Cebu Dried Fish or buwad

best cebu buwad/dried fish – can be found at Taboan market, carbon market

                                     Dried fishes in the market

Well not exactly. When although, if your going to Cebu and visit some friends or just for vacation, you don’t really think of bringing pasalubong. You think of going some places where you can relax, nature tripping, find scuba diving spots, go to beaches and feel the heat of the sun.

But, don’t you know that Dried fish is rich in high quality protein (80%), Vitamin B, Iron and Calcium.
Dried fish is unsalted and totally free of any preservatives.
Dried fish commonly called as “tuyo/buwad” is a favorite food of Filipinos.
Dried fish is prepared by frying. The picture below shows some dried fish that can be seen and bought at Taboan Market.

stickfishes…..

In Cebu, Bantayan island is known for their delicious dried fish (buwad in bisaya). A basic pasalubong (travel gifts in Filipino) bought by people who went to Cebu. The buwad from Bantayan are made of “first class” fresh fish . The picture shown above is what they call stickfish. They say that the crispy flesh tastes like dried squid.

Cebu Ngohiong

Cebu Ngohiong is a chinese lumpia famous in cebu, a chinese dish, it contains chinese seasonings, meat, etc. Cebu Ngohiong is almost a Cebuano delicacy, one can even mistook it as a Cebuano dish although the origins of which are Chinese. Try cebu ngohiong, a lumpia like viand with meat and veggies topped with spicy sauce.

Special Ngohiong
Filling:

• 1kg dabong ng niyog, cut in strips
• 0.5kg singkamas, cut in strips
• 3 tbsp ngohiong powder
• 2 tbsp 5-spice powder
• 0.5kg ground pork
• salt, pepper, MSG, and soy sauce

Batter:

• 2 cups cornstarch
• 5 tsp paprika/white pepper
• 700g water

1. Combine all ingredients and stuff into lumpia wrapper.
2. Dip roll in batter before frying.

Lorbak sauce:

• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp castor sugar
• 1/8 tsp Chinese five spice powder (ng heong fun) or ngo hiong hun
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 4-5 tbsp water
• 1/2 tsp corn flour or tapioca flour
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten

How to make cebu ngohiong sauce:

1. Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan.
2. Bring to a low simmering boil over a gentle heat and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Stir occasionally until sauce turns smooth. Add in egg white and stir with a fork to form fine strands.
4. Set aside to cool then use.

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Special Cuchinta

Special Cuchinta

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Gold Medal all – purpose flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon lihia (Iye)
• Few drops of yellow food color or atsuete
• Grated coconut
  

Procedures:

How to serve/prepare:

1. Boil in a water for the steamer.
2. In a bowl, blend all the ingredients except grated coconut.
3. Mix until smooth and free from the lumps.
4. Strain.
5. Pour mixture into cuchinta molds or ungreased muffin pans about one – half full.
6. Steam for 10 to 20 minutes.
7. Cool for 5 minutes then remove from pans.
8. Serve with grated coconut.

CEBU STREET FOOD

Crunchy Banana Lollipop 

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons shortening

½ cup peanut butter

½ cup milk chocolate chips

5 – 6 pieces banana, peeled and halved

1 cup Big G Total Cornflakes, coarsely chopped

Procedures:

How to prepare/serve:

Cover a cookie sheet with wax paper.

Set aside.

Heat the shortening in a small saucepan over low heat until melted.

Add peanut butter and chocolate chips, stirring until the mixture is smooth and melted.

Remove pan from heat.

Insert a popsickle stick at the center of each halved banana.

Coat bananas with choco – peanut butter mixture.

Roll in cereal.Place in the cookie sheet and refrigerate until set.

Yema Balls for sale!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup condensed milk
• 5 Maya Farms eggyolks
• 1/3 cup mashed potato
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon butter

Syrup:

• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup water
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

Procedures:

How to prepare/serve:

1. Combine all ingredients for the yema and cook over a double boiler until mixture is thick.
2. Set aside to cool.
3. When cool, roll into balls about 1” in diameter.

