noche feast they would come perfect for this fried rice recipe call Hawaiian Kalo-Kalo (fried rice).

I love mais and it's usually the tinanok ( nilaga ) that I crave for. But upon passing by my suki mais corner, I happen to be captivated by the aroma of their sinugba nga mais so without much though I bought 4 pieces upon knowing that its only Php15/2 piece. Now that's really bargain and I will surely be back for more! Do you like plain grilled corn? 

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