Module 7

Mindanaoan
Region

Learning Objectives

 Understand the food culture and characteristics of Mindanaoan Region

 Identify the different native delicacies under the Mindanaoan Region
 Determine the food that are available and explained why those particular foods are
prevalent
 Describe how each cuisine are being processed and prepared

Learning Contents

Topic 1 : Zamboanga Peninsula Region

Topic 2 : Northern Mindanao Region
Topic 3 : CARAGA
Topic 4 : Southern Mindanao & Muslim Communities

TOPIC 1: ZAMBOANGA PENINSULA REGION

Regional Cuisine of Zamboanga Peninsula

Zamboanga’s food flare is a classic example of East meets West gastronomy. It
demonstrates the fusion of its local ingredients & traditional preparations with various cultural
influences like the Castillan, Malay & Chinese.
While seafood is a staple here, the variety of its dishes extends to the bounties of its
farmlands & rivers. And the abundance of its ingredients is what makes its cookery
unimaginably delicious & wide.

Native Delicacies:
 Main Dishes

1. Tiulah Itum - “Itum” means black, and that is what the dish actually is: a black soup or
broth. It is served hot and spicy, and the hotter and spicier, the better. The broth is made
from beef or chicken that is flavored with ginger, turmeric, and burned coconut meat.
This dish is served in many occassions: during weddings, religious festivities, and other
celebrations. The Tiula Itum is a Tausug dish but it is one of the most popular dishes in
Zamboanga del Sur.
2. Satti - The chicken and beef strips were grilled to crisp perfection. It was served with
rice cooked inside woven coconut leaves. Like other dishes, this dish was smothered in
a thick spicy sauce.

3. Chupa Culo - A traditional viand, the Chupa Kulo is a dish of cooked snails served with
a thick, sauce-like broth made from squash and coconut milk. The snails were not
deshelled so the meat stayed moist and flavorful inside. Eating the snail meat required
sucking it out of the shell.

4. Curacha - The curacha, a hybrid of a giant sea crab and spiny lobster, is a rare species
of crabs that are abundantly found in the waters of Zamboanga and the nearby Sulu.
The dish can only be served and eaten fresh here. Unlike ordinary crabs, the bulk of the
meat of the curacha was inside the crustacean’s body, not inside its claws.

5. Oko oko- A rather unique dish that we tried was the oko-oko, a cooked sea urchin with
rice inside it. The rice inside the sea urchin was sautéed and flavored, which blended
well with the natural saltiness of the sea urchin.

 Snacks and Desserts

1. Lokot lokot - Also called Zamboanga Rolls, this dessert, usually eaten as a snack, is
made from fine rice flour and water. The thick mixture is then poured into a strainer with
small holes and then rolled and fried in a pan. These crispy rolls had a very light and
pleasing taste like a wafer.

2. Zamboanga White - It is a creamy shake made with lychee, milk and pineapple. The
tangy taste of lychee and refreshing pineapple takes away the saltiness of any meal.

3. Knickerbocker - KnickerBocker was inspired by a British dessert of the same name.

With fruits (watermelon, apple, mango, banana), milk, gelatin and strawberry ice cream,
you can savor the freshness of ingredients and sweetness is not overpowering like halo-
halo. o Martillos - Martillos (Spanish for hammer) is a “hammered” delicacy put on
wooden molds/tubes, creating wafers with inticate designs like San Nicolas biscuits of
Mexico, Pampanga.

4. Baulo - A mini-version of mamon (sponge cake), it is a popular Muslim delicacy usually

baked in households and sold at streets and bakeries. t is also given as gifts to families
especially going abroad. Pair it with hot chocolate or coffee and you have a fulfilling
local breakfast.

TOPIC 2: NORTHERN MINDANAO

Native Delicacies:
 Main Courses

1. Sinuglaw - Sinuglaw is a mix of sinugba and kinilaw – two dishes common in Filipino
palate. Sinugba is grilled pork belly while kinilaw (ceviche-style) is raw fish, usually tuna,
soaked in a cocktail of vinegar and citrus juices. The kinilaw in Mindanao is unique
because of the suwa and tabon-tabon included in the mix. Tabon-tabon is a tropical fruit
that grows in the wilderness of Mindanao, that looks like the more familiar chico.

