Ilonggo Cuisine

Ilonggo cuisine is that of the Ilonggo or Hiligaynon people, primarily of western Visayas as well as Mindanao in the Philippines. Ilonggo cuisine shares many features with other cuisines of the Philippines, but also has some distinct features.

Ilonggo culture has connections to Bikol culture because of historic trade between the Bikol region and Panay Island. The major good traded was abaka, a type of banana grown for its fiber. Ilonggo culture also shares similarities with the Aklan people, also on Panay Island.

Unglazed cooking pots(kulon) are used in Ilonggo cuisine.

Ingredients

rice

taro root(dagmay) and stalk or tendril(takway)

Banana is a popular fruit. Banana pith(ubad) is also harvested and used in dishes at times, and banana leaf sometimes wraps food.

palm heart(ubod), bamboo(tambo)

jute(tagabang)

pigeon pea, jackfruit, pumpkin,

Coconut has a variety of uses: coconut water becomes soup broth, mature coconut meat becomes coconut cream, coconut palm nectar ferments to become vinegar(langgaw).

tomato

water spinach

wild mushroom like termite mushroom and common mushroom

green mussel(tahong)

a type of cone-shaped sea snail(bagongon), shrimp(pasayan), flower crab(kasag)

guinamos

Tultul or dukdok is a traditional coarse-grain salt produced by filtering sea water through ashes and combining it with coconut cream.

Dishes

• steamed rice
• yellow rice
• apan-apan: water spinach braised with vinegar
• linutik: pumpkin and long bean stewed in coconut cream, usually with moringa leaf and crab or shrimp
• pangat: taro leaf parcels stewed in coconut cream
• laswa: stewed vegetables
• takway
• ginataan: ingredients such as bamboo shoot or taro and seafood stewed in coconut cream
• kansi: sour beef soup
• binakol: soup with coconut water broth
• kadyos, baboy, at langka(KBL): pigeon pea, pork, and young jackfruit stew
• cansi: sour stew, usually with beef and breadfruit or jackfruit
• inubaran: banana pith stew with coconut cream and sour fruit
• steamed or boiled green mussel(tahong)
• tinuom: seasoned meat and vegetables wrapped in banana leaf and cooked
• pinamalhan: fish or other ingredient stewed with vinegar
• steamed crab[halabos na alimasag]
• inasal: grilled squid or other meat, usually served with dipping sauce
• sinamak: chili vinegar condiment
• puto manapla: leavened coconut rice cake steamed in banana leaf
• suman bukayo: coconut rice dumpling with sugar coconut sauce