Friday, January 22, 2010

a classic favorite of a true Ilonggo

Sometimes it is really difficult to think of what to serve guest coming over for dinner. But since my friends are all Ilonggo's all based in Manila, I thought of serving them something that I am sure they surely miss.

My menu for tonight is an all ilonggo favorite. Anyone who was born and raised in Bacolod will never say no to our classic "Cansi". Cansi is an Ilonggo version of the popular Bulalo of the south. Boiled bone-in beef shank which come with the customary cardiac delight bone marrow. The secret to our cansi is the batuan. It is a souring agent Ilonggos use in soups, stews, and other favorite dishes. I would often ask a relative or our yayas to bring me fresh batuan from Bacolod. The one I see here in Manila is in puree form which gives the soup a different color and thickens the broth.

I guess I just have to make do with whatever ingredients I can find in the market for now.

Ingredients:
Beef Shank
Bone Marrow
Lemon Grass
Souring Agent (in my case I used sampalok now)
Salt
Pepper

Cook the beef for 2 hours or until tender. Add the bone marrow, lemon grass, sampalok, salt and pepper. Boil for another hour.

Sauce:
Fish Sauce
Calamansi
Chili (optional)

Serve with steaming white rice.

Kaon Ta! =)