2. Halang halang - Halang Halang, which literally translates to spicy-spicy, is first known
as a Visayan dish. It’s a spicy chicken dish made with coconut milk and chilis. This dish
is also quite known in Misamis Oriental as it is famous for its coconuts. Another version
 of Halang Halang, however, exists in Misamis Occidental where the broth is much
clearer and can be either made with beef or chicken.

3. Sasing Kinilaw - If you’re eager to try something more adventurous, then this version of
Kinilaw might interest you. Sasing Kinilaw is a raw dish made out of sassing or peanut
worm marinated with vinegar and seasonings. Don’t worry – the peanut worms are
thoroughly washed and cleaned before soaking it in the liquid mixture.

4. Remember Me - Known as Soup No. 5 or RM, Remember Me is a treat in the streets.

Remember Me is a broth made of bovine innards, tendons, and a horse’s private parts.
Tourists are excited to try it because it is a so-called aphrodisiac. Moreover, the exotic
dish is the locals’ cure for headaches after a night of drinking.

 Snacks and Desserts

1. Binaki - Binaki is a kakanin from Bukidnon. It comes from the word “baki” which means
frog. The delicacy may have caught its name due to its appearance. When the binaki is
ready to eat, it is wrapped in corn husk and folded in the shape of a frog.

2. Piñasitas - Piñasitas, a pineapple-based product, is one of the famous delicacies in

Bukidnon-the pineapple capital of Asia and food basket of Mindanao. No wonder why its
emerging delicacies come from pineapple.

3. Lanzones - This sweet and slightly sour fruit is one of the popular fruits in Southeast
Asia, and mostly unknown in the West. This tropical fruit grows well in North-Central
coast of Mindanao, and is said that the sweetest Lanzones in the Philippines comes
from Camiguin.

4. Pastel - Pastel is a Spanish term for cake. It is a mouthwatering delicacy from the
paradise island of Camiguin. These are soft, sweet bun, filled with yema (made mostly
of milk, eggs and sugar). has 12 varieties of fillings to satisfy your taste buds! Available
flavors are as follows, Regular Yema, Ube, Mango, Macapuno, Cheese, Langka,
Pineapple, and special flavors such as Durian, Guava, Strawberry, Chocolate, Special
Yema and Assorted flavor.

5. Dodol - Dodol is the most popular rice-based delicacy in Lanao, particularly in the city of
Baloi and Marawi, the places which have been touted as the "Dodol Country". It is often
served in the special occasions of Maranao such as weddings, fiestas, birtday, etc. It is
made from sticky rice flour, coconut milk, and sugar. Others add durian to make it more
delicious.

TOPIC 3: CARAGA

Regional Cuisine of CARAGA

Native Delicacies:

 Main Courses

1. Poot Poot Ginamos - This delicacy is unfamiliar to tourists and even Filipinos coming
from Manila. Poot poot ginamos is a unique and tasty treat from Surigao. This flavorful
delicacy is made of small fishes locally known as poot poot. This type of fish can only be
found in Philippine shores. This fish specialty comes with fermented fish sauce which is
very cheap, making it even more popular to tourists! One jar of poot poot ginamos costs
less than a hundred pesos. This is a must-try for every Surigao visitor.
2. Dried Pijanga- This first class dried fish comes from Lake Mainit in Surigao del Norte.
Lake Mainit is the country’s fourth largest lake and the province’s most significant body
of water filled with freshwater fauna such as carp, tilapia, catfish,and the famous
pijanga. This delicacy has a special story because it’s produced from the efforts of the
rural agrarian reform community of Surigao. Tourists and locals bring this home
frequently because of its unique taste.

 Snacks and Desserts

1. Nilusak - Nilusak (or nilupak) is cassava (or "balanghoy" in Butuanon, the local dialect)
that is mashed ("nilusak") with sugar and margarine, sprinkled with grated mature
coconut, and rolled into ping-pong sized balls. The yellow color of the cassava, speckled
with the white coconut, makes nilusak balls, for lack of a better term, cute--just the way I
think all small pastries should look. This "balanghoy" is sweeter than its suman and puto
counterparts, and because it is "nilusak" with margarine, it is naturally softer and
creamier. Sometimes, "nilusak na saging" or mashed plantain bananas is also available
in the market. We call this "tinupukan," and this is considered to be more Butuanon.