Prepare syrup:

1. In a saucepan, blend sugar, water and cream of tartar.
2. Bring to a boil until syrup is caramel – colored.
3. Dip yema balls into the syrup.
4. Cool then wrap in colored cellophane.

MAJA BLANCA

best for desert

Ingredients:

• 2 cups thick coconut milk
• 4 packs unflavored gelatin
• ½ cup fresh milk
• ½ can whole corn kernel
• 6 cups thick coconut milk

Procedures:

How to serve/prepare:

1. Boil 2 cups thick coconut milk until oil comes out and latik or the residue is brown but not burnt.
2. Set aside.
3. Put gelatin in a bowl together with the water of the corn and the milk.
4. Put the coconut milk in a frying pan over medium heat.
5. Stir until it boils.
6. Add the gelatin mixture and continue stirring when it is thick and yellow in color, pour into pan and add the corn kernels.
7. Cool to set then sprinkle with latik.

Rocky Road Squares

                                                   try this @ home…and start a small business

IngredienIngredients:

• 1 500-gram pack Supermoist Devil’s Food Cake Mix
• 1 cup chopped cashew nuts
• 3 cups marshmallows

Chocolate Glaze:

• 2 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
• 1 ½ cups confectioner’s sugar
• 8 tablespoons hot water
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
• ¼ cup coarsely chopped cashew nuts

Procedures:

How to prepare/serve:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
2. Grease and flour a 13 x 9 x 12 inch rectangular pan.
3. Set aside.
4. Prepare mix according to the package instructions.
5. Stir in nuts.
6. Pour into prepared pan and bake until half-done.
7. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle the marshmallows on top.
8. Bake again for another 10 minutes or until cake is done and marshmallows are puffed and golden brown.
9. Prepare Chocolate Glaze:
10. Mix unsweetened chocolate, sugar, water and vanilla in a small bowl.
11. Beat until smooth.
12. If necessary, add more water, a tablespoon at a time until desired consistency.
13. Carefully spread over marshmallows then sprinkle with nuts.
14. Cool completely then cut into 2-inch squares.

butter

Chewy butter nuts

Ingredients:

• 2 Maya Farms eggs
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ cup melted margarine
• 1 ½ cups Gold Medal all – purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup cashew nuts, finely chopped

Procedures:

How to serve/prepare:

1. Preheat oven 350°F.
2. Grease a 13”x 9 x 2-inch rectangular pan.
3. Set aside.
4. Beat eggs until light and foamy.
5. Beat in sugar, vanilla and margarine until creamy.
6. Combine flour with baking powder and salt.
7. Add to egg mixture.
8. Mix until well-blended.
9. Stir in nuts.
10. Spread evenly in the prepared pan.
11. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until top is light brown.
12. Cool then cut into squares.

CEBU DESSERT

                                     Hungry?…. sorry, just for desert.

Ingredients:

• Crumb Crust:
• 1 cup crushed graham crackers
• 1 cup finely chopped cashew nuts
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• Cream Cheese Filling:
• 1 225-gram pack cream cheese
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 cups thick cream
• 1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin dissolved in
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 3 medium-sized mangoes, chopped

Procedures:

1. Line a 9-inch spring form pan with aluminum foil.

Prepare Crumb Crust:

1. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl.
2. Mix well.
3. Press evenly over the base of the prepared pan.
4. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Prepare Cream Cheese Filling:

1. Process cream cheese and sugar in a blender.
2. Add cream and process until smooth and well-combined.
3. Add cooled gelatin mixture.
4. Stir in chopped mangoes.
5. Pour into chilled crust.
6. Refrigerate for several hours until set.

CEBU STYLE

Marble Sundae…ready to be eaten.
Ingredients:

• 1 pint chocolate ice cream
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• pinch of cream of tartar
• 4 Maya Farms egg yolks
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose cream

Procedures:
How to prepare/serve:

1. Mold ice cream in a gelatin container. Freeze.
2. Combine sugar, water and cream of tartar in a saucepan.
3. Bring to a boil and cook until syrup spins a thread.
4. Beat egg yolks until thick and lemon-colored.
5. Add syrup gradually while continuously beating.
6. Cook this mixture in a double boiler, stirring constantly until thick and smooth.
7. Chill.
8. Beat cream until double in volume.
9. Fold the cream into the eggyolk mixture.
10. Pour over the molded ice cream.
11. Freeze

Yes…this is best for preggies!

