Kinilnat, also known as kilnat or ensalada, is a Filipino vegetable salad originating from northern Luzon, Philippines. It is characterized by a savory, tangy, and salty flavor profile derived primarily from its dressing, which is typically made with fermented fish sauce (buggúong or bagoong isda), commonly produced from anchovies. The dish consists of a variety of blanched vegetables, including leafy greens, blossoms, legumes, and shoots. Common ingredients include sweet potato leaves, eggplant, okra, hummingbird tree flowers (Sesbania grandiflora), moringa flowers, fern shoots, and winged beans. The dressing traditionally consists of fermented fish sauce mixed with tomatoes and shallots or onions. In Ilocano cuisine, this combination is locally known as KBL, an acronym for kamatis (tomatoes), buggúong, and lasoná (shallots).
Kinilnat has numerous variations, depending on the availability or season and combination of vegetables used. These may include kalunay, jute mallow, birch flower, squash shoots and young pods, cabbage, banana blossoms, sabidulong fruit and flower, long beans, bitter melon, hyacinth beans, and other vegetables. Variations of the dressing may include the addition of sugarcane vinegar (sukang Iloko) and calamansi juice mixed with fermented fish sauce.
Kinilnát is derived from the Ilocano root word kilnát or kelnát, which means âÂÂto parboilâ or âÂÂto partially cook,â particularly in reference to vegetables. The term kinilnat literally translates to âÂÂparboiledâ or âÂÂpartially cooked,â describing the dishâÂÂs primary method of preparation.