Laing - AFF Philippines July 2014

When I was in Legazpi, Philippines, my friend took us to a popular eatery called Small Talk Cafe. It was my first meal in Philippines. It was like a small family business. It served yummy fusion Filipino Italian food.

I tried a pizza with taro leaves. The leaves tasted like some creamy coconut. I really like the taste of it. When my friend knew that I liked it, she purposely asked the driver to detour and let me buy the leaves. It was frozen packed. When I came back, I requested my helper to cook it. As taro leaves are special to Bicol province, she has not tasted this before. I had to surf the web and instruct her to cook it.

This was how it was described.
"This Laing recipe or Bicol laing is a dish indigenous to the Bicol province. Rich and creamy, it's made from dried taro or gabi leaves and coconut milk."

Recipe for Laing (Taro Leaves Cooked in Coconut Milk), modifed from Filipino Food.

Ingredients:

250g Frozen Taro Leaves (including roasted pork, garlic, salt and chilli)

80g Coconut Milk

1 tsp Sauteed Shrimp Paste(Bagoong Alamang)

1 tbsp Cooking Oil for sauteing

Method:
1. Heat the wok, then add the cooking oil.

2. Add in the defrost taro leaves and gently stir to cook. 

3. Add coconut milk and let it simmer for 15 minutes, stirring from time to time.

4. Cook until the taro leaves have fully absorbed the coconut milk and almost rendering fat.

5. Serve with rice.

I'm submitting this to Asian Food Fest Philippines hosted by The Sweet Spot.