Iloilo Philippines

By Rachelle and Amylene of Top 10 Carinderia Dishes*

Laswa is a dish of mixed vegetables like okra, squash, string beans, malunggay, and others.  Shrimps are usually added to it to make the taste more savory.   What’s  different about it from other vegetable dishes is its slimy and sticky sabaw.  Some have it with eggplants, saluyot and some bagoong.  Anything goes, whatever is available.  That’s Ilonggo creativity for you.

Below is a recipe courtesy of Mrs. Mila Luna Mata. Auntie Mila is the mother of our dear classmate and friend Ruthchel. A native of Villa Arevalo, she really cooks so well. Anyway, nothing beats a mother’s cooking!

LASWA

Ingredients:

¼ kilo squash, diced

¼ kilo tugabang

¼ kilo okra cut into 3

¼ kilo malunggay, leaves

¼ kilo takway

¼ kilo shrimp, skinless

3 pieces tomatoes, sliced

1 pinch salt

1 pinch vetsin

1 onion sliced

2 cloves garlic, pound

1 shrimp knorr cubes

Procedure:

1. Boil water.
2. Put squash and simmer for 2 minutes.
3. Put other ingredients.
4. Mix and let it simmer for 2-4 minutes.
5. Taste. Serve.

By Rachelle and Amylene of Top 10 Carinderia Dishes*

Linaga can be stated in English as a stew. It’s the leisure of beef/pork with a touch of fruity sour flavor of batwan. Some put libas or alubihod. Big chunks of unripe langka are added to the linaga.

Below is a recipe courtesy of  Ilongga Manang Lalaine of Lalaine’s Eatery located at Ybiernas St. She is very famous among UP students because of her lutong bahay. She’ cooks in either the traditional Ilonggo way or with some twist, the Lalaine way.

LINAGA

Ingredients:

¼ kilo batuan/ I pack Knorr sinigang

¼ kilo petchay

¼ kilo hilaw na langka, diced

4 pieces long chili

1 piece beef Knorr cubes

1 kilo beef/pork, cut into serving size

2 pieces onions, sliced

½ medium size garlic, pounded

½ cup cooking oil

Procedure:

1. Sauté garlic and onions.
2. Put the beef, mix for 2 min.
3. After a few minutes, put some water.
4. Let it simmer until the beef/pork gets soft.
5. Put langka, salt and vetsin [optional]
   
6. If the langka is soft enough, put the batwan or if batwan is off-season,  knorr sinigang.
7. If batwan is used, take out from the broth the batwan if its skin is already open.
8. In a small bowl, press the softened batwan to bring out the juice.
9. Strain the batwan and put the juice into the pot.
10. Simmer for a few minutes.
11. Put the petchay.
12. Simmer for a minute and add the chili peppers.
    
13. Mix, simmer and serve.

By Rachelle and Amylene of Top 10 Carinderia Dishes*

Tinola is a dish with chicken as its main ingredient. It’s not only the chicken that makes this dish appetizing but also its sabaw, which is flavored by malunggay, papaya, and spices like ginger, onions, cooking peppers and tanglad. It’s traditionally cooked with native chicken but most carinderias use the 45 day broiler instead.  If one really likes it special, chili leaves would be the very best to add to the soup. Best served hot.

Below is a recipe courtesy of bachelor Manong Jay Naparato who is a certified Ilonggo. He is really fond of cooking that he even collects write ups about food. He is the youngest among the staff at Balay Ilonggo.

TINOLA NGA MANOK

Ingredients:

½ clove garlic

2 onion bulbs

1 kilo chicken

1 tanglad

2 pieces small papaya, sliced into wedges

2 pcs. cooking peppers

2 small bundles of chili leaves

1 chicken cube

2 tsp cooking oil

3 cups water

1 tsp salt

Procedure:

1.      Sauté garlic and onion.

2.      Put water and let it boil.

3.      Put the chicken.   Add the tanglad.  Wait for 2 minutes then add salt and let it simmer until the    chicken    is tender.

4.      Add the sliced papaya. Let it simmer until the papaya is soft and tender.

5.      Add the cooking peppers.

6.      Put the chili leaves and let it simmer for 2 minutes.

6.      Serve.

Inday Joy says:  At home, right after putting in the chili leaves, I turn off the heat so leaves still retain much of their vitamins.

