Salakot

You are not a legit Caviteño if you do not know this city bread? 

Quesillo will not be perfect if not paired with salakot bread.

Salakot is a soft bread you can find in Dizon's Bakery in Cavite City, which has been churning out pugon-baked breads since the 1930s. 

Ever wondered why it’s named “Salakot”? 

It’s because it resembles the traditional hat used here in the Philippines! 

Dizon's old pugon made the difference between artisanal and mass produced breads.

Credit to : Historia Caviteña and original source of photos used

Aling Kulot's Chin Chao

Chin Chao is made of glutinous rice flour and rice flour then steamed. It is sold in combo of brown unsweetened kutsinta/tikoy like sliced cubes called kalamay and white pancit like thick noodles called chinchao.

It is served as a cold drink together with sago, gulaman, shaved ice and arnibal made of panotcha like in San Roque area. 

 Others add coconut milk and pinipig like in Bagong Pook and Caridad.

During olden days, Chin Chao drinks is typically sold around neighborhoods in Cavite City with sago and gulaman. As years passed since it easily gets staled unlike sago and gulaman plus more costly it ended up as a lenten tradition served only during Good Friday. It is also a traditional food to pa Caridad or feeding people after pabasa as one of the palamig before.

Chin Chao was brought by the Chinese. It is being bought and ordered in Binondo for reselling before. The original chinchoneros as how they are called are all chinese. There are authentic Chinese makers/sellers in Cavite City market before. Some Caviteños are saying there are already makers in Cavite City and Noveleta but this detail is yet to be confirmed since there is only one known and popular seller of Chin Chao over the years in Cavite City market - Aling Kulot.

Aling Kulot opts to remain low profile and do not even want to have a photo taken so only a snap of her head and hands slicing. Her stall is located at the center of Cavite City market in between the fish section and vegetable section. You can find her ONLY EVERY GOOD FRIDAY.  

Above are two of the yearly suki whom I encountered when I went to buy and see the mystery seller for the first time last Friday. They vouched she is the sole and authentic Chin Chao seller - nuong araw pa. 

This is how the tikoy like brown kalamay looks like before being sliced.

After cutting as selling pieces

White pancit like thick noodle chin chao. It really looks like pancit malabon rice noodles 

According to Mr. Ige Ramos the Chin Chao before is kulot kulot. My mother who buys it yearly before said it is indeed kulot kulot but I cannot remember it anymore.

There has been a slowly growing demand for Chin Chao over the years because of social media promotion. Like any typical business if there is a demand, more sellers starts selling. This year as early as Maundy Thursday there is another seller. Sadly the quality is different both in texture and taste compared to the one of Aling Kulot. The brown tikoy like kalamay of Aling Kulot is more softer and chewable while the pancit noodle like chin chao is more smooth and yummier in taste. Also do not forget to smell it before buying on other sellers especially the white noodles which easily gets stale.  

If you want to try authentic quality Chin Chao then visit Aling Kulot's stall every Good Friday as early as 6:00 am or 7:00 am since the supply is only good til it last or next year na ulit.

Was not able to get any detailed information from Aling Kulot since she is just selling it. It was her mother who calls and orders and according to her she doesn't know the process of making it either. One of the popular maker and seller before was a certain man named Nestor who resides in Padre Pio. He and the family migrated abroad already and nobody continued the business.

Sold at P50 each pack or P100 for pair of Aling Kulot's Chin Chao at Kalamay serving. 

If a city household is an authentic Caviteño, Chin Chao and Bacalao paired with either burong mangga or labanos is surely present on a Good Friday. Cumi Ya Niso !

Information Credits to : Mr.Ige Ramos and Mrs. Remedios Ordoñez

Special Khuracha's Homemade Tamales

One of the best tasting homemade tamales in the city. If you want to try this more common version of one the most favorite delicacies of Cavite City by pure blooded Caviteños then this is the one to buy.

Priced @P130 

#LutongCavite #SaborDelCaviteños

NOTE: Available by announcement 

Where to buy:  Khuratcha''s Best

Tamales

“This recipe was selected to be part of the Noche Buena Recipes as part of the Christmas celebration of the educational publisher Twinkl, with the aim of helping Filipinos feel the Christmas spirit wherever they are around the world.”

