Insarabasab

Another must-try grilled Ilokano delicacy is Insarabasab, the region’s version of Sisig. Like some of the dishes in this list, what makes Insarabasab different is its use of Sukang Iloko. Pork belly or shoulder pieces are marinated overnight with Sukang Iloko, calamansi, and garlic. Afterwards, they are cooked in an “Insarabasab” way—“something burned in fire”. This is also another distinguishing factor of this dish. The meat pieces are allowed to sear a little to give a smoky flavor. The grilled pork is then mixed with raw red onions and red chilies.

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Igado

Made from pork tenderloin and innards, Igado is a popular Ilokano dish that makes you want to eat more rice. This dish does have its bitter notes, but the sweet-and-sour taste of the pork tenderloin, which is soaked in Sukang Iloko, soy sauce, and pepper, evens this out. Although the dish has no broth, it has a rich and thick texture, which is further enhanced by the crisp of red bell peppers and green peas.

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Vigan Longganisa

Vigan Longganisa is Ilocos Region’s uniquely salty, and spicy sausage delicacy. While other regions produce sweet sausages, the locals use a variety of marinades, such as Sukang Iloko, that give Vigan Longganisa that distinct tang. Garlic is also abundantly used in creating this, and the resulting flavor makes Vigan Longganisa unique. Some parts of the region use thoroughly cleaned pork intestine as an alternative sausage case.

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Sinanglaw

Most parts of the Ilocos Region have been heavily influenced by Spanish colonizers. One proof of this is the presence of Empanada in the local cuisine. Although it is Spanish in origin, the Ilokanos gave this fried dough snack a twist that is exclusively their own. Unlike its European variants, Ilokano Empanada uses sweetened dough, is flaky, and contains ground pork, diced potato, carrot, and peas as filling.

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Pinapaitan

“Pait” is a Filipino word which means “bitter”, and “pinapaitan” roughly translates to “make bitter”. This name actually sums up the taste of this dish. Made with very thin strips tender beef, ox tripe, small intestines, heart, bile, and large green chilies, Dinakdakan will take you on a roller coaster of flavors. The bitterness can be toned down by squeezing some calamansi to the dish, and by, surprisingly, eating it while it’s very hot. Even those who are not bitter by heart can thoroughly enjoy this dish.

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Dinakdakan

Ilokanos are people who do not like the sight of leftovers. This is why they turn any present raw ingredient into something impressive. This also applies to Dinakdakan, a sisig-like dish that is made from not just grilled pieces of pork, but grilled pieces of the often times discarded parts: pig face, ears, liver, tongue, and yes, brain. Afterwards, these smoky pieces are tossed into a mixture of calamansi, red onions, and sometimes ginger and red chili peppers. Mashed brain is used to add texture and cream to the dish. Modern takes on this dish use mayonnaise as an alternative to brain.

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Tupig

Made from glutinous rice and coconut milk, Tupig can serve both as a snack and a dessert. Rice soaked with water is mixed with coconut milk, and then a small amount of mixture is wrapped in a strip of banana leaf like shanghai rolls. Afterwards, these are cooked in a grill. The result: a slightly charred and smoky taste of a sweet, coconut-ty and sticky dessert. The small amount of serving will actually leave you craving for more. Sadly, this exotic taste cannot be replicated by what is served in restaurants.

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Dinengdeng

This dish is often interchanged with Pinakbet because of their similar method of cooking and appearance. Both are vegetable soup dishes, and both use a variety of vegetables. The difference between the two, however, is that while Pinakbet contains the more colorful “Bahay Kubo” veggies, Dinengdeng only tends to use green or yellow ones—malunggay leaves and fruits (the long pods), squash and squash blossoms, and alakon blossoms, to name a few. Tossing in grilled pieces of fish or other meat is also frequently done here.

Want to know another major difference? Dinengdeng uses only bagoong, but does not use shrimp paste.

