Greetings to all! Our theme for this week is quite exciting because it's all about coconut! Coconut is said to be the tree of life because of it's usefulness from the leaves down to the roots!
This time, we will deal about its necessity in the kitchen to our table. I may not be able to join due to time constraints of preparation but it's okay.
From the backyard to our table
Sweetened Squash with Coco Milk
I like to grow squash in my backyard because my kids like to eat squash either in form of sweets or as viand.
Mixed with coconut milk and squash, you can produce the following:
• Squash cake
• Squash Jam
If you like, you may follow my recipe:
• 4 cups coconut milk
• 4 cups squash, cubed
• 1 cup brown sugar
The ratio would be 1 is to 4 ( 1 cup sugar + 4 cups squash).
The coconut milk and brown sugar is caramelised first. We call this latik in our dialect.
While stirring, gradually put in the cubed squash. It will be cooked while the Coco milk is caramelised with the brown sugar. Let it cool down and refrigerate. You may bake it in the oven if you like it hot, or you may put it in a jar as filling.
Coco Candy Bar
Without the squash, you can make the latik stickier to create a Coco candy bar. You need a banana leaf to pour the latik and roll it there. This will prevent the latik from sticking while rolling it or you may create flat circles like a cookie. Wrap it with colored wax paper. The kids will love it!
sweetened Glutinous Rice with Coconut milk
This sweetened delicacy is easy to prepare. All you need to do is cook the glutinous rice like a regular rice but use the coconut milk instead of natural water, adding a bit of salt and sugar plus ginger. Say, for 4 cups of glutinous rice, you may add 4 cups of coconut milk, a pinch of salt and 2 cup brown sugar.
Once it's half done, you may wrap it with banana leaves, fold & tie both ends and place it in a wok overlapping each other. Add water. Enough to cover the wrapping.bring to boil. This delicacy is best served during breakfast, coffee time or afternoon snacks!
Puto Maya
- The process is the same thing as the sweetened glutinous rice though you don't need to wrap it with banana leaf. The rice should be well done. While simmering, sprinkle the top with pure coconut milk to enhance the savoury flavor of coconut! You may mold it with a cup to make it more attractive. Actually , we like the crispy burnt part of the base because it's more tasty! :) Serve hot or cold.
Cassava cake
This yummy recipe is popular in our place. You need grated/shredded cassava, coconut milk and condensed milk for the final toppings. It can be done either steamed or baked. I prefer both.
The grated cassava need to be squeezed first to remove it's juice. Use flour sack so you can easily squeeze out. The ratio would be 1 is to 4.
• 4 cups cassava
• 8 cups coconut milk
• 1 cup Royal Tru-orange (optional)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• Cheese
• Condensed milk
• Grated young coconut
• Square or round baking pan will do
- Mix the cassava and Coco milk thoroughly along with Royal Tru-orange soft drink. This combination will make it more palatable.
- Add 1 cup of brown sugar, stirring gradually until it's well blended with other ingredients.
- Blend in the young grated coconut. You can add shredded cheese too.
- preheat your oven @250°F. Place the baking pan on equal level.
- Bake it for 40 minutes or up to 1 hour to make the cassava fillings well cooked. Try it with fork and see if it's well done. Remove from the oven
- Next will be the final toppings. Spread some grated young coconut and cheese then cover it with condensed milk. Put it back in the oven and let it stay until the condensed milk is well caramelised. Serve hot or cold.
Baye-baye
This kind of recipe is quite laborious to make but it's all worth it! We prepare this on special occasions or we order it due to limited time of preparation. More often than not, it is done by volume to make it worthwhile the efforts!
Ingredients: (for single recipe)
• 1 kilo rice, roasted brown
• 1/2 kilo brown sugar
• 4 cups grated young coconut
The long process is done by roasting the glutinous rice in a wok until it's done.
Mortar or wooden pounder. We call this big pounder bayuhan or Lusong where the roasted rice is pounded and pulverised. Considering the long process, the roasting is done by volume or others may contribute for the ingredients. Traditionally, people do this after a good harvest where they use the newly harvested rice to be roasted and pounded. The happy faces of the farmers show their eagerness to do these activity as an act of Thanksgiving for a good harvest. Couples or sweethearts would do the pair to pound it while others sing and dance. The elders (men & women) would do the roasting over a giant wok called dalwasi while some men gather firewoods. The others use the traditional wooden kudkuran (grater or scraper) to grind coconut. The young coconut is segregated for the finishing.