Tamales is a popular bread filling usually served during festive season like Noche Buena and Media Noche in Caviteñean houses. When I was young I remember tamales can be bought on sari-sari stores just like peanut butter or cheese on ordinary days but gone are the oldies who has the patience of cooking and selling this so most of the time one can have authentic Caviteñean tamales by orders only during festive season.

(Photo of ordinary tamales during ordinary days)

Ingredients:
1 cup powdered rice flour
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup coconut milk
3 tablespoons peanut butter
1 to 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup cooked pork, cut into strips
1/4 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 cup sliced chorizo
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Annatto seed or achuete for color (optional)
Sliced cooked ham
2 red eggs or boiled eggs, sliced

Procedure:

Toast rice flour in moderate heat until golden brown. Remove from the heat and add coconut milk, stirring until smooth. Stir in peanut butter, salt, sugar and pepper. Return mixture in stove and cook on medium heat adding chicken broth, stirring until it turns into a thick paste. Lower heat, stirring for 10 minutes more and taste seasoning. Transfer into a banana leaf and shape into a rectangular form.

Combine ham, pork and chorizo and place on top. Add sliced egg on top. Fold the banana leaf to form a rectangular bundle. Get another banana leaf and fold all over to form another rectangular bundle. Do this two more times so the tamale is wrapped four times in banana leaf. Tie the bundle up so water does not seep inside the tamales. Place in a steamer, and steam for one hour.

NOTE: To make the tops of the tamales colored use annatto seeds or achuete.

Robinson's Tamales

TAMALES is one of the most favorite delicacies of Cavite City by pure blooded Caviteno. Made of ground peanuts and galapong that is steamed and wrapped in banana leaves. It looks simple at first sight but requires a very tedious process to make. This popular brand of tamales is named after the current owner’s great grandfather Henry Benjamin Robinson, a former staff member of the USS Olympia under Admiral George Dewey. 

 

Tamales entails a long and tedious process to make that requires grounding of peanuts and rice flour. Then the mixture is topped with slices of chicken and pork, together with pieces of garbanzos and hard-boiled eggs. Seasoned with salt and pepper to taste, then wrapped in layers of clean banana leaves then steamed.

 

Si Caviteno tu puro que sabrosu cumi tamales con pan.   

 

Chin Chao

Chin Chao is a Caviteñean palamig drink usually serve during Lenten season particularly Good Friday. The white noodle like and brown cake like pieces is made of what I believed rice flour. Just like sago and gulaman it is serve with arnibal or sweetened sugar and shaved ice.

Only pure breed Caviteño's knows this drink ^_^

Aling Ika's Bibingkoy

Bibingkoy is one of the most famous Caviteñean kakanin aside from the Samala rice cakes. It's like a combination of tikoy, buchi and ginataan.


Made of glutinous rice stuffed with boiled sweetened monggo but instead of fried like buchi it is baked in an old style pugon oven then topped with coconut cream sauce with sago(tapioca) langka(jackfruit) and kaong(sugar palms) although the last two had been omitted over the years to cut cost.

Only one name comes to mind when we hear bibingkoy - Aling Ika's Carinderia in Cavite City Public Market. Her bibingkoy is famous way back before the Japanese occupation and war era. Good thing Aling Ika’s children had taken over to continue the bibingkoy legacy so up to now Caviteños can still savor and enjoy this kakanin at the public market. According to my mom my great great grandmother used to make this too.

Another fave of mine and most children from Aling Ika is this ube kalamay which is also serve with coconut cream sauce like in bibingkoy.

Que sabroso !

Quesillo

Kesong puti or quesillo as how we call it here in Cavite is a proudly Philippine cheese made of carabao's milk. Traditionally it is sold wrapped in banana leaves.



My lolo use to buy this for merienda whenever he wins in sabong together with salakot or bonete bread in Dizon's bakery. This is best paired with pandesal but me I love it with the salakot bread but only pandesal and bonete are now available in Dizon's bakery.



Quesillo is also placed on top of traditional Cavitenean bibingka along with white sugar and itlog na pula.