THE International Rondalla Festival to be hosted by Silay City on November 3 to 11, 2018 will also feature one special festival. I call it a “festival within a festival.” This was confirmed by Edsie Sazon Valladarez, the officer-in-charge of Balay Negrense Museum.
Adobo Festival started in 1998 at Balay Negrense grounds designed to showcase the talents of the Negrosanons in cooking adobo. This festival promotes Silay not just as a city of heritage houses but also a haven for food enthusiasts. This big adobo event will be on November 3 to 11, 2018 (last day of the International Rondalla Festival). This gives the participants and guests the opportunity to discover heavenly adobo.
This culinary milestone will be attended by Mayor Mark Golez and the city officials. The invitation committee is also sending an invitation to all officials of other LGUs. Adobo cooking competition will take center stage as the highlight of the festival. All enthusiasts are invited to join the contest (registration fee is P100). Entry forms and guidelines are available at Balay Negrese Museum (034 714-7676). Look for Edsie Valladarez.
Participants should provide the name of the recipe, history of the recipe, list of ingredients, and cooking procedure. The contest will start at 9 a.m. and the winners will be announced at 2 p.m. Criteria for judging include taste, originality of the dish, presentation, innovation, sanitation in preparation, and the creative use of ingredients.
Cash prizes and certificates will be given to the first, second and third place winners (2,000, 3,000, 5,000). Gift packs and certificates will be provided to the consolation prize winners. The recipes will be tasted and judged by a panel. Basic ingredients must include vinegar (preferably naturally fermented) and garlic.
The meat of the following will not be accepted as ingredients: dog, cat, monkey, carabao, rat, turtle, eagle, spotted deer, wild pig, lizards, ocean mammals, or any endangered plant or animal. Measurement for ingredients should be in the metric system. The recipe should indicate the number of servings. Recipe for adobo entry shall become the property of Balay Negrense Museum. The chosen recipes will be included in an adobo recipe book that will be published after the contest.
Adobo is synonymous to Filipino taste. Adobo eaters are not just after the quality o the meat or vegetable. They are looking for the sourness and acidity that the vinegar can offer -- the one that could make faces crinkle up.
For the Silaynons, many things can go adobo -- chicken, pork, edible meat of the shells, takway, eggplants, squid, shrimp paste, string beans, and anything beyond imagination.
The organizers told me that they may feature some approved recipes of the past: chicken and pork adobo A’ La Manosa by Margarita Locsin, mixed vegetables adobo by Remia Busel, adobong takway by Elizabeth Vargas, chicken-pork adobo by Ma. Victoria Garcia, squid adobo by Leah Simple, and adobong pedada by Rosemarie Alvarez. I was also invited to give a lecture, “What We Eat in Silay.”
Within the International Rondalla Festival, we have Cinco de Noviembre Festival, Kaon Ta Festival, and Adobo Festival. Come and eat in Silay!