Ilonggos and fans of Ilonggo cuisine would instantly recognize this native cooking of tambo or bamboo shoots. With coconut milk and greens like saluyot, takway and okra plus sahog like shrimps or crabs – this would automatically induce a lot of cravings. Especially when you’re abroad where raw ingredients are often hard to find and if they are luckily available, it still doesn’t taste like the one you might have grown up with. Even so, it is more than enough one's craving for this Ilonggo cuisine, no matter where you are in the world.
Here's a Ginat-an nga Tambo recipe courtesy of ILOVEILOILO blog
INGREDIENTS
• Tambo or bamboo shoots
• 1 coconut to produce the pure and the diluted Coconut Milk or “gata”
• onions (sibuyas)
• “Subak”
-bago-ngon- for the simplest recipe
-shrimps or pasayan – for the regular recipe
- 3 crabs or alimango- for the ultimate recipe
• leaves
-tugabang (saluyot leaves) – for the simplest recipe
-okra or takway- for the regular and for the ultimate recipe (or it could be a combination of the three)
• corn-for the ultimate recipe
HOW TO COOK
1.) Blanch tambo, then when done, squeeze until dry; or you could squeeze it with salt.
2.) Cook tambo with diluted coconut milk.
You can add your “subak”, however, if you’re going to use shrimps add it five minutes before the dish will be finally cooked
3.) Add seasoning. Add onions.
4.) Add the leaves.
5.) Then, when the dish is finally cooked, add the pure coconut milk.