Ginataang Langka with Dried Fish

Hmmm...is it the water? or, the air?  I really do not know the reason but somehow I have been on Filipino dish streak these past few days.  It is not just a desire to cook Filipino dishes but I have actually been craving for them.  That's a little strange since I normally crave for Korean fare instead of Filipino. Homesickness? maybe... it is almost a year since I went home to the Philippines ...

I really wish I can go home before this year is over but I guess the chances of that happening is almost nonexistent especially since I am not sure when I will be able to go back to work.  October will be here soon which means alumni homecoming...i guess I will have to pass on that one...ughhh... I want to go home... I really do...huhuhu



Okay, enough whining and back to regular programming...hehehe

This dish is reminiscent of my homeland, the Philippines, and of Negros Occidental, the province where I am originally from.  We call this dish ensalada nga langka (Jackfruit salad) though it is actually a misnomer since this dish is hardly a salad but more like a stew. This dish is served as an accompaniment to main dishes such as pork and fish which, i guess, is the reason why it got its name.



This way I make this dish is very rich since I use coconut cream (kakang gata) instead of coconut milk.  It is slightly different from what we were used to in the Philippines which is less richer than this one.  The dried fish that I am using is also not the same as the one that we use in the Philippines.  I used Jeprox which is more bony and  paper thin instead of pinakas (the one that we used in the Philippines) which is fleshier and bigger in size.  To give the dish an extra kick, I added a few hot chili.  If you do not want it to be too spicy, you can discard the seeds once you slice the peppers.

CAUTION:

Do not touch your face or eyes when slicing peppers as it may cause burning.

Also be careful when cooking and eating dried fish especially Jeprox as it has a lot of bones.

The picture above this post features fried Jeprox (dried fish)

Ingredients:

3 cans of young, unripe jackfruit, sliced into half an inch thickness

2 cans coconut cream (coconut milk, if you prefer)

4 jalapeno pepper, sliced thinly (remove seeds if you do not want it too spicy)

5-6 Jeprox (dried fish) or any dried fish that you prefer

salt and pepper, according to taste

onion, sliced thinly

oil for sauteing

1. Heat pan over medium heat. Add oil.

2. Saute onion until translucent.

3. Add jackfruit and dried fish then saute for a couple of minutes.

4. Add coconut milk/cream and simmer until jackfruit is soft.  Stir occasionally to prevent coconut milk from curdling and burning..

5. Cook until almost all of the liquid has evaporated.

6. Season with salt and pepper according to taste.  Add sliced pepper, mix and remove from heat.

7.  Serve warm.

Jackfruit Panna Cotta Topped with Jackfruit in Muscovado Syrup

I bought several cans of jackfruit and a bottle of jackfruit essence from the Filipino market last week so I decided to make some jackfruit panna cotta today. Jackfruit is very common in the Philippines. The ripened fruit is sweet and can be etean raw or stewed in sugar syrup which can be served as a snack or sandwich filling. The unripe fruit are used in savory dishes such as stew and soup as well as appetizer or salad. For as long as I have been here in the States, I have yet to find a fresh jackfruit. Most of it is sold canned (ripe and unripe) or frozen. While they do taste okay, I think that nothing compares to the fresh fruits. The huge seeds can be boiled with the skin still on. It is slightly starchy and taste somewhat similar to chestnut.

In the Philippines, jackfruit are often sold at the wet market and large grocery chains. I remember though that we had a huge jackfruit tree in our backyard along with other trees like guava, santol (wild mangosteen) and banana trees as well a variety of tropical plants. Having a huge backyard is one of the things that I miss in the Philippines :(

Anyways, jackfruit panna cotta is made using a basic panna cotta recipe but instead of using vanilla, I used jackfruit essence and then topped it with jackfruit in muscovado syrup. The result is a nice constrast of black and white color which tasted really great. This version of my panna cotta is a little richer than my previous panna cotta recipes because I used a combination of heavy cream and half &half instead of the usual heavy cream/milk misture that I usually use.

Ingredients:

Panna Cotta:

Panna Cottta:
2 tsp unflavored gelatin
1 Tbsp water
1/2 cup half and half
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp jackfruit essence or extract

1. Sprinkle gelatin over 1 Tbsp water and let it soften for about 10 minutes
2. Heat a pan over medium low heat. Add cream, half & half, and sugar. Simmer (do not boil) until sugar is dissolved, stirring occassionally.
3. Remove from heat and stir in jackfruit essence/extract and gelatin mixture. Mix until gelatin is dissolved completely.
4. Strain the panna cotta mixture and pour into ramekins or individual serving container. Let it cool before covering ramekins with plastic wrap.
5. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
6. Top with jackfruit slices in muscovado syrup.

Jackfruit in muscovado syrup

Ingredients:

1 cup sliced jackfruit
1 cup muscovado or brown sugar (if you prefer)
1/2 cup water

1. Heat saucepan over medium heat.
2. Combine muscovado or brown sugar and water. Stir to dissolve mucovado or brown sugar.
3. Let it simmer until it forms a syrup.
4. Add sliced of jackfruit and cook for 10 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and let it cool.

Turon (Banana and Jackfruit Wrapped in Spring Roll Wrapper)

It's just another manic monday...wish it were sunday...coz that's my fun day...hahaha...whoa! where did that come from? Gosh it has been a while since I heard that song which would probably clue you in on how old I am...hehehe...Ahhh, I think I am really getting old because there are a lot of things that I used to be alble to do that I can't do anymore. It's okay though because getting old can be compared to an old wine that only gets better with age...hehehe.

Today, I made turon which is a fried Filipino dish made of banana and jackfruit wrapped in spring roll wrapper then coated with syrup. This can either be served as dessert or snack. It is sometimes sold by street vendors usually around mid-afternoon. Ahhh, that brings back old memories...

The banana used in this recipe is saba (burro) banana which is commonly found in the Philippines. This variety has a thick peel and usually shorter than a regular banana found in the regular American supermaket. The taste and texture also differs from the regular banana. Jackfruit, on the other hand, is also common in the Philippines but it can also be found in other parts of Asia such as Bangladesh, India, Thailand, and Malaysia. It is a huge fruit which has several segments and each segment encloses a huge seed (about the size of a chestnut). It can be eaten raw once it has ripened or used in dishes when it is in its unripen stage. In the States, canned jackfruits are available in Asian markets. Frozen jackfruits can also be found in Filipino stores.


Turon coated with syrup
Ingredients:

6 ripe burro banana, cut into quarters lengthwise
1 can jackfruit, drained and then slice into thin strips
spring roll wrappers
brown sugar, according to desired sweetness
oil for frying

1. Take a quarter of banana and few slices of jackfruit. Place in the middle of a spring roll wrapper then sprinkle with a quarter of tsp of brown sugar.
2. Wrap as shown in the pictures. Moisten the end with water to secure.





3. Do this until all of the bananas and jackfruit has been used up.
4. To fry, heat oil in pan over medium heat. When oil is hot, add a few turon and fry until golden in color.
5. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain excess oil.
6. Transfer to a serving platter and serve with muscovado syrup.

Muscovado syrup:
1 cup muscovado (or you can use brown sugar)
1/2 cup water

1. Place a pan over medium heat.
2. Combine muscovado and water and stir until dissolved
3. Cook until syrup thickens
4. Serve with turon.