Lengua Con Setas y Olivas (ILO-ILO)

The sossy dish of Ilo-Ilo Lengua Con Setas y Olivas. An ilonggo heritage cuisine served during special occasions. A Spanish inspired heirloom recipe of late Francisca Jiz de Ortega Jardeleza. The dish is not commonly served on our HAPAG. It is quite expensive and not all restaurant had this dish on their menu.

     Ingredients:

     4 pounds ox tongue, cleaned

    2 cups canned cooked chick peas

    5 tablespoons cooking oil

    1 cup water

    3 teaspoons salt

    1/4 cup bread crumbs

    2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper

    1/2 cup white wine

    2 tablespoons cooking oil

    1 cup chopped onion

    1/2 cup tomato sauce

    Procedure:

     Boil tongue in water to cover until tender. Drain. Fry in oil until brown. Slice tongue and marinate 1 hour in salt, pepper and white wine. Set aside. In a medium skillet, heat oil. Saute onion and sliced tongue. Add tomato sauce, chick peas and marinade and 1 cup of water. Simmer for 15 minutes or until sauce is thick and tongue is tender. Add bread crumbs to thicken sauce. Serve hot.

                                                       

Pinangat (BICOL)

Bicol is known to serve spicy dishes, for us bisaya we are already immune to the spicy like dishes, we love enjoying spicy foods. This dish is good spicy and perfect for this rainy seasons.

  Pinangat is a Filipino dish which originated in Bicol Region, Philippines. More popularly known in Manila as laing, this dish is a blend of taro leaves, chili, meat and coconut milk wrapped in gabi leaves and tied securely with coconut leaf.

    INGREDIENTS

     1 kilo gabi/taro leaves

    3 cups Thin coconut milk

    1/8 cup crushed ginger

    2 pcs sili labuyo

    1 tsp salt

    1 Tbsp Vinegar

    3 cups Thick coconut milk

    Procedures:

     Finely shred the dried gabi leaves by hand. reserve 4-5 large whole pieces for wrapping.

    In a pot, combine the thin coconut milk, ginger, sili labuyo and salt. Add shredded leaves.  Bring to a boil over low heat, then simmer for around 2 hours until leaves become very soft and the sauce already somewhat dry.

    Take the whole leaves and place the cooked gabi leaves in the center. Fold like a packet.

    In another large pot, pour the 3 cups of thick coconut milk. Arrange the wrapped packet or laing at the bottom. Bring to a boil, then lower heat. Simmer for about an hour until the coconut milk is thick and oily. Taste and season with salt as needed.

Curacha's (ZAMBOANGA)

Curacha is a red frog crab only found here in Zamboanga, it is a crossbreed characteristic of a large sea crab and a big spiny lobster. Curacha food from Zamboanga is the best food usually people like to eat. It has a big difference between other crabs. Most crabs generally found their meat at the claws part but curacha meat is found in its body. Meaning, you don’t need to use fork or spoon just to break those claws to eat some meat since curacha has it in the bodies and you can simply open it using your hands.
Curacha also known as spanner crab or red frog crab is a local Chavacano name given to a sea crab species found in Zamboanga Philippines. It is a highbred crustacean, with crossbreed characteristics of a large sea crab and a big spiny lobster.

 Ingredients:
 1 kilo curacha or crab
1/2 kilo grated coconut
1/2 kilo Alavar sauce
1 bulb of garlic
1/2 thumb of ginger
4 pinches of salt
4 pinches of monosodium glutamate, MSG
1 1/2 cup of water

Procedures:
 Wash curacha or crab. Place in cooking pot. Set aside.
Place grated coconut in a mixing bowl. Pour water and mix. With your hands, squeeze all milk from the coconut. Set aside.
Mince garlic and ginger into tiny pieces. Set aside.
Sprinkle the salt, MSG, garlic and ginger all over the curacha or crab.
Pour coconut milk all over the curacha or crab.
Turn stove on high heat until the coconut milk comes to a boil. Then drop the alavar sauce into the pot and lower the knob to medium heat.
When the coconut oil starts to surface (happens after around 20-30 minutes), turn off the stove.

 Try curacha and enjoy the taste it has.

