Ar-arosip is a traditional Ilocano delicacy.  It is a  kind of edible seaweed and is best as an appetizer.

Ingredients:
1/4 k of ar-arosip (lato / sea weeds)
2 pcs of ring onions
1 pc of onion
calamansi

Preparation Procedure:

• Wash ar-arosip to get rid of any dirt or sand clinging in the morsel-like weed.
  
• Toss it with fresh tomato slices and ring onions. No need to for salt  as this is already salty.
  
• Add calamansi if desired.
  
• Serve fresh

Barbaradyut is a a kind of moss found in the farms of Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija. Usually in moist rocks and on  hills.  It is colored green and maybe dried, like a mushroom for future cooking.

Ingredients:

• Barbaradyut
• 1 onion, minced thinly
• 2 pcs. tomatoes, sliced thinly
• Vinegar to taste
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

Barbaradyut is prepared as a salad.

• Steam the barbaradyut for about three (3) minutes.  Remove from water and put in a bowl.
• Mix onion, sliced tomatoes and salt in a separate bowl.
• Pour the mixture on the barbaradyut.
• Mix further.
• Add salt and vinegar to taste.
• Serve with newly steamed rice.

Adobo is the most popular Filipino dish enjoyed by all classes.

Estimated cooking time: 50 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 kilo pork cut in cubes
• 1 head garlic, minced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 1 cup of water
•   2 potatoes, cut in cubes (optional)
  
• 3 laurel leaves (bay leaves)
• 3 tablespoons of cooking oil or olive oil
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• Salt and pepper to taste

 

Ingredients
1 cup munggo, washed

1/4 kilo pork belly, cut into small pieces

5 cups water

1 head garlic, minced

1 small onion, minced

4 pieces tomatoes, sliced

1 cup malunggay leaves (ampalaya leaves is a great alternative)

2 tablespoon cooking oil 

Fish sauce to taste

PROCEDURE :
1. In a casserole, put water, munggo
2. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes or until the munggo is cooked.
3. In a skillet, heat the oil and saute the garlic, onion, and tomatoes.
4. Add the pork and saute until lightly browned.
5. Add in the munggo and stock.
6. Season with fish sauce and add the malunggay  (or ampalaya)leaves.

Serve hot

Ingredients:

• 1/2 kilo whole chicken, cut into pieces.
• 1 small young papaya or sayote, cut into cubes.
• 1 medium sized ginger, crushed and slliced into strips
• 1 bunch of chili leaves
• 1/2 liter of water
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 red onion, cit into rings
• 2 tablespoons oil
• patis (fish sauce), to taste

Cooking Instructions:

• Heat oil and sauté garlic, onion and ginger in a kettle
• Add water and the chicken.
• Bring to boil and simmer for about 20 minutes or until chicken is almost done.
• Season with patis (fish sauce)
• Add papaya and continue to simmer for an additional 5 minutes or until papaya softens but not overcooked.
• Turn off heat and add sili leaves.
• Serve steaming hot on a bowl with plain rice

Tinapa is the Filipino term for fish cooked or preserved through the process of smoking. It is a native delicacy in the Philippines and is often made from milkfish, which is locally known as bangus.

Cooking and serving  process

Just fry the tinapa (smoked fish) in a frying pan and serve with sliced tomatoes...

If you are a vegetarian, this one is best for you.  Dinengdeng-- an all time  Ilocano favorite ...

Ingredients:

1 bunch of saluyot
1 bunch of calunay or spinach
5 pcs of sigarilyas
Talbos ng sitaw
1 bunch of bulaklak at talbos ng kalabasa
1 bunch of bunga ng singkamas
1 pc medium size tilaptia or bangus
Onion, cut into 4
2 tsp. of bagoong or fish sauce

Cooking procedure:

• Cut tilapia or bangus in 2 and  fry
  
• In a kettle, boil 1 1/2 cup of water.  Add  onion, fish sauce and the fried tilapia or bangus for 5 minutes and let the taste of fried fish mix with the boiling water.
  
• Remove  fish from the kettle and set aside.
  
• Add all the vegetables into the kettle.  Boil until half cook.
  
• Serve hot and put the fish at the top.

Kailangan pa bang i-expalin kung paano lutuin ito? Pero sige na nga rin, (haha!)


Ingredients:

1 bunch of kamote (camote) tops.
Bagoong (fish sauce).  Salt is another option
Calamansi or vinegar (tomato is perfect variation)

Cooking procedure:

Steam the camote tops for about 2 minutes.. Make sure not to over-cook .
Serve with fish sauce with calamansi, or salt and tomatoes.

 

Ingredients:

1 k. of pork belly, diced

1/4 k of pork liver, minced
4 c. of pig’s blood, refrigerated
3 chili peppers (green haba)
1 head of garlic, crushed and minced
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, minced
3 onions, halved and sliced thinly
Salt , Fish sauce (patis)
1 tbsp. of cooking oil

Cooking Procedures:

• Cover pork with water and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from broth. Let it cool and dice.
  
  
• Save 1-1/2 cups of broth.
  
  
• Heat cooking cooking oil in a casserole.
  