Ingredients:

5 pieces siling labuyo, minced
2 tablespoons chopped red bell pepper
2 tablespoons patis
3 tablespoons kalamansi juice
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
3 cups shredded green mango
1/4 cup shrimps, boiled and halved
(optional)

How to Prepare:

Combine all the ingredients except for the shrimps.
Toss to mix.
Before serving, top with the shrimps.

The Best Cebu Food

Indeed, it is always a pleasure to have the chance to eat good food. This provides the opportunity to bond with friends and family members as they eat and share meals together. The good food is a perfect match to the moment when people can talk about anything, and where the food is much more enjoyed. It is a good time to break away from the usual tedious routines and schedules and instead just enjoy the good food and the company of friends and families.

With the so many food cuisines and cooking styles that we are aware of, it is indeed hard for one to stand out and make us recall it easy. We have different standards and taste preferences, and most often, how we view food seems to be subjective....

"saging" a Cebuano term for banana

It is, however, inspiring to know that Cebu food is one of those that has stood out and most preferred over the hard years. Cebu has maintained the elegance and the class with the kinds of foods that it offers. Cebu has indeed a lot in line for those who are in the mood for a food trip, with the several delicacies and food styles and cuisines. True, Cebuano food stands out from the rest, perhaps because of its ingenuity and distinctiveness. The Cebu food is perfect and apt for everyone – regardless of whether one favours the sweet, sour, salty or hot and chilli. Cebu has a lot to offer, and it is sure that there is for every taste preference. Perhaps, it is also true that Cebu food is one thing that attract and lures local and foreign tourists to come to the islands and keep on coming back. The food is undeniably delicious and it is surely tempting never to miss it once one has a chance to try it.

On that note, we are bringing you a comprehensive and detailed discussion of Cebu food, from the sweets and delicacies to refreshments to snacks to street food and everything. We are sure that you are going to enjoy what the site has provided for food lovers and food enthusiasts like you, especially with such an interesting subject like Cebu Food. Together, we will discover the reasons why Cebuano food and cuisine remains to be one undisputed favourite among Filipinos and even foreigners. Nevertheless, it is best that you try them for yourselves and see what fits your taste buds best and what pleases you the most.

"buwad" a Cebuano term for dried fish

Not as famous as French, Indian, or Chinese, but Cebuano food / cuisine holds its own against the great culinary cultures of the world. The style is distinctive and the flavors are subtle. Like other cuisines common in humid climes, Cebu's dishes tend to be wet - soups and sauteed dishes prevail. This may take some getting used to at first, especially for Europeans. But the effort to adapt and learn is definitely worth your time.

There are crucial elements of Cebuano cuisine which pop up in numerous dishes. One is the local chilli and the other one is native vinegar.

The Cebuano chilli are tiny. Few specimens are longer than an inch. The sili is in fact the hottest chilli on this planet. It is impossible to eat a sili. The way it is usually used is in a sauce used for flavoring where it is squished to release the juices into the surrounding sauce.

Native vinegar is made from the sap of coconut trees. It has rich, inimical flavor and develops out of an alcoholic drink called tuba. It's used to flavor just about all dishes.

Filipino Style Pizza (Lechon Manok Flakes topped with kesong puti)

Pizza Dough ( check the recipe here)

For Pizza Sauce
8 ripe tomatoes
salt, pepper
thyme and rosemary
2 tbsps of olive oil
1 clove of garlic

In a boiling water drop the tomatoes and take them off after 3 seconds. Wash the tomatoes in running water. This procedure will help you take off the skin. Quarter each tomatoes and take off the seeds. In an electric mixer, start by throwing in the thyme and rosemary, then add the garlic. Put all the tomatoes, the olive oil ,salt and pepper and mix well.