2. Nilambiran - It is made of two kinds of glutinous rice, the purplish red and the white,
cooked separately with coconut milk, sugar and salt, and delicately intertwined
("nilambiran"), then wrapped in banana leaves. The result is a delightful brown-and-
white-striped suman. You eat this as is, without any sweet condiment. The salt does the
job of accentuating the sweetness that seems to be deliberately withdrawn to leave you
wanting more.

3. Palagsing - is another version of the suman that is made from the starch of the sago
palm mixed with coconut and brown sugar. This is usually eaten along with hot
chocolate or coffee.

4. Sayongsong - This famous Surigao delicacy is a “kakanin” wrapped in banana leaves

with the color and consistency of a “puto” or rice cake. It’s made up of glutinous rice,
brown sugar, calamansi juice, roasted peanut, and coconut milk. Sayongsong comes
out wrapped in banana leaves. Some people say it tastes like “puto” but with coconut
milk. This can be easily found in public markets, food stalls, and “pasalubong” shops.

TOPIC 4: SOUTHERN MINDANAO & THE MUSLIM COMMUNITIES

Regional Cuisine of Southern Mindanao and the Muslim Communities

Native Delicacies:
 Main Courses

1. Sutokil - is a contracted words of Sugba (Grilled), Tola (Boiled), and Kinilaw(Fresh

Tuna fish marinated in vinegar), and is a very popular combination of dishes in Davao
City.

2. Beef Sinina - a traditional Muslim delicacy that is usually served during festivities or
normally call “Kanduli”. Traditionally served with tenderized goat meat and served
without vegetables but, to be more appealing to the young ones and those who are
health conscious, one can either add potatoes or carrots.

3. Pastil - A steamed rice topped with flaked chicken, beef, or tuna that is wrapped in
banana leaves. It is also best if paired with hardboiled egg. This delicacy is loved by
 most locals in Cotabato City and tourists of the province, and it is also sold at bus
stations.

4. Palapa - it is a sambal like sauce that is oily and spicy. It is known as a Maranao
appetizer. It is made of scallion bulbs or sakurab in Maranao with ginger and siling
labuyo or chili pepper. It is known for adding more flavor to every cooked dish.

5. Rendang - The king of all curries, beef rendang is a mouthwatering dish that originated
from Indonesia. Eventually became one of the specialties of Maranao people. Beef
Rendang is a caramelized beef curry. Cooke with coconut milk to reduced the dish’s
darkness and add consistency to its sweetness.

6. Syagul - A very spicy and tasty meat of stingray cooked with coconut milk then added
with burned coconut grated meat that gave the sauce its olive like color.

7. Guso - This particular seaweed or agar agar as others call it, is very much common in
the coastal waters of Visayas and Mindanao. The only difference is that, instead of
serving it fresh garnished with onion, tomatoes and vinegar, the Tawi Tawinians blanch
the seaweeds then added with little soy sauce and some spices like ginger, onions ,
giving it a yellowish color.

8. Syanglag - A simple roasted grated cassava as alternative for rice as chief source of
carbohydrates. Since the islands are not blessed with much land to till for rice
cultivation, the mountains are planted with cassava and sweet potatoes and other root
crops as main source of energy among the locals.

 Snacks and Desserts

1. Malagos Chocolates - For the chocoholics, you’ll love the award-winning, single origin
Malagos Chocolate that’s produced in the bountiful foothills of Mt. Talomo, Davao. It’s
100% pure all natural fine flavor chocolate that is truly treeto-bar.

2. Binignit - or Ginataan in Tagalog is an all-time favorite refreshment in Davao City. It is a

combination of several fruits cooked in coconut milk. o Marang - If you don’t want the
smell of Durian, the Marang could be your next favorite fruit. It tastes even sweeter than
the Durian

3. Tinagtag - It is made of ground rice and sugar, mixed with a little bit of water. This
glutinous mixture cooked then folded like a taco. It is best eaten with either milk or
coffee or even a mixture of both