Dear Diary: Mother Told Me That She Can't Do The Taro Leaves In Coconut Cream Yet Because She Is Sick

I could be enjoying the Taro leaves in Coconut cream dish today had it not been I am practically disabled in preparing a relatively simple dish we call a "Laing." The origin of that recipe was from the province of Bicol where they are fond of eating a very spicy foods basically cooked with coconut cream and our native spicy chili which is a very hot variety of chili that packs a punch when you eat it. The dish is called "Pangat" in some areas of Bicol where in my province when you say "Pangat" it means a fish cooked in a sour ingredient like tamarind or the Balimbi fruit.

The usual preparation of the Taro in coconut cream in my style of cooking is the frying of some dried fish. I toast the fish in oil until it is crispy and then I chop it up in small pieces. The I would saute the thinly sliced ginger until it rendered all its juices unto the oil. It is followed by minced garlic and then the sliced onions and seasonings to taste. I would include now the whole chilis, the chopped dried fried fish and then the second extract of the coconut that we call the coconut "milk."

After those were sizzling in the pot I would then include to drop the washed dried taro leaves. If the peeled stem is available we can include that too. Then I would stir the pot continuously in a small flame until the coconut milk reduces into somewhat thick consistency. It is important to cook the leaves thoroughly because it will give an itchy feeling to the mouth and throat if it is not well cooked.

Then finally the coconut cream is added and we continuously stir it for a few minutes until it is cooked and it is now ready to serve. Some like it very spicy so they add much spicy chilis into it while I myself like it both ways. It is always eaten with rice while other people can eat it with bread or in a pizza-style form.

So that is how I cook it and I can only blog about it right now in the meantime but will show you the product until my mother can cook it for me. It is just frustrating that I want something then I cannot do or get it and will have to ask or bother other people for anything to get done for me. It is not the type of living that I even dream of so with all these things that I have to be patient with until I could see something get some fruition.