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Pinakbet

Alternatively called Pakbet by the locals, this vegetable dish is perhaps the embodiment of Ilokano cuisine. The average bowl of Pinakbet is created with almost any vegetable—if you know the lyrics to the folk song “Bahay Kubo”, you will have an idea of what these veggies are. Majority of those mentioned in the song are ingredients to Pinakbet. Afterwards, they are boiled until cooked, and then seasoned with the region’s signature bagoong or fish sauce, and lastly, pink shrimp paste. Others may add pork belly with this vegetable dish.

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DODOL

Dodol is a sweet delicacy of our muslim brothers and sisters. It is made from sticky rice flour, coconut milk and sugar.

Dodol is commonly served during festivals, such as Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid al-ADha as sweet treat for children. It is also served during Iftar (the breaking of fast at the end of the day or sunset.

Dodol is usually wrapped in corn husks or brightly colored cellophane sheets.

It is popular not only here in Mindanao, but as well to other countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.

Did you found your heart and soul on the Muslim delicacies listed above? If not share your favorite muslim delicacy with us. However, you can also try these delicacies and maybe one of them can become one of your favorites too. Altamatue bialghidha’

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BEEF RENDANG

The king of all curries, beef rendang is a mouthwatering dish that originated from Indonesia. Eventually became one of the specialties of Maranao people. Beef Rendang is a caramelized beef curry. Cooke with coconut milk to reduced the dish’s darkness and add consistency to its sweetness.

For Maranaos this is usually served during special celebrations.

Some restaurants around Cagayan de Oro City offers beef rendang on their menu.

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PALAPA

Speaking of palapa, it is a sambal like sauce that is oily and spicy. It is known as a Maranao appetizer. It is made of scallion bulbs or sakurab in Maranao with ginger and siling labuyo or chili pepper.  It is known for adding more flavor to every cooked dish.

Muslim meals in Cagayan de Oro City are usually served with palapa. However, if you are interested on buying one, you can buy one in a very affordable price. For a 100 grams of palapa, it will cost you P50 while 200 grams is P100.

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PATER

One of the most popular muslim food here in Cagayan de Oro is the unique yet delicious Pater.

Pater which originated from Mindanao, is a packed meal famous of its unique style. It is neatly wrapped in a banana leaf. Unwrapping the banana leaf, you will find the packed rice topped with either sauteed shredded chicken meat (kagikit) or beef (gandang) or flakes of fish abodo/tuna.

Pater is also known as pastel or pastil or patel or paster. Commonly known as a Maranao and Maguindanao meal.

Aside from the fact that Pater’s taste is loved by the many it is also enjoyed by everyone for it’s very affordable price. Here in Cagayan de Oro, for as low as thirty pesos you can already buy this muslim delicacy.

The muslim delicacy is a lot more delicious when served with palapa.

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Salawaki (Fresh Sea Urchin) Bohol

Who wouldn’t know about Sea Urchins? They’re very popular aphrodisiacs and they’re common around places near the sea especially in Bohol, Bolinao, and La Union. These are spiny sea creatures with yellow or orange insides. Their texture is similar to that of oysters and they are best eaten raw and fresh.

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Adobong Uok (Beetle Larvae) Rizal

If you’re an avid fan of Andrew Zimmerman’s show, Bizarre Food with Andrew Zimmerman, you might have already came across with Adobong Uok. They live in dead coconut logs. Natives would collect them and eat them raw or cooked adobo style. It has an interesting texture and taste that people from around the globe are a fan off.

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Adobong Kamaru (Mole Cricket), Pampanga

Rice fields would often have Kamaru. These can be a little bit of a pest, so to counter them, farmers harvest these insects and people found ways on how to eat them. Served mostly in adobo style (which would mean to cook it in sautéed garlic, soy sauce and vinegar) this peculiar dish is more oftenly eaten together with beer. These are crunchy on the outside and gooey on the inside and they’re quite commonly sold in Pampanga.