By Rachelle and Amylene of Top 10 Carinderia Dishes*

Mongo is a mixture of mongo, and vegetables like alugbati and squash. Actually, mongo is any dish that has mongo as a base ingredient. There are so many ways of cooking mongo dishes that it’s like in every carinderia, there’s a different dish of mongo. There’s the mongo with squash, the plain mongo with chopped pork, there’s the mongo with pinakas which is a dried fish, and many others. In Marilou’s Eatery, mongo is mixed with chopped banana pith and tomatoes. In Lalaine’s Eatery, they have the mongo with sardines, langka, coconut milk and camote tops. Below is a recipe courtesy of Manong Totong, our dorm staff.

MONGO KAG BABOY

Ingredients:

½ salmon mongo

½ clove garlic

2 onion bulbs

¼ kilo pork

3 pieces tomatoes

5 cups water

1 tsp salt

Procedure:

1.      Boil the water.

2.      Put the mongo and let it simmer until it is cooked.

3.      Add salt.

4.      Set aside.

5.      Sauté garlic, onion, and tomatoes in a separate pan.

6.      Transfer the sautéed ingredients in the pan where the mongo is.

7.      Let it simmer for 2 minutes.

8.      Serve.

by Rachelle and Amylene of Top 10 Carinderia Dishes*

The walang kasawaang Adobo is so very popular in the Philippines that every home has the mastery of cooking such a dish. Adobo makes everyone eat so much rice.

It is a dish of chicken or pork marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, crushed garlic, paminta and some bay leaf. Its savory taste depends on the proportion of the ingredients and the procedure. The color is usually golden or dark brown.

Meat is usually cut into small chunks but there’s one exemption, try checking out Tobeng’s Eatery near Iloilo Doctor’s College and they will give you a large pork chop.

Below is a recipe courtesy of  bachelor Manong Jay Naparato who is a certified Ilonggo. He is really fond of cooking that he even collects write ups about food. He is the youngest among the staff at Balay Ilonggo.

ADOBO

Ingredients:

1 kilo pork/chicken

3 onion bulbs

1 clove garlic

1 small piece ginger

6 laurel leaves

1 tsp atsuete

3 tbsp oil

½ cup vinegar

½ cup soy sauce

1 tbsp powdered pepper

½ cup sugar

Procedure:

1.      Mix the soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, powdered pepper.

2.      Put the chicken/ pork in the mixture and marinate it overnight.

3.      Sauté the garlic, onions, ginger.

4.      Put the marinated mixture of chicken/ pork in the cooking pan and let it boil for about 15 minutes.

5.      Add water and let it simmer until the meat is tender and cooked

6.      Add vetsin and vinegar. Boil for 2 minutes.

7.      Serve while hot.

Pochero is a certified health dish because of the goodness of pork for protein, vegetables for fiber and other minerals, and the bananas, the energy fruit we all love. Lalaine’s Eatery adds camote to it.

Below is a recipe courtesy of our dear conservative and friendly Manang Rosalinda “Sally” Nam-ay, another staff member of our dorm. We can really say that she has “the cooking thumb.” Oftentimes, she’s the one who cooks for the dorm gatherings.

POCHERO

Ingredients:

1 kilo pork (sliced)

¼ kilo tomatoes

2 onion bulbs

6 pieces banana (sab-a)

½ kilo pechay(or ½ kilo cabbage)

2 spring onions

4 pieces green bell pepper (optional)

1 tbsp salt

1 pinch vetsin

7 cups water

Procedure:

1.      Prepare all the ingredients.

2.      Sauté the garlic, onion and tomatoes.

3.      Add salt and vetsin.

4.      Put the chicken and let it simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes.

5.      Put the water and let it boil.

6.      When the water is already boiling, put the banana and the green pepper. Stir occasionally until it become soft.

7.      Add the pechay or the cabbage and wait until cooked.

8.      Serve while hot.

inday joy says:  most ilonggos love putting vetsin.  try to do without.  it will still turn out delicious.:)

By Rachelle and Amylene of Top 10 Carinderia Dishes*

Chicken curry is named after its two main ingredients: Chicken and curry powder. Curry powder is available in tingi-tingi or retail from the wet market.  Coconut milk makes it yummy and creamy. In most carinderias, it tastes mild although it can also be served hot and spicy. At Lalaine’s Eatery, located at Ybiernas St., Iloilo City, they add carrots. This recipe is also courtesy of our dorm staff, Manong Totong.