Pizza Toppings
Chicken flakes meat from your Chicken Lechon left-over
1 small shallots
1 tsp of curry powder
salt
2 tbsps of olive oil
1 ripe mango

1 cup of pineapple chunks
1 onion sliced
1 red pepper
1 cup of Kesong puti

Sauté first the chicken flakes in olive oil with shallots for about 3 minutes. Then add the curry powder. Deglace the chicken with 1 tbsp of lemon juice, add a little bit of salt then turn of the fire. Spread over the pizza tomato sauce prepared over the pizza dough. Arrange the chicken flakes alternately with mango slices, onion, red pepper and mozzarella cheese. Drizzle it with olive oil and bake for 20 minutes at 200° Celsius.

Lechon Manok was one the big hits of the 80’s that stayed longer than his street counterparts , Shawarma. a Lechon Manok popped out like mushrooms in the streets of Manila. Certainly this is one of the best and healthy way of cooking a chicken.

This recipe is something you can do for special occassions. You can cook it outside in a pitsburn or in your oven.

Ingredients:

1 whole dressed chicken

1 teasepoon of iodized salt

1 tablespoon of butter (about 10 to 15 g)

2 tablespoon of soy sauce

1 whole garlic

one bunch of lemon grass (tanglad)

3 bay leaves (laurel leaves)

some pepper

Procedure:

Start by cleaning the chicken. Wash and pat it dry with paper towel. Rub some salt on the surface and on inside cavity of the chicken. Rub the skin with butter, garlic and pepper. Inside the chicken cavity put the bay leaves, lemon grass, half of the garlic and some pepper. Roast for about an hour (depending on the size) at 210° celsius. Serve with spicy vinegar and chopped onions or Sarsa ng lechon.

Lechon Manok was one the big hits of the 80’s that stayed longer than his street counterparts , Shawarma. a Lechon Manok popped out like mushrooms in the streets of Manila. Certainly this is one of the best and healthy way of cooking a chicken.

This recipe is something you can do for special occassions. You can cook it outside in a pitsburn or in your oven.

Ingredients:

1 whole dressed chicken

1 teasepoon of iodized salt

1 tablespoon of butter (about 10 to 15 g)

2 tablespoon of soy sauce

1 whole garlic

one bunch of lemon grass (tanglad)

3 bay leaves (laurel leaves)

some pepper

Procedure:

Start by cleaning the chicken. Wash and pat it dry with paper towel. Rub some salt on the surface and on inside cavity of the chicken. Rub the skin with butter, garlic and pepper. Inside the chicken cavity put the bay leaves, lemon grass, half of the garlic and some pepper. Roast for about an hour (depending on the size) at 210° celsius. Serve with spicy vinegar and chopped onions or Sarsa ng lechon.

LECHON INGREDIENTS1 whole pig (about 20 kilos)
salt
black pepper
soy sauce

For the stuffing:
5 to 10 bundles lemon grass (tanglad)
20 pcs. bananas (saba variety), peeled then halved or
20 pcs. taro (gabi), peeled

LECHON PROCEDURES1. Clean and prepare the pig by removing innards, washing and scraping innards, washing and scraping the body of bristles. Rinse and allow to drain a bit before stuffing.
2. Rub with salt and pepper inside and out.
3. Rub soy sauce on the skin of the pig. This will make it nicely red when roasted.
4. Stuff the belly of the lechon with lemon grass along with saba andgabi. Sew to close.
5. Skewer the pig and split roast over live charcoal or traditionally, in some parts of Cebu, under live fire. Roast until crisp.
6. Cebu lechon is not served with a sauce. But if a dipping sauce is requested, vinegar with scallions and pepper may be served along with it.

cebu manila inasal

f you’re in Manila and are craving for Cebu Lechon, there’s Jun Jun’s Lechon at The Fort, Taguig City. Cebu Lechon is delicious even without lechon sauce. It is seasoned with lemon grass wrapped in banana leaves and stuffed into the stomach cavity. This gives it that distinct delectable flavor only found in Cebu Lechon. Perhaps out of habit to their Tagalog customers, the restaurant offers sauce. I swear you should eat it as it is. No sauce needed. I told this to my husband and he affirmed that the lechon tastes so good right to the bone.

Market Manila shows other places to order Cebu Lechon in Manila.

insal