Tatay Lito's Laing

I have always been curious about LAING since 2002 - after watching Claudine Barretto and Aga Muhlach's movie Kailangan Kita. I really forgot the whole story of the movie, all I can remember is that -- after watching it, one of my closest friend since elementary - Michael Rebolos and I went around different food establishment and even karenderia serving filipino dishes looking for Laing. He was then scheduled to leave for the US - and prior to his trip, he called me and told me that he was eating LAING in Manila. I know there must be something about that movie that really got us curious about this pinoy food.

LAING or Taro Leaves cooked in Coconut Milk is a dish indigenous to the Bicol province.Rich and creamy, it's made from dried taro or gabi leaves and coconut milk (according to http://www.filipino-food-recipes.com/laingrecipe.html) I googled recipe for laing, and it's not really hard to cook it. Though the drying of the Taro leaves may take time, all procedures can be easily followed even by beginners.  

My good friend Angel Quinito posted on FB that his dad is starting a home business of Laing in a Bottle. I remember Angel giving me a home-cooked dinuguan also by his dad (or mom) and I loved it, so I was really looking forward to this Laing. After the nonstop party last week for my mom,brother,aunt's bday parties and a week before that was my dad's death anniv, I wanted to take a break from all the party food! So his special delivery was but a PERFECT timing.

Special Delivery :)

I never waited for dinner time (since Angel brought me the Laing around 4pm today) to taste the Laing (I've been seeing on his FB page) right then and there. The first thing that I love about it -- GATA or Coconut Milk! Cook anything with Coconut milk, and I'm one happy person! The strong taste of the Taro Leaves, the smooth and creamy taste of the coconut milk, the sweet taste of the coconut juice and the different taste of the other spices creates a symphony of taste on your palate. 

Perfect combination could have been Fried Galunggong, Steaming hot rice, Laing (preferably the spicy one), a glass of ice cold Soda - and eating with your bare hands! But since I have no Galunggong in my freezer, I played with whatever was in my kitchen and created a pasta dish using Laing for the sauce. I made two variations of the sauce - the Pesto and the Creamy Pesto. So these are what I've found in my kitchen 

the malunggay flavored fresh fusilli pasta

my all time fave : GARLIC

Pistachio Nuts 

Cheddar Cheese

EVOO

my home made Chili oil

the star of the show : Tatay Lito's LAING!

I did a different kind of pesto (instead of Basil leaves, I used Tatay Lito's Laing). Garlic, Cheddar Cheese, Pistachio Nuts, Chili Oil, EVOO and half bottle of the Laing. Placed inside a bowl, and using a stick blender I pulse several times until it reaches the thick consistency I wanted. You can adjust the flavors according to your taste, you can either add lots of garlic or more laing or nuts - in my case here - i added too much pistacho. You can use  other nuts like cashew if you don't like Pistachio. 

So my pesto is ready, you can now cook your pasta according to package instructions, but usually a serving of 100g store bought pasta- takes around 8 minutes to cook your pasta Al Dente. Shorter time is required for fresh pasta.

Recipe1 : I reheated the cooked pesto in EVOO till it sizzles and added the pasta. Cooked for around 2-3 minutes since the pasta and the pesto were already cooked. You can add a little salt to taste or chili paste if you want that certain bite on your tongue. Top with grated cheddar cheese 

Recipe 2: Same procedure on the first recipe but after sizzling add Nestle Cream before adding the pasta

My manang(our househelp who first taught me the basic cooking procedure) said she liked the first recipe because she can taste the spicy taste from the chili oil. The second one was -- creamier? haha but it has that UMAY factor (that taste that you'll easily get tired of) - well unless you will pair this with ice cold soda, or hot tea, or red wine-  I guess both recipe would be a  perfect pair.

If you want to order Tatay Lito's Laing, you can contact Flor Angelo Quinito at 09177026733. They cook the Laing by batches to guarantee freshness and for shelf life purposes. Laing can be stored inside the ref for 5-7 days upon opening.