CHICKEN CURRY

Ingredients:

2 medium sized potatoes, sliced in cubes

½ clove garlic

2 pieces onion bulb, chopped

1 kilo chicken, sliced into pieces

1 pack curry powder

1 cup coconut milk

4 tsp oil

2 cups water

Procedure:

1.      Sauté garlic, onions in oil.

2.      Add water.

3.      Put the chicken and let it boil for 30 minutes, until the chicken is tender.

4.      Add the sliced potatoes. Boil for 2 minutes.

5.      Put the coconut milk. Let it simmer for 2 minutes.

6.      Add the curry powder, and let it simmer for 3 minutes.

7.      Serve while hot.

By Rachelle & Amylene of Top 10 Carinderia Dishes*

Bihon is named after its noodle itself.  Bihon is a stir-fried noodle dish cooked with carrots, cabbages and different kinds of meat like pork and chicken, sometimes, shrimp. The more vegetables and meat, the more special it is, although carinderias usually put less for them to earn. It is usually served in fiestas, birthdays, name the occasion! The delicious flavor is even enhanced when it is served with calamansi, and when it is still hot. It can be eaten alone as snack or can be paired with rice in a meal.

Below is a recipe courtesy of our ever disciplinarian and sporty Manong Edgar “Totong” Ebro. Manong Totong is a staff at Balay Ilonggo, our dorm.  Ilonggo nga tunay, Nong Totong is fond of cooking traditional Ilonggo dishes.

BIHON

Ingredients:

1 piece carrot (sliced)

¼  kilo chopped pork/chicken

½ clove garlic

2 medium size onions (chopped)

1 kilo bihon

2 cups water

½ cup soy sauce

1 pack vetsin

1 tbsp. salt

½ cup cooking oil

¼ kg atay (optional)

1 medium size cabbage (sliced into small pieces)

½ cup of chopped spring onions

1 Knorr cube

Procedure:

1.      Sauté the garlic, onions, spring onions in oil.

2.      Put carrots and cabbage.

3.      Add vetsin, salt, and Knorr cubes.

4.      Put the soy sauce and water, then mix. Wait until it boils.

5.      Put the bihon (which was soaked in water until tender). Cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Mix them all.

6.      Let it simmer for 3 to 4 minutes. Serve while hot.

By Kathryn Joy Jeruta*

Inside the dark, gloomy and under-repair Jaro Cathedral we got to see lapidas all around. These are not the contemporary lapidas that are ever present in cemeteries.    Those inside Jaro Cathedral are bigger, older and more artsy than our modern day lapidas.

With Juvic Velez who is an officer in the church secretariat, we were able to see first-hand about 40 of these old lapidas that are inside the century-old Jaro Cathedral.   The lapidas have Spanish inscriptions giving us the idea that these may have been around during or just after the Spanish era. It also shows of how much influence our Spanish colonizers have had in our culture.

All the while we have been thinking that these are just lapidas with no real remains inside. We were really surprised when our guide told us that indeed the remains are buried in the church. Given the privilege to be buried in church are high-ranking church leaders such as the archbishop and the bishop.   Aside from there, we saw on other lapidas names of prominent families in Jaro.   Family names such as Jalandoni, Villalobos, Javellana, Lozada and Javelosa can be found inside. These people were important patrons of  the church.

A name worth highlighting is Don Manuel Arguelles who is the first layman to be given the privilege to be buried in the church. He was one of the people who spearheaded the building of this cathedral.  His marble lapida (5 feet and 3 inches x 2 feet and 10 inches) is placed on the floor.

The lapidas inside the church appear to be really ancient giving the suggestion of how old lapida making as an art really is.

*About the author

Kathryn Joy Jeruta is in her second year at UPV majoring in business management.  She finished her secondary education at St. Joseph School.

By William Lawrence King*

A lapida is a permanent indicator placed over or next to the site of a burial.  It is also a symbol of respect and recognition of the dead. It is in the lapida that the name, age and birth date as well as death date can be found.

What may sound as a morbid topic to research on, we actually had a lot of fun. To begin gathering information, we set out to a cemetery to observe the many lapidas that can be found. We were confronted with hundreds of assorted lapidas in concrete, stone, granite and tiles. Most common of all though were the ones made of marble.

We also visited Jaro Cathedral to check out the older, bigger and more artsy lapidas. We scrutinized about 40 lapidas inside the church. Check out Kathryn’s post entitled “Jaro Cathedral’s Artsy Lapidas.”

To learn more of the modern sleek-looking lapidas, we headed out to E. Lopez Street in Jaro where lapida makers can be found. The sun was at full blast and the traffic jammed, we started with the first among the nine lapida making shops along the street.