  
• Add the garlic and ginger. Saute until fragrant.
  
  

• Add pork, liver, salt and saute for 5 minutes until the edges of the pork start to brown

  
  
• Add the onions and continue cooking until the onions are transparent.
  
  
• Season with fish sauce (patis) and pepper
  
  
• Pour in just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes or until the pork is very tender.
  
  
• Take the pig’s blood out of the refrigerator. Transfer to a clean bowl. Mash solid masses to a pulp. Pour  into the casserole. 
  
• Add vinegar and bring to a boil without stirring. Lower heat and simmer uncovered until most of the liquid has evaporated.
  
• Add broth. Simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in blood and sugar; cook until thick, stirring occasionally to avoid curdling.
  
• Bring to a boil.
  
  
• Cook over medium heat, stirring, for about 5 minutes.
  
  
• Add chilli peppers
  
  
• Serve hot with puto or steamed rice

Here's the original pakbet of Ilocanos.  Other  variations were made but the simplest is still the best.

Ingredients:

6 pcs round eggplant, quartered
6 pcs native ampalaya, quartered
3 pcs tomatoes, quartered
2 pcs onions, quartered
1 tbsp. fish bagoong
1/4 kilo bagnet or pork belly
1 cup water

Cooking Procedure:

• Fry bagnet or pork belly, set aside.
• In a saucepan, arrange the ingredients in the following order:  tomatoes, onions, ampalaya and eggplant.
• Top it with the fried  bagnet or pork belly.
  
• In a bowl of hot water, add bagoong isda, stir and pour into the saucepan.
  
• Cover the pan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer. Simmer until almost all the liquid is conserve hot.
  
• Never stir.  Just shake the pan.
  
• Serve hot.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pork liempo, sliced /  grilled fish  (milk fish, tilapia, hito or dalag) is also a very good alternative
  
• 2-3 spoonful of fish sauce (bagoong), or according to taste
  
• 1 cup of water
  
• 1 ampalaya, cut into 4
  
• 5 pieces round eggplant
  
• 4 pieces of tomatoes
  
• 1 bundle of squash flower (bulkalak ng kalabasa)
  
• 1 bundle of  sigarilyas
  
• 1/2 cup of patani
  
• 2 camote
  
• 1 bundle spinach
  
• 1 bundle saluyot or okra

Cooking Procedure:

• Bring the pork liempo to boil until tender and oily.  If using  fish, grill.  Set aside.
  
• Boil water and fish sauce (bagoong).
  
• Add  meat (or fish) and all the vegetables.
  
• Boil for 3 minutes.
  
• Serve hot.

This is one real exotic delicacy!  I've never tasted one of this better than those prepared  by the Cuyapenos!

Here's  how:

Ingredients:

1 k. goat innards (lamang loob).  Add  goat meat (preferably with skin)
1 head whole garlic
1 thumb-size ginger, crushed
3  ginger, cut into strips
1 head garlic, chopped
2 medium size onion, chopped
1 bundle spring onion, chopped
Tamarind to taste, or vinegar.  Calamansi is a good alternative
Siling labuyo, chopped
Fish sauce (patis), salt, pepper to taste


Procedure:

• Wash the  goat innards (lamang loob), set aside small intestine or isaw.
  
• Boil  the meat and  innards for 10 - 15 minutes.  Add  garlic and crushed ginger.   Discard liquid and drain.  Keep aside to cool down.
  
• Boil the small intestines (isaw) for 10-15 minutes.  Remove from casserole, drain and let cool.
  
• Keep aside green liquid from boiled isaw for papait
  
• Cut into small slices all goat innards and meat
  
• In a sauce pan,  sauté onion, garlic and ginger
  
• Add in goat meat and innards.  Stir cook for 8-10 minutes or until it start to render fat
  
• Add patis and stir cook for another 3-5 minutes
  
• Add in enough water to cover innards and simmer for 45-60 minutes or until tender, add more water as necessary
  
• Add siling labuyo, tamarind or vinegar mix and papait (half quantity at time and taste sourness and bitterness add more as  required)
  
• Boil  for 3-5 more minutes
  
• Season with salt and pepper to taste, garnish with spring onion
  
• Serve hot!

* Best for pulutan, haha!

Photo courtesy of Marco & Gracinha Abundo

This is a famous Ilocano delicacy which you can find in almost every occasions in the Central Luzon and up north to the Ilocos Region (Philippines). Novo Ecijanos find it best when  blended with the pig's brain!

Here's how to prepare it:

Ingredients:

• Pig Ears
• Pig Neck
• Calamansi (vinegar as substitute)
• Onions (white or red, according to your taste)
• Salt or fish sauce (patis)
• Powdered pepper
• Pig brain, or mayonnaise  as alternative ingredient

Procedure:

• Grill the pork (both pig ears and neck) until brownish and half crunchy
• Cut thin and lengthwise, about  an inch, and put in a mixing bowl
• Mince the onion, mix with salt and powdered pepper, and add to the pork in the bowl
• Mix thouroghly
• Add the calamansi juice and fish sauce, according to taste and serve
• Best with some beer or hard drinks.

Caution:  Check your blood pressure