My mother’s LAING

Holy week is just around the corner. That one week during summer when most of us get to have a long rest from work, perhaps do some travelling here and there and most importantly do a lot of contemplation on our faith.

Several years back, Holy week for our family meant visiting family and friends in Bicol, the province where my dear mother grew up.  My mother, even if she was a Bicolana, wasn't really that tolerant to spicy foods like the other natives; but what she lacked in spiciness, she made it up with creamy goodness. She loved using gata (coconut milk/coconut cream) in her dishes, a trademark of cooking in their region. One of these dishes she used to always make especially during the Lenten season was  LAING (taro leaves cooked in coconut milk) sans the pork meat. She usually replaced it with shrimp or tinapa flakes (smoked fish).

For me, her Laing was the best I have ever tasted!  And I am not claiming this just because I am her daughter, because everyone I know who had the chance to taste it seems to agree. Even my husband argues that my version of Laing is only 2^nd best compared to how my mother made it. Too bad, my mother didn’t left any specific instructions of her recipe, because like me, we usually don’t rely on recipes, but rely on taste while we cook it; adjusting as we go along. Good thing though that I was able to observe her during the times she cooked this dish, as I was able to get important tips on how to cook the perfect Laing.

On this post, please do allow me to attempt once more to make the perfect Laing, as a tribute to my dearest mother.

Ingredients you’ll need:

-          100g of shredded , dried gabi/ taro leaves

Note: If you can’t seem to find any dried ones at your local market or grocery and only has fresh ones in hand, make sure to sun dry them at least a day before using them.  And when shredding them on your own, do them with your HANDS as the metal blades from scissors or knives may change the flavour a bit, just make sure to put on some gloves while doing so as its leaves can attempt revenge and leave your skin with tiny cuts.

- 2 cloves of minced garlic

-          A tsp of ginger, finely chopped

-          2-3 pcs of siling labuyo/ bird’s eye chilies

-          1 siling haba/ finger chili

-          About 1/2 cup worth of pork cubes /ground pork /pork meat cracklings(chicharon laman); during lent replace this with shrimp, smoked fish (tinapa)
* I am partial to using shrimp, only if it wasn't that expensive here, as shrimp brings so much flavor to this dish. But if you are a vegetarian, you can just omit the meat and make this without any.

-          A tbsp of cooking oil

-          1 can of 400 ml of coconut milk 

-          1 small can of  270 ml of coconut cream (gata)

Note: Coconut milk and creams are now readily available in supermarkets, but if you have lots of time in your hand and the adventurous type and you want to make your own coconut milk and cream, go ahead and climb that coconut tree, and search for the perfect mature coconut. Grate it, put it on a cheesecloth, put some warm water on it, and squeeze out all the cream while thinking of someone you want to strangle. The FIRST extraction you get will be your coconut cream. Add a little bit of water and proceed with second extraction, that will be your coconut milk. If you cant seem to get any more cream during this time, just add a cup of water to about 1/2 cup of coconut cream to make it into coconut milk. 

-          3 tbsp of ginisang bagoong (sauteed shrimp paste)

-          Salt and pepper to taste

All ready now? Let's begin!

In a sauteing pan, heat some oil and saute garlic and ginger until fragrant. 

Add pork cubes until browned.

Season with about 3 spoonfuls of shrimp paste. Adjust to taste; and add salt and pepper. 

Chop the finger chilies and add them. If you want your Laing to be mean spicy, chop one of the siling labuyo/birds eye chilies and add them; add more to your liking. If you aren't to spicy stuff, just put the chili/chilies in it without bothering to chop them.

Pour about 1 cup of coconut milk, followed by the taro leaves.

Then, pour in the remaining coconut milk on top of the taro leaves to make sure all the leaves are hydrated with the milk. 

At this point, GENTLY stir the coconut milk evenly at the pan to coat every leaves and just leave it as such to simmer after. Simmer over very low heat.

!!! One important tip I got from my mother was to NEVER, and if ever needed, just GENTLY STIR this while its cooking or it will leave your mouth really itchy when you eat it. 

When almost all of the coconut milk has been reduced, and you are sure that the leaves are cooked, add your coconut cream and simmer for another couple of minutes. It is important to make sure that the taro leaves are properly cooked as raw taro leaves are poisonous. 

Now, its done!

Top it with finger eye chilies for garnish.

 Make sure to cook a lot of rice to go along with this dish, as any dish with coconut cream on them will make you eat more rice.

Now.... close your eyes, say some grace before meals, then dig in.

Happy Eating! =)