Mangan Ta Na!: Banana Heart Kilayin

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Banana Heart Kilayin

For this recipe, make sure you soak the heart in salted water to remove some of the bitter aftertaste.

Ingredients

4 fresh banana hearts
2 medium sized shallots (thinly sliced)
2 tbsp coconut oil
Juice from 2 calamansi to taste (you may also use lime juice)

1 red chili pepper (sliced)

Directions

Fill a bowl with about 5-6 bowls of cold water and 2 tbsp salt. Peel the outer layer of the banana hearts until you reach the light colored part of the heart. Finely chop the banana heart and soak in the salted water. Massage for 3 minutes to get rid of the bitter sap and drain.

Fill a large bowl with water and ice. Bring a medium pot to a boil over high heat and blanch the banana heart for about 10 seconds. Strain and place in the ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain and pat dry with paper towel and place in a bowl. Add shallots, coconut milk, lime juice, chili and salt to taste.

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Salangi Ko Pu!

In the United States, I've seen the same Filipino dish cooked a million ways...some you don't even recognize! The main reason for this is that most people who immigrated to the United States didn't know how to cook, but were forced to learn because they miss and crave their food. As a result, there's a lot of recipe variations due to either lack of culinary skills, regional, taste buds and a lot of improvisation due to lack of authentic ingredients.

There is a distinct variation in how Filipinos from different regions of the Philippines prepare their foods. What I have here, as far as Filipino food is concerned, is a mixture of Kapampangan (Pampanga) and Tagalog method of cooking with just a little variation based on my taste and preferences. So for some of you out there, you might find that the ingredients I use in my recipes are very different from what you've seen or heard.

OK, so what's on the menu? To avoid boredom, I try to run an eclectic kitchen. I didn't want to serve my family the same foods, day in and day out so I try to serve them not only Pilipino foods, but also Korean, Chinese, Spanish, American, etc. Here, you will find well-known Filipino dishes as well as American recipes that are, today, commonly found in most Filipino kitchens. I will also add some of my favorite Italian dishes, as well as Asian recipes I've picked up in my travels in China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and Thailand.

So, what are you waiting for, get ready, get cooking, and Mangan ta na!