Laing

INGREDIENTS

shredded taro leaves

pork, cutlets

garlic, minced

onion, minced

ginger, chopped

green chili peppr

siling labuyo

coconut milk

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

1. Arrange taro leaves in a casserole

2. Add pork, ginger, chilies, garlic and onion and then pour one can of coconut milk without stirring

3. Cover it and bring it to boil or until the pork is tender

4. Add more coconut water if dry. Add the

5. Season it with salt and pepper

I remember when I first tasted laing cooked by someone I know (but I will not name) I puked it out. It was tasteless and it was much too soggy, that I did not want to eat laing anymore. Even if it was from a restaurant. I was much too traumatized by the experience, I did not want to put myself through it, again. During one party that Bon and I attended though, they served Laing and Bicol Express. There was one more dish, but they were still rushing to cook some more, but I was hungry so I had no choice. I couldn’t eat Bicol Express because you know it’s made of shrimps (the deadliest kind because they’re the terrible small ones) so I took one serving of Laing and prayed silently. I am not sure if the prayer worked because it was the best Laing I’ve ever tasted (well, it was probably the second Laing dish, I’ve tasted). It was so good that I had to go to the person who cooked it and said: “I hate Laing, but this one I love so much”. He was so delighted, he gave me one tupperware to take home and I had it for breakfast, the next day. The next time we met with him, he gave me his simple recipe and along with it. he gave me two bags of taro leaves.

You have to understand, Laing is not something that I grew up eating. It has never been served on our table and I’ve only eaten it a few times. I was quite scared to do this because I kept on thinking about the first Laing dish I had when I was young and I was frightened that mine would turn out like that --- but it didn’t. In fact, it was amazing. It was spicy and it didn’t feel like you’re eating gooey vegetables because I made sure to have lots of pork slices and I pork seasoning. That, I believe, is the secret to good Laing. Haha! Just kidding!