After the roasting and pounding is done, brown sugar and grated coconut is added as the pounding continues, mixing it manually until the desired thinness of the particles are smooth enough. The presence of the Coconut makes it soft and supple. Therefore, it needs more coconuts to achieve this texture.
For finality, the young grated coconut is added while pounding for the finishing touches. It will be wrapped with a banana leaf to prevent sticking and more lasting. Nowadays, Foils and plastic wraps are more handy. This recipe seems to be present in every household (either manually made by them or they just have it delivered) especially during All Souls Day or during Christmas and New Year and even fiestas!
Jackfruit Salad with Coconut Milk
Jackfruit paired with coconut milk is my favourite dish. You need a young jackfruit for this. First you peel the thick cover and cut it into bite size then boil it until it's done. Drain and wash with it again. Set aside for 2 settings: 1 for salad and the other for viand.
Ensalada
Prepare the following mixture:
•1/2 cup Vinegar
•1/4 cup White/brown sugar
•1)2 cup mashed Ginger
•1 bulb Onion chopped
•2 Bell pepper, chopped
•1 tomato, chopped
•1 stem spring onion,chopped
•Seasoning
•2 cups pure coconut milk
- (meaning with no water added. Just squeeze the grated coconut to produce the coco milk).
Take note: Do not throw the squeezed coconut soup because you can still use it for another dish.
Mix all the ingredients over the cooked young jackfruit with seasoning added. Serve hot or cold.
Jackfruit with mongo and Coco milk
• You only need 1 cup of mongo and boil it until it's done.
• Make use of the squeezed grated coconut. This time, you may add 4 cups of water and squeeze it again.
• Add the coconut milk into the boiled mongo and jackfruit adding the same ingredients aforementioned. Serve hot.
Chicken Curry with Coconut Milk
This recipe is one of my favourite dish. Using the same ingredients of the jackfruit ensalada, you need the following:
• Chicken cuts
• Lemon grass
• 1 clove Garlic, munched
• Black pepper
• Chili ,(optional)
• 1 tablespoon full, curry powder or turmeric
• 2 cups pure Coco milk
• 3 tbsp cooking oil
In a wok, saute tomato first followed with onion, garlic and ginger then add the chicken cuts, stirring gradually until slightly brown. Add 4 cups of water and curry powder.
Cover and let it simmer for 30 minutes or until the meat is tender.
Add the lemon grass and seasoning to enhance it's flavor. Finally add pure coconut milk and black pepper. Serve hot.
Mixed Veggies, Lentils and Coconut Milk (Ginataang Gulay)
This recipe is one of the most nutritious dish you can prepare for the whole family.
Ingredients:
1 cup Lima Beans (Patani)
1 cup Squash, sliced
1 cup moringa leaves
4 pcs Okra (lady's finger)
1 cup Ampalaya young leaves
Spices: As stated above
Put 4 cups of water of the used grated coconut and squeeze. Set aside.
Boil the Lima beans until tender then add the squash and the ingredients. Lastly, add the leaves of spinach and Ampalaya along with the pure coconut
milk. Being to a boil, adding seasoning and stir. Immediately turn off the fire to avoid the leaves from getting over cooked.
Bamboo shoots with Veggies and Coconut Milk plus Seafoods
This mouth-watering recipe is simply the best! You need the following ingredients:
• Young bamboo shoots, scraped & boiled
• Young corn
• Saluyot or Tugabang
• Crabs/Shrimps
• Ginger
• Lemon grass
• Bell pepper
• Spring Onion
• Seafoods such as crabs & shrimps
• 4 cups coconut milk.
• Take note: The first squeeze about 1 cup of Coco milk should be set aside first. When all is done, it will be the last to be poured to make a creamier soup.
These are only some of the recipes I can show you for now. Coconut brings joy to everyone! I, for one, drink buko juice almost everyday when I was in our hometown.
This is all for now my dear readers. I have a lot more to show you using the precious coconut as the main ingredient. I hope you will try these recipes to have a actual first-hand experience of these delicious delicacies and food on your table with the nutritious coconut in it.
Thank you @justinparke for this awesome community and to those who have reached this far. Have a nice day ahead everyone!
Love,