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Abuos (Ant Eggs) Ilocos

Let’s now look at the bug choices in this menu. These creepy crawlers might put you off a bit, but you might be surprised how other culture also eat red ant eggs, like in Thailand and Mexico. In Thailand they cook it with lemon grass, garlic and chillies. In Mexico they call it as escamole and they serve it pan fried in butter and spices. Ilocos serves it sautéed with garlic and tomatoes.

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Kinilaw na Tamilok in Palawan and Aklan (Shipworm or Woodworm dipped in Salt and Vinegar)

Kinilaw is a popular way of preparing seafood especially shelled mollusks. Kinilaw is quite similar to ceviche, where you would need some acidic solution to “cook” the ingredients. They basically soak it in either vinegar or calamansi juice with bits of ginger, and minced garlic and they leave it for a bit. This is then served as is. Tamilok is a bivalve mollusk that is attached in mangroves. They look like worms inside, but they taste like the typical oyster. So imagine your typical oyster served in kinilaw style and you would get an idea of how this would taste like.

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Betute Tugak (Deep fried stuffed frogs) Pampanga

Fancy deep fried frogs with meat stuffings? They always say that frogs taste like chicken and they do. That in itself is comforting, just close your eyes and imagine you’re eating chicken if you’re having second thoughts on eating this. Betute Tugak is quite popular in Pampanga. These frogs are those that roam around farms during the rainy season. They’d remove the skin, season it with salt and pepper and stuff it with sautéed ground pork.

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Balut

Evenings would never be complete without hearing some vendor calling out “baloooooooot!”. Some vendors walk, others would be in their bicycles. But did you ever try to buy one? If you haven’t and you’re wondering what it is, then it’s a duck egg. To be more specific, it’s a developed duck egg, which of course means that there’s a little baby duck inside it. It’s very popular among the locals. It has this bit of broth that has a distinct taste, and some egg yolk and hardened albumen. Some would put vinegar in it, others would just put a bit of salt.

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Isaw, Betamax, Gizzard

This might just be the mildest among the rest of the items on this list. All of these three are grilled, and there are basically sold everywhere in the country, most especially in places near university belts. Isaw is chicken intestines, betamax is grilled blood cubes, and gizzard is basically grilled chicken gizzard. Other culture also eat innards, in fact there’s a couple of words pertaining to innards such as Giblet, for chicken neck, heart and liver, Numbles for animal entrails.

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Tortang Talong with Ground Pork Recipe

You can add ground pork to your eggplant omelet to make something like this. I simply call it tortang talong with ground pork. This dish is like tortang talong and tortang giniling combined.

While it looks yummy, it will even be yummier if you serve it with your favorite condiment. Banana ketchup is more than enough, as far as I am concerned.

Let me give you some pointers before you start. The first thing to do is to peel the skin off the eggplant. Do this by first exposing the eggplant directly on fire until the skin gets a bit burnt. It will be easier to peel the skin off this way. You can also bake or grill the eggplant.

The ground pork mixture (giniling) is simply made by sautéing garlic, onion, and tomato with the ground pork. Season it with salt and pepper towards the end

nitially cook the eggplant the same way we do when making tortang talong. Run a fork over the peeled eggplant to flatten it, and then dip in beaten egg before frying. The ground pork will only be placed on one side to make the process simpler. Arrange half of the ground pork over the eggplant as you fry the other side, and then pour enough beaten egg to cover it. I usually pour hot oil over the beaten egg to partially cook it. This will hold the ground pork and prevent it from falling off. Simply scoop oil from the pan using a small spoon and pour over the eggplant. Do this until the egg on top turns solid.

I think the step when we need to turn the eggplant over is not the easiest. What I usually do is grab a wide spatula (big enough to accommodate the eggplant) and quickly flip it to cook the opposite side. It takes a little practice to perfect it.