At Golden Lapida, we met Mr. Romdy Panso who introduced himself as the lapida maker for the shop. In between bites of his pamahaw we were able to find out that the shop has been in business for eight years and is owned by a Mr. Raul Salvador. They offer lapidas in marble, granite and stainless steel. Romdy claims to be able finish one lapida a day. As we were about to visit the next shop, we caught a glimpse of a unique lapida because it had a picture of a person on it. The picture of the deceased seems to be in wallet size and it was laminated. Upon observation we found out that it was actually just stuck to the lapida. The shop also offers special brass lettering services for the words on the lapidas.

Next in line is Ricky Marble Services.  We were told by the shop’s lapida maker Sandy Bayot, 17, that this is the oldest lapida making shop in the entire row of lapida makers.  The establishment opened on 1976. The shop was first started by Roque Mingo Sr. but is now being managed by his son Ricky. Ricky Marble Services also offers lapidas in marble, granite and stainless steel.  Also available is the tile lapida which is only made by this shop. It would take Sandy two hours to finish a tile lapida and it costs about P2500.  By the way, Roque Mingo Sr. who was featured in MMK for his syokoy appearance owns another shop, Mingo Marble Services which offers the same rate.

We then visited Alma Salvador’s A&C Marble Works. We learned that the shop employs two workers but on this hot day, only one is present. John Pineda, 18, kindly answered our probing questions. They offer lapidas in granite and plain marble. What is special about this shop is their blue-pearl granite which is the most expensive material to use for a lapida. This particular kind costs about P6000. We asked for a sample but sadly it’s unavailable because it needs to be pre-ordered because the lapida is imported from abroad. Interestingly A&C also owns Salvador Marble and Metal Services, another lapida shop along E. Lopez.  We thanked him then for his time and trudged toward the next lapida making shop.

Nonoy Casera Lapida Maker is a shop with a small entrance. We were greeted by a smiling 21 year-old Luis Merida IV (that’s him in the photo with Kathryn and myself). The shop offers lapidas in marble and granite. Luis was in the middle of carving a lapida which gave us the opportunity to actually see how one is made. We asked questions while he was working on the marble lapida. He calls his carving material as “sinsil” for use on marble and “carvite” for granite lapidas. When asked of his background in lapida making, he told us that it was one of the most important things his father, also a lapida maker, ever taught him. Lapida making is learned through mentor- apprentice correlation.

It would take about week to a month of practice to be a good lapida maker. We stayed the longest on this shop as we looked on while he was working. Of course it was a relief from the heat as well.

We then made our way to Ronnel Lapida Engraving. The shop as we saw in its BIR registration is owned by Ronnel Rovia. In the shop working is Redan Rovia who is the brother of the owner and the worker of the shop. He was working on a lapida and did not seem to be in the mood for answering questions. Somehow, we were able to learn though that the shop has been in operation since 1976 and that they only use Romblon marble for their lapidas. After gathering this much info we left him to finish his job and made our way to the shop next to it.

C.E Lapida Engraving is owned by Ms. Pacita Macato Chan. We asked their only worker Joey Rubia about this particular shop. He was only able to answer few of our questions. The shop has been in business for more than 10 years. They only use granite and Romblon marble.

We walked under the late morning heat toward Choi’s Place Special Gravestone. Stepping inside we came face to face with a woman who seemed to be in charge. She did not offer any answer to our questions. Before leaving, we caught a glimpse of the BIR registration and saw that the shop is owned by Mr. Gerard S. Deblois. We left in a hurry and laughed at the cold treatment we got from the old lady.

We visited the last lapida shop in our list. CMC Lapida Engraving which has been in business for 10 years is owned by Consoladora Chan. They have one worker named Ronald Macabata who said that he is not allowed to give interviews. We thanked him anyway and walked back toward our starting point. Being done with the interviews, we left the blistering heat for the cool comfort of SM City.

From the information we have gathered, we can say that there are only few participating business entities in the lapida making industry. This is because it is a business that booms only on the months of September and October. Also lapida makers are limited as it is learned in a mentor-apprentice correlation.

We were also told that since Ricky Marble Services opened in E.Lopez, the rest also opened in the same area to share in the market. From what we have seen, the lapidas are generic in appearance regardless of the maker. So ones choice as where to have a lapida created may depend on the availability of material used and of course the price of having one produced.

If you need help in choosing the right lapida maker, we made a table to aid you in your choice.

About the author

William Lawrence King is a third year marketing major at the University of the Philippines Visayas. He completed his secondary education at Ateneo de Iloilo. Visit his site at http://www.chinohere.multiply.com for his blog entries and other media presentations.