“KINILAW DE ORO” AND “BINAKHAW”

Filipinos are very much familiar with kinilaw – the ever-popular appetizer-cum-main course dish mainly made of slices of fresh raw fish that’s denatured in a mix of vinegar, herbs and spices.

Largely identified as a dish that’s endemic to the Philippines, variations of this special can be found in one region of the country to another, and its varieties are a reflection of how the Philippines’ archipelagic topography has made an impact on the country’s diversely rich culinary repertoire.

At times referred to as “kilawin”, the terms “kinilaw” and “kilawin” are often used interchangeably, but foodies are keen on citing a distinction between the two: kilawin refers to a kinilaw-style dish that has its meat/seafood blanched or lightly cooked, while kinilaw uses raw meat, typically fish.

The dish has also been characterized as the Filipino equivalent to Lain America’s ceviche owing to similarities in the dishes’ basic ingredients and preparatory steps – save for kinilaw’s use of vinegar, as opposed to the use citrus juices and extracts that’re essential in the making of ceviche.

Though most are already content to enjoy kinilaw without muddling their taste buds over the inclusive or exclusive use of vinegar and/or citrus extracts, there are those who argue that kinilaw is not kinilaw if it is not prepared with certain ingredients.

In certain parts of the Visayas, for example, kinilaw is not kinilaw without mayonnaise, while there are regions in the Philippines that say that kinilaw is not kinilaw without coconut milk.

But for Cagayanons and Dumaguetenos, their views on kinilaw being kinilaw is hinged on two kinilaw types that originate from Northern Mindanao and Negros Oriental – “Kinilaw de Oro” and “Binakhaw”.