Binagol (LEYTE)

Binagol is a delicacy that originated in Eastern Visayas, in Dagami, Leyte. It comes from the word “bagol” or otherwise known in English as coconut shell. It is termed such because the food that you will actually eat is placed in the coconut shell and wrapped with a banana leaf as cover. It is then tied and sold to the market.

I am not a cook so I don’t have actual knowledge of how the food inside is being cooked. Binagol, which is taro pudding with nuts, derives its name from it’s container — polished coconut shell, called “bagol” in the local dialect. It’s just half of the coconut shell, because if it’s the whole shell (with glutinous/sticky rice as the main ingredient), that would be the kalamay of Bohol. Same glutinous rice ingredient, but using the tiny pitugo shell, that’s the infamous “sundot kulangot” of Baguio City.

Binagol Recipe

How to Cook Binagol Video and Recipe

Ingredients:

1 Cup taro root

1 Cup Thick coconut milk

3/4 Cup brown sugar

1/2 Can condensed milk

4 Egg yolks

Banana leaves

4 Coconut shells

Cooking twine

 Procedures:

In none stick pan, combine shredded taro root, coconut milk and brown sugar.

Cook over medium heat for about 6 minutes while stirring constantly.

Reduce heat to low and cook for another 10 minutes.

Add condensed milk and cook, stirring continuously for another 20 minutes.

Fill each coconut shell with mixture, Make a well in the center and drop raw egg yolk.

Cover the top with mixture and spread smoothly.

Layer two pieces of banana leaves to cover the filled coconut shell and tie securely.

Place in a steamer, cover and cook for another half an hour.

IF it is your first time to EAT this, this is how to eat it:

1. First, unwrap the “binagol” by removing the banana leaf that covers it.

2. Turn the “binagol” upside down and scrape with a knife until the cake is removed.

3. The upside down “binagol” will reveal and caramel sugar mixed with peanut which will serve as the topping for the “binagol.”

4. Eat it while it lasts.

Lechon CEBU

Lechon baboy (litson/letson) or whole roasted pig is considered as a traditional Filipino recipe. It is the Philippines’ most loved delicacy. It is usually featured in typical Filipino picture on rural areas roasting whole pig on bamboo pole. Any Filipino occasion cannot be considered as extravagant without Lechon baboy offered in the table. Because lechon has always been a part of Filipino culture, there are lots of festivities that promote it.

Preparing a whole lechon would take a lot of effort. If you are planning to cook lechon for yourself, I would advice that you hire a slaughterer to slaughter and clean the whole pig. You can also do it with only the head part, belly, thighs and legs so that it won’t be that difficult for you. In this page, I will give you tips on how to do it at your home. We will be using the pig’s belly for this course. The belly part would be the best part to make lechon.

Lechon Recipe

Ingredients needed:

• pork belly, specifically cut 10×20 inches, no bones/ribs
• lemon grass
• 3 medium size onions, sliced
• 2 entire bulbs of garlic, crushed
• spring onions, do not slice
• 5 tbsp peppercorns
• 2 tbsp ground black pepper
• salt
• coke/pepsi
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• oil

You would also need tie wire, enough to tie up the belly when rolled. And bamboo, the tip part of it would be perfect. You can also use  a metal skewer that is enough for the whole belly to hold.

Lechon Cooking Procedure:

Clean the pork belly, set it aside for the water to drain.  If the pork is ready, season the belly with salt, and ground pepper. Place in lemon grass, garlic, onions, peppercorns and spring onions. Make sure to distribute it equally to the belly. Roll the belly over the bamboo skewer with the seasonings rolled in the inside. Tie it up with the tie wires in order to secure the belly into its position.

Mix the coke/pepsi with the evaporated milk. Add a little salt for it to have a salty taste. Spread it evenly all over the skin. Now make a set up where you can cook the belly over a charcoal and turning it in a rotisserie action. Don’t put to much to much charcoal. It is best to cook it slowly so that it would be cooked properly without burning down the skin. It would take about an hour and half to cook it.

After 30 minutes over the charcoal, start to spread some oil on the skin. Do it regularly, about 15-20 minutes interval. After an hour of cooking, raise up the cooking temperature by adding up some charcoal. With this technique, a crispy lechon skin would result.  When the lechon is cooked, sliced it then plate it and serve. Enjoy.

Lechon is the most famous dish to be served on every occasion's, with the crispiness of the pig's skin crackling as you take a bite.