The Philippine Star

Lumpiang Laguna, fresco

- Lydia D. Castillo E-mail me at lydiadolor­es34@gmail.com.

This is one dish that elicits “oohs and aahs” every time we have guests for lunch or dinner at our house. It is too precious, we thought, to be left on our back burner when not being served often, so we are sharing the recipe with those interested to cook a la Laguna, specifical­ly Biñan. We normally pair this with our own bangus relleno.

Ingredient­s:

2 pieces bean curd, cut into long strips One big onion, sliced 2 heads native garlic, crushed 1/4 kilo shrimps, shelled (reserve the heads and shells to make flavoring liquid) 1/2 kilo pork fat, cut into cubes One kilo potatoes or turnips, cut into long strips 1/2 kilo Baguio beans, sliced thinly on the diagonal 1/4 kilo sitcharo (snow peas) 1/2 cup roasted peanuts, coarsely ground One big head cabbage, cut into broad strips, remove the hard part One bunch coriander (kinchay), chopped 1/4 cup anatto food coloring, extracted from seeds

Procedure:

Render pork fat to extract lard – set aside lard but pound the resulting chicharon (fried rind) and set aside. Brown the beancurd in part of the lard. Add the garlic, onions, salt and pepper. Put in the shrimps, cover to seal the flavors. Add more lard and the potatoes, cover and cook until potatoes are nearly done.

Add the rest of the ingredient­s; pour in the shrimp juice and annatto coloring. Adjust seasoning, finally add the cilantro. Continue cooking but be careful that vegetables are not overcooked.

Serve with sauce and crushed garlic.

To make the sauce:

In the remaining lard, sauté 3 cloves garlic, add mixture of 1/4 cup soy sauce, one cup water with dissolved flour and soy sauce. Stir until mixture bubbles and attains sauce consistent­ly. Now you have a flavorful vegetable dish. Have a happy family Sunday!

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