Ingredients

• 2 Chinese eggplants
• 3 eggs
• 6 to 8 ounces ground pork
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves crushed garlic, minced
• 8 tablespoons cooking oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Heat the eggplant directly over a stove top until the sides skin turns black. Remove and let it cool down. Peel the skin off and arrange in a plate. Flatten each piece using a fork. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons oil in a pan. Saute garlic, onion, and tomato.
3. Add ground pork. continue to cook until the pork turns light brown. Season with salt and ground black pepper. Transfer to a clean plate and set aside.
4. Heat remaining oil in a clean pan.
5. While the oil is being heated, crack eggs and place in a bowl. Beat until smooth.
6. Dip a piece of eggplant into the bowl with egg. Make sure that the entire eggplant gets completely coated.
7. Gently slide the eggplant into the pan.
8. While one side is frying, arrange half of the ground pork mixture over the eggplant. Pour 2 tablespoons of beaten egg to cover the pork mixture. Tip: Scoop oil from the pan using a spoon and pour over the eggplant. This will partially cook the beaten egg on top, which will act as a binder to prevent the meat mixture from falling apart.
9. Flip the eggplant over to cook the opposite side. Note: you can use a wide spatula, or you can temporarily transfer the eggplant to a plate. If using the plate method, empty the oil from the pan first. Hold the pan in one hand and the plate on the other. Cover the plate with the pan and quickly flip the pan so that it facing up. The side with ground pork should be facing down at this point. Continue to cook in medium to high heat until the tortang talong with ground pork is fully cooked. Do the same step for the remaining eggplant.
10. Transfer to a serving plate. Serve.

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Tocino with Salted Egg and Chopped Tomato

Pork Tocino with Salted Egg and Chopped Tomato is a dish composed of cured sweet pork with a side of salted duck egg and chopped plum tomato. It is a typical Filipino breakfast meal served with rice. This recipe suggests the use of white rice, but it will also work well with garlic fried rice.

The pork tocino was prepared using my tried and tested homemade pork tocino recipe. I have been making my own tocino for a while now because it is convenient and it saves me money.  If you are looking for a side hustle (earn extra money), you may want to try the recipe for you to be convinced and start drafting a business plan.

I created this simple food blog not only to promote Filipino food and Filipino cuisine, but also so serve and guide my readers by suggesting ideas (and providing tutorials and information) that can help make your life better.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. homemade pork tocino
• 1 salted egg
• 1 medium ripe tomato, chopped
• 1 cup water
• 3 tablespoons cooking oil

Instructions

1. Pour water in a pan or cooking pot. Let boil.
2. Add oil and homemade pork tocino in the pot with boiling water. Continue to cook in medium heat until the water completely evaporates.
3. Once the water evaporates, continue to cook by frying the pork on the remaining oil until brown. Turn the pork over to fry the opposite side.
4. Remove the pork tocino from the pan. Arrange in a plate with salted egg and chopped tomato.
5. Serve with rice and spicy vinegar dip.
6. Share and enjoy!

Nutrition Information

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Grilled Liempo with Fried Tofu

Grilled Liempo with Fried Tofu is just like sinuglaw and tokwat baboy. It is a combination of two proteins which are tossed in a mix of spiced vinegar. It can be enjoyed either as pulutan or as a main dish with rice.

I had this as a main dish with half a cup of rice. I was able to control my rice intake because I got full quickly for having more tofu. It is probably a good thing because I am ingesting more protein than carbs.

This dish is easy to prepare and I enjoyed every bite. The combination of all the ingredients worked well in a harmonious way.

