Ginisang Labong at Saluyot

My husband's family has been in this neighborhood since the early 1980s. So they basically know each and everyone in the area. In fact, if you get lost coming here, ask for our surname and they will direct you to our house. Just don't do bad things to us; you won't like what can happen to you, haha. Anyway, my favorite benefit of living here is the good number of community vendors that often knock on our door, er, gate. One of them is Grace, an old woman who sells fresh produce from her own harvest. My pure Bicolana mother-in-law, Mama A, gets fresh gabi leaves from her that she cooks into laing. One day, Grace cheerfully arrived with fresh labong (bamboo shoots). I was so excited I bought it all! Then Mama A prepped it for cooking by boiling and extracting the not-so-pleasant taste of its liquid. Para daw "walang kati". The next day, she bought saluyot, tomatoes and ginger. I bought bangus. We were on a serious mission for some tasty dinengdeng! However, Mama A had allergies that day so I skipped using bagoong isda for this recipe, making it a simple guisado. 

You know what, okay lang naman 'cause I used fish sauce (patis) instead and the natural flavor of fried bangus made it more delish. To be honest, this was the first time that I cooked this! I was so happy it was a success and that my tweener foodie loved it so I'm sharing this with all of you.

Ingredients:

- around 2 cups of shredded labong (bamboo shoots), boiled and wrung

- 1 whole large bangus, sliced and seasoned

- 1 bunch saluyot, leaves separated from stem

- 2 tomatoes, quartered

- 1 onion, sliced

- 1 medium ginger, sliced

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- 4 cups of water 

- salt and pepper to taste

- cooking oil, for frying 

Procedure:

1. In your trusted kawali, fry the seasoned bangus slices until crispy and golden brown. Set aside. 

2. In the same kawali, just leave a tablespoon of oil and sauté ginger, onion, garlic and tomatoes until translucent. Do not burn. Best to do it in slow fire so the aromatics would release its natural juices. 

3. Add the labong to the kawali party and stir fry to separate it beautifully. Pour the water. Season with patis, salt and pepper. Cover and let it boil for 3 to 5 minutes. 

4. Put the fish slices and add saluyot leaves, too. Boil for a minute or two to allow the flavor of the fish to incorporate with the broth well. Do not cover again so the leaves remain vibrant green. Serve hot and best with rice! Mangan tayon! ❤️ 

If you enjoy doing my recipes, I would truly appreciate it if you include #RoyalDomesticityRecipes in your posts. Enjoy and always cook from the heart!