KBL (Kadyos, Baboy, at Langka) Recipe

KBL, or Kadyos, Baboy, at Langka, is an Ilonggo soup made with pork hocks, pigeon peas, and unripe jackfruit. The broth is sour and purple, and it gets a little thicker as the kadyos cook. I sour it with fresh batuan, and the hocks simmer until the meat is soft enough to pull from the bone. Lemongrass goes in early, and sweet potato leaves go in right at the end.

I learned to make KBL from an Ilonggo relative. Part of my family comes from La Carlota in Negros, and that relative was the first person I heard talk about using fresh batuan in this soup. I was not familiar with the fruit back then, and it was hard to find in Manila, so I used the same sinigang mix I use for my pork sinigang. Nowadays I use batuan when there is a chance. It has a cleaner tartness that leaves a fresh aftertaste.

Kadyos can be hard to find too, especially outside the Visayas. What I find in Filipino stores abroad is the dried purple kind, and those need to soak overnight, so that part of KBL has to be planned the day before.

What is KBL?

KBL stands for kadyos, baboy, and langka, the three main ingredients. In Hiligaynon it is called Kadyos, Baboy, kag Langka.

KBL is cooked all over Iloilo and Negros, where batuan is the usual souring ingredient. Another well-known Ilonggo soup is cansi, which uses beef shank and unripe jackfruit. In KBL the kadyos soften, release their purple color, and give the broth a little more body than a clear sinigang.

Why This KBL Recipe Works

• Parboiling the pork hocks first – Boiling the hocks for 10 minutes and rinsing them removes most of the scum. You get a cleaner broth when the pork goes back in.
• Lemongrass and the broth cube go in early – The pork simmers in that broth for 40 to 45 minutes, so the lemongrass has time to flavor it before the peas and jackfruit go in.
• The batuan goes in with the jackfruit, not at the beginning – It is easier to control the sourness this way. Once the fruit softens, mash it, strain the juice back into the pot, and taste before adding salt.
• The sweet potato leaves cook on residual heat – Two minutes in the covered pot with the heat off is enough to wilt them while they are still bright green.

Ingredients

• Pork hocks (pata) – Sliced into serving pieces. Have the butcher cut them, because the bone is hard to get through at home. Pork butt or pork belly also work if you want something less bony.
• Pigeon peas (kadyos) – The dark purple ones. Fresh kadyos go straight into the pot; dried ones need the overnight soak and a rinse.
• Unripe jackfruit (langka) – Peeled and chopped into chunks about the size of the pork pieces. Buy it already cleaned and cut if the market stall sells it that way, since the sap is messy to deal with.
• Sweet potato leaves (talbos ng kamote) – Pick the tender tops and leave the thick stems behind. They go in last and only need the heat left in the pot.
• Fresh batuan (batwan) – Ten medium green ones. Sinigang mix is the fallback when there is none.
• Lemongrass (tanglad) – Bruise the stalks with the back of a knife and tie them into knots so they are easy to fish out later.
• Beef or pork broth cube – One cube. Either one works here.
• Water – Twelve cups, used in two batches of six. The first six cups get thrown away after the parboil.
• Salt and ground black pepper – A little salt goes into the parboiling water. The rest goes in at the end, after the batuan juice, so you are seasoning the finished broth.

1. Pour 6 cups of water into a cooking pot. Add the pork hocks and a little salt. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes.
2. Drain and discard the water. Rinse the pork hocks briefly to remove any remaining impurities, then return them to the pot. Pour in the remaining 6 cups of fresh water and bring to a boil.

1. Add the lemongrass and broth cube. Cover and simmer over low to medium heat for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the pork starts to turn tender.
2. Add the pigeon peas. Continue simmering for 20 to 25 minutes, or until tender. Add more water as needed to maintain enough broth.

The pork should be starting to soften but still firmly attached to the bone. It keeps cooking with the kadyos.

1. Add the unripe jackfruit and 10 pieces of batuan. Continue simmering for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the jackfruit is tender and the batuan has softened.
2. Remove the softened batuan and mash it with a little hot broth. Strain the extracted liquid back into the pot. Stir and season with salt and ground black pepper. Adjust the sourness to taste.

If you are using sinigang mix instead of batuan, stir it in with the jackfruit and start with less than the full amount. Taste once the jackfruit is tender and add the rest only if the broth needs it.

1. Add the sweet potato leaves. Cover the pot and turn off the heat. Allow the residual heat to wilt the leaves for 2 minutes.
2. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve hot with steamed white rice.

What to Serve with KBL

• Steamed white rice – Spoon some of the purple broth over the rice.
• Fish sauce with calamansi – A small saucer on the side, with a crushed chili if you like, for anyone who wants their bowl saltier or more sour.
• Fried fish – Fried bangus or tilapia next to the bowl turns it into a full meal when there are more people at the table.

Storage

• Refrigerator: Let the soup cool, then keep it in a covered container for up to 3 days. The jackfruit and peas keep soaking up broth as the soup sits, so expect less liquid the next day. Reheat only what you plan to eat.
• Freezer: The broth, pork, and peas freeze well for up to 2 months. Freeze it before the sweet potato leaves go in if you can, since the leaves turn dark and limp after thawing. The jackfruit comes out softer too, but it is still fine.
• Reheating: Bring it back to a gentle simmer on the stove and add a splash of water if the broth has thickened. Add fresh sweet potato leaves at the end if you froze it without them, then taste for salt before serving.

More Ilonggo Recipes

• Laswa – Ilonggo vegetable soup with shrimp, squash, okra, and leafy greens in a broth seasoned with bagoong.
• Batchoy – La Paz batchoy with miki noodles, pork, and innards, topped with crushed chicharon and toasted garlic.
• Pancit Molo – Pork and shrimp wontons with shredded chicken in a clear broth, finished with scallions and toasted garlic.
• Utan nga Langka – Unripe jackfruit with dried fish and bago leaves cooked in coconut milk.

• Fresh batuan – Sinigang mix is the easiest fallback, starting at 1 1/2 tablespoons. Kamias is the closer swap when you can get it; use it whole the way you would the batuan and mash it once soft. It is the souring fruit in my sinigang na baboy sa kamias. Batuan paste or powder also works, following the package amount.
• Pork hocks – Pork butt or pork belly, cut into chunks. Both cook in less time than the hocks, so check them at 30 minutes.
• Dried kadyos – Fresh kadyos skip the overnight soak and cook faster. Canned pigeon peas can stand in; they are usually the green kind, so the broth will not turn as purple. Drain them and add them with the jackfruit so they just heat through.
• Unripe jackfruit – Canned unripe jackfruit, drained. It is softer than fresh, so add it a few minutes after the batuan instead of at the same time.
• Sweet potato leaves – Kangkong or spinach. Both wilt the same way with the heat off.
• Lemongrass – Leave it out if you cannot find it. The broth loses that aroma but still tastes like KBL.

I still make KBL with sinigang mix when there is no fresh batuan around, but batuan is what I look for first. It was hard to find in Manila when I first learned this dish, so I make sure to use it whenever I can get some. Serve the KBL hot with steamed rice and plenty of the sour purple broth in every bowl.