LABONG NA MAY SALUYOT & FISH (JUTE LEAVES & BAMBOO SHOOTS)

LABONG na may Saluyot & FISH

This dish is at the top of my favorites list. It is an authentic Ilocano cuisine that my siblings and I grew up eating. 

After years of living in a foreign land and away from my mother's kitchen, I had to learn how to cook it to satisfy my unending craving for this food. Dinengdeng has many variations largely on the vegetables that is mixed with it. In this page, I will illustrate how I would normally cook one of its most popular versions with my favorite vegetable as the main ingredient matched with the perennial bamboo shoot.

INGREDIENTS:

• Saluyot Leaves
• 1 cup of sliced bamboo shoot (Labong)
• 1/2 cup Bagoong
• Fish fillet
• 4 cups of water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Wash the fish fillet with running water and dash 2 pinches of salt on both sides.
2. Heat up half a cup of vegetable oil in a frying pan. Fry the fish fillet on both sides until golden brown. Set the fish aside after frying.
3. Boil 5 cups of water in a separate pot. Put the sliced bamboo shoots and boil for 5 minutes. with the lid on.
4. Wash the Saluyot leaves in running water to remove impurities. Slice the leaves in a slant direction in narrow strips about half a centimeter wide. You will notice the slimy juice oozing as you slice the leaves.
5. Put half a cup of bagoong in a small bowl. Take one cup of boiling water from pot and mix it with the bowl of bagoong. Stir to dilute the bagoong.
6. Pour the bagoong mix to the boiling pot through a strainer. This is to filter out the fish bones from the bagoong. This will prevent the itchy sensation experienced by some people who are not used to eating bagoong.
7. Drop the fried fish into the boiling mix, put the lid back and let it boil for 5 minutes. This will allow the fish flavor to mix with the stock.
8. Open the lid and put the sliced Saluyot leaves into the pot together with the fried fish, bamboo shoot, and the bagoong mix and stir until the leaves begin to submerge.
9. Keep the lid open and simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes. It is important for the lid to be open so that the Saluyot leaves will retain its vibrant green color.
10. Pay attention to the texture and color of the leaves. Once it has reached its half-cook stage, you may turn of the heat. Overcooking the vegetable will diminish its nutrients, hence it is important to achieve the correct temperature level.
11. Pour the dish into a serving bowl and serve. Do not leave it in the hot pot as the remaining heat will overcook the vegetable.

ENJOY!!!!