The grilled liempo was prepared using my inihaw na liempo recipe. If you have not tried it yet, I suggest that you do it one of these days. You will love it. As for the tofu, I deep fried some extra-firm tofu and cut it into cubes. Both ingredients are tossed in a spiced vinegar mix (see recipe below) before serving.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. grilled liempo, chopped
• 6 ounces deep fried extra firm tofu, cubed
• Spiced Vinegar
• ¾ cup white vinegar
• 4 pieces chili peppers
• 1 small red onion, sliced
• 2 tablespoons chopped green onions
• • ½ teaspoon granulated white sugar
• • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• • A dash of ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Prepare the spiced vinegar by combining all of its ingredients listed above. Stir and ensure that it gets well blended.
2. Place the chopped pork belly and cubed fried tofu in a large bowl. Pour the spiced vinegar into the bowl. Toss until pork and tofu gets completely coated.
3. Transfer to a serving bowl. Sprinkle green onions on top.
4. Serve. Share and enjoy!

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How To Cook Super Crispy Lechon Kawali

Ever wondered how to make your lechon kawali extra crispy to the point that there is loud crackling sound when you bite on the skin? It is fairly simple. I will show you how to make super crispy lechon kawali through the step-by-step recipe below, as well as the cooking video located at the bottom of this post. If you have questions, suggestions, concerns, or feedback, shoot me an email through the contact page, or type-in your comments below.

Super Crispy Lechon Kawali can be enjoyed either as a main dish or as a pulutan. This is not the healthiest Filipino food, so please take extra caution and try to consume it moderately. This dish is best when served with a dipping sauce of either lechon gravy (lechon sauce) or simple spicy vinegar dip. I also suggest consuming it within a few minutes after cooking to enjoy it better. No matter how crispy you cook it, the skin can lose its crunch overtime.

Ingredients

• 3 lbs. pork belly
• 5 pieces dried bay leaves
• 1½ tablespoons whole pepperorn
• 3 pints water
• 2 pints cooking oil
• 1 tablespoon salt

Instructions

1. Boil water in a cooking pot.
2. Add dried bay leaves and whole peppercorn. Cook for 2 minutes.
3. Add pork belly. Cover and cook in medium heat for 30 minutes or until tender. Turn the meat over (if necessary) to equally cook the opposite side.
4. Remove the pork belly from the cooking pot. Place it in a clean plate. Let it cool down until you can safely handle it with your hands.
5. Rub salt all over the pork. Let it stay for 15 minutes.
6. Heat oil in a deep cooking pot. Once the oil gets hot (320F to 350F), put the boiled pork belly in skin side facing down. Deep fry until the skin turns brown. Note: there is no definite time for this step. Use the sound of the oil as your queue. When the oil starts to calm down a bit, check the pork belly to see if the skin is brown.
7. Turn the pork belly over and deep fry the opposite side for 5 minutes.
8. Remove the entire pork belly slab from the cooking pot. Place it in a plate with grates or lined with paper towel. Let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Note: turn off the stove during this time.
9. Turn on the stove to heat the oil. Once the oil is hot enough, put the pork belly back into the pot skin side facing down. Deep fry for 3 to 6 minutes or until golden brown.
10. Remove from the cooking pot. Put on a plate and let the excess oil drip.
11. Test for crispiness by hitting the crackling (crispy skin) lightly with a fork or knife. It should create a sound. Chop the super crispy lechon kawali into bite-sized pieces.
12. Transfer to a serving plate. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce and a cup of warm rice.
13. Share and enjoy!

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Extremely Spicy Pork Adobo na Tuyo

I have always thought of making the spiciest pork adobo that I can still enjoy eating. It can be very spicy, but I should still be able to appreciate its taste. I think that I already made one through this Extremely Spicy Pork Adobo na Tuyo. Sure it is very spicy (no doubt about it), but I was still able to enjoy it.

This is quite a challenging dish to cook and to eat. If you are planning to make this dish soon, make sure that you be extra careful. Always wear gloves when handling ghost peppers. As I mentioned in the video, ghost peppers are 400 times hotter than Tabasco sauce. It will also be ideal if you cook the dish in an open area outside your house, even if you have a strong exhaust system in your kitchen. Wear protective goggles to protect your eyes. The oil and liquid from the pan can splatter anytime and it is good to be always prepared.

