KBL (Kadyos, Baboy, kag Langka)

The Ilonggo soup of pigeon peas, pork, and green jackfruit, soured with batwan until the broth turns a faint purple

Origin: Iloilo & the Western Visayas, Philippines

From the journey of Pigeon Pea.

KBL stands for kadyos, baboy, kag langka, 'pigeon peas, pork, and jackfruit', and it is the best-loved dish of the Hiligaynon-speaking Ilonggo people of Iloilo and the Western Visayas. Dried kadyos, the dark pigeon peas of the region, are simmered with pork hock or belly until tender, then cooked with chunks of unripe jackfruit, and the broth is soured with batwan, the fruit of Garcinia binucao, a tree almost confined to the Western Visayas whose gentle sourness is softer than tamarind's. The kadyos turn the broth a faint, dusky purple, which is how an Ilonggo recognises the real thing. It is the dish Ilonggos living away from home miss most, because batwan and the right kadyos are hard to find outside the region, and it is the one most often requested when an Ilonggo host lays on a meal for guests.

Ingredients

Soup

  • 250 g dried pigeon peas (kadyos), soaked overnight
  • 800 g pork hock or belly, cut into pieces
  • 2.5 litres water
  • 1 onion, quartered
  • 4 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 thumb fresh ginger, sliced
  • 4 batwan fruits, or 2 tbsp tamarind pulp as a substitute
  • 500 g unripe jackfruit (langka), peeled, cored, and cut into chunks, or tinned young jackfruit in brine, drained
  • 2 long green chillies (siling haba)

To Finish

  • 2 tbsp fish sauce (patis), or to taste
  • Salt and black pepper

Method

  1. Drain the kadyos and put them in a large pot with the pork, water, onion, garlic, and ginger. Bring to the boil, skim, and simmer for 1 to 1½ hours, until the pork and peas are tender.
  2. Meanwhile boil the batwan in a little water until soft, mash, and strain the sour juice into the pot.
  3. Add the jackfruit and green chillies and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, until the jackfruit is tender.
  4. Season with fish sauce, salt, and pepper and serve hot with rice.

Notes

Fresh batwan is rarely found outside the Visayas; frozen batwan is sold in some Filipino groceries. Tamarind or kamias make a good substitute, though the sourness is sharper. Smoked pork or pork with its skin gives the richest broth. The purple colour depends on dark kadyos; paler pigeon peas give a brown broth.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

Mapping Culinary History

To explore — select an ingredient below.

Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route
Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control
© 2026 The Gastrographer. All original research, narratives, and illustrations. All rights reserved.