I like ginataan dishes. It refers to any dish that is cooked in coconut milk or coconut cream. This Ginataang Langka with Tinapa flakes is no exception. I want to give a shout out to my mom who prepared this dish. This time, I am the food taster — which was my role back then when I was still a kid. Since mother’s day is only a few weeks away, I intend to share with you the dishes that my beloved mom makes for us everyday during her stay here in the US. I am doing this to honor her and to let everyone know how great of a cook she is. She does most of the cooking these days because she enjoys doing it. I finally got some time-off.
She went here in Chicago a month ago to visit and see her grand children. It was a big relief for me because she is doing the kitchen work.There is a new sheriff in town! I do not mind giving her that role. As a form of appreciation, I am featuring her yummy recipes starting today until mother’s day — or even past that day.
This is her ginataang langka recipe. This dish makes use of unripe jackfruit and it is best when eaten with warm rice. This dish is top notch (I am not saying this because she my mom. Well, she is an excellent cook — no doubt about it — and I learned a lot from her). I think that using smoked fish flakes (this is known as tinapa flakes in Filipino) for ginataang langka is a good idea. It provided an amazing flavor to the dish and it reminded me of my childhood days.
She mentioned that ginataan (or utan as she calls it) is better when cooked with a leaf called “lumbay”. Sounds like sadness in Filipino, but I can assure you that it is not the case with the dish. I think that this magical leaf really made a difference. My mom said that this is how they do ginataan in her hometown. Since we don’t have this leaf here, she used malunggay instead.
She grew-up in Romblon, Romblon (this is not a typo — it is similar to Bulacan, Bulacan where in the name of the town is similar to the province). Romblon is a province in Luzon (yes it is in Luzon, but very close to Visayas) and it belongs to a group of islands called MiMaRoPa , which are southern tagalog islands. If I am not mistaken, it means Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan. This is basically in Region IV B. I have been in Romblon a couple of times and I was able to enjoy my stay. The tuba’ is awesome and I enjoyed eating fresh seafood everyday.
As you can see, this dish is not ordinary. It has a history and it is also part of our family’s heritage. It might be simple, but the person who made this will always be special to me.
Try this yummy ginataang langka with tinapa flakes recipe. Let me know what you think.
How to Cook Ginataang Langka with Tinapa Flakes
Ingredients
- 3 pounds unripe jackfruit equivalent to to 3 pounds, chopped and seeds removed
- 4 cups coconut milk
- 8 pieces hot chili pepper
- 4 ounces tinapa flakes
- 1 1/2 cups malunggay leaves
- 5 cloves garlic crushed and chopped
- 1 large yellow onion minced
- 2 tablespoons shrimp paste bagoong
- 2 teaspoons vinegar
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat oil in a pan. Saute garlic and onion until the onion gets soft.
- Add the chopped unripe jackfruit. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Put-in the tinapa flakes (smoked fish flakes). Stir and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the ground black pepper and chili peppers.
- Pour-in the coconut milk. Let boil. Add the shrimp paste and vinegar. Stir. Cover and cook in medium heat for 15 minutes while stirring occasionally.
- Add the malunggay leaves. Stir and continue to cook for 5 to10 minutes.
- Sprinkle some salt only if needed. Stir.
- Transfer to a serving bowl.
- Serve with a cup of warm steamed white rice.
Rowena Turner says
How can one determine if the jackfruit is “unripe”?
Vanjo Merano says
Rowena, there are a few ways on how to determine if a jackfruit is unripe. You can check it from the outside by smelling the fruit. It should not have any distinguishing smell yet. On the contrary, ripe jackfruits have aromatic odor.
You can also try to gently touch it (just be careful with the spikes) to check the rind. It should not be soft. Although this method is not reliable all the time because jackfruits can be on the starting phase of being ripe, but the rind can remain hard until a few days more.
The best thing to do is to cut the fruit open and examine the color of the inside. It should be grayish (sometimes with a little bit of a pinkish tone).
Mercy says
What are tinapa flakes? Is this something that I can make at home?
Vanjo Merano says
Tinapa or tinapang isda is smoked fish. Tinapa flakes are literally flakes of this smoked fish. Different types of fish can be smoked (using a smoker equipment). Three of the most common varieties used to make tinapa are galunggong (this belongs to the scad family), tamban (herring), and bangus (which is also known as milkfish).
You can make tinapa flakes at home by using a smoker. This is an equipment similar to a grill, but it cooks your food a little longer because it does it using low heat in a controlled smoky environment.This gives the food that nice smokey taste and it makes meats super tender.
An easier option is simply purchase smoked fish. The availability varies depending on where you are in the world. This should not be an issue if you are in Manila or any part of the Philippines. However, if you are in the US, the only option is to go to the nearest Filipino store and hope that they carry this product.
Abby says
I’ve learned new recipes from this website.. Thank u panlasangpinoy!!
Sarah Jane Fatallo Drio says
Wow, Kabayan.This Utan is my favorite native dish which my lola have it as our daily ulam with matching fish in the province. I came also from Romblon in a small Island Banton. I have many relatives there in Romblon, Romblon particularly in Poblacion area, Sawang and Logbon. When i was a kid I spent vacation there in the Island. I was assigned there for half a year as police officer in Camp and later transferred here in Laguna where my own family resides.