This is the spiciest pork adobo that I have tasted yet. I always make sure to have a glass of milk by my side whenever I eat super spicy foods such as this. Milk washes out capsaicin (the compound from peppers that makes it spicy) from the mouth.

Enjoy this Extremely Spicy Pork Adobo na Tuyo as a pulutan (Time to call your drinking buddies), or have it as a main dish with warm rice. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. pork belly, cut into serving pieces
• 1 medium Ghost Pepper
• 2 teaspoons whole peppercorn
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed
• 6 pieces dried bay leaves
• 12 pieces Thai chili
• ½ cup soy sauce
• ¼ cup white or cane vinegar
• 2 cups beef broth

Instructions

1. Combine pork, soy sauce, whole peppercorn, and garlic in a bowl. Mix well. Cover the bowl with a clear plastic wrap. Place inside the refrigerator and marinate for at least 3 hours.
2. Heat a pan on a stovetop. Once the pan is hot enough, pour the marinated pork along with the marinade. Cook until the pork browns.
3. Pour beef broth into the pan. Let boil.
4. Add the ghost pepper and Thai chilies. Cover the pan and continue to cook in medium heat for 15 minutes.
5. Add bay leaves and vinegar. Let the liquid boil. Stir and then cover the pan. Continue to cook for 40 to 60 minutes or until the pork becomes tender. Note: you can add more broth or water if the liquid starts to dry while the pork is not that tender enough.
6. Remove the cover from the pan. Continue to cook until the liquid totally evaporates. Cook a little bit longer in low to medium heat until oil gets extracted from the pork.
7. Transfer to a serving plate. Serve for pulutan or as a main dish with warm rice.
8. Share and enjoy!

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How to Cook Pork Bagnet

Pork Bagnet is a type Filipino pork dish wherein pork belly (liempo) is boiled until it becomes very tender and then deep fried until the outside turns brown and crispy. This is almost the same as lechon kawali, except that traditional bagnet recipe do not use any seasoning at all. Instead, it utilizes pork fat in order to add flavor to the dish and this is done during the boiling process wherein pork fat or bacon grease is added in boiling water.

I recommend using a single slab of pork belly with a weight of around 2 to 3 lbs. Using a whole slab of pork guarantees the inner part to remain tender and juicy while the outside is being browned and made crispy when frying it. This advice might be familiar to you if you were able to read my recipe post on Super Crispy Lechon Kawali.

Authentic bagnet is fried for a short amount of time. It gets brown and crispy in around 5 minutes. However, it involves applying very high amount heat on the oil. I did not go on the same route because I am concerned about the quality of the final product. Since I am using canola oil, I played safe at 350F because its smoke point is at 400F. This means that canola oil can get burnt if I go beyond 400F, so I just opted for a lower temperature and increased the frying time. The result is just the same anyway – a very tender pork belly in the inside while the outside is brown and crispy.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. pork belly
• ½ cup pork fat or bacon grease
• 2 quarts water
• 1 ½ quarts cooking oil

Instructions

1. Pour water in a deep cooking pot. Let boil.
2. Add pork fat or bacon grease and then put the pork belly into the pot. Cover and boil in medium heat for 2 to 2 ½ hours or until the pork belly becomes very tender.
3. Remove the pork belly from the cooking pot. Let the temperature cool down to a point wherein you can handle it with your hands. Tap the pork dry with a piece of paper towel. Set aside.
4. Heat oil in a deep fryer or a deep cooking pot (until it reaches around 350F).
5. Deep-fry the boiled pork belly for 15 minutes.
6. Remove from the pot or deep fryer. Let excess oil drip.
7. Cut into serving pieces. Serve with spicy vinegar or you can also use this as an ingredient to other dishes such as pinakbet and sinigang na may bagnet.
8. Serve. Share and enjoy!

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