Hello everyone! It is Saturday and I am so relieved to be at home instead of slaving away in front of the computer at the office. I was so looking forward to this long weekend (Monday is Independence Day here in the Phil!). Yesterday, as I ever so melodramatically declared to my friend and equally “slave driven” co-worker Rovi, I swore I would try to fatten up like it’s some kind of a life mission. So I will make an extra effort to pig out more and think less of work this weekend. (BTW, you can check out her blog at Rovi Diaries).
Anyway, I’m no cook so it’s Yoy who really cooked this one Bicolano dish that we usually have every other weekends. It is called Ginataang Langka which means young jackfruit strips cooked in coconut milk (gata). If there is one thing the Bicolanos love as much as sili (chili peppers), it would have to be dishes cooked in gata (coconut milk).
The ingredients are the following: 3 cloves garlic, half of a medium sized ginger, 1 small onion, 1 small tomato, 2 cups coconut milk, half kilo young jackfruit strips (available in the Philippine/Asian markets), half kilo freshwater shrimps (you can also use half kilo small sized crabs instead), 1/2 teaspoon sugar, salt and ground black pepper to taste. 
Basically, the first thing is to chop your onions, garlic, tomato and ginger. Then bring the coconut milk to a boil, stirring occasionally. Yoy likes to use our medium sized wok for this, although you may also use a pot. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, salt and the young jackfruit strips. Lower the heat and allow to simmer for 10 minutes or until the jackfruit strips are cooked (should be soft). 
Then add the shrimps and cook for another 5 minutes or until shrimps have turned bright orange. Add more salt, a little sugar, ground black pepper to taste. Garnish with green and red peppers and simmer for 2 more minutes. And you’re done!
Enjoy it with a steaming bowl of rice and fried fish with soy sauce and calamansi (local lime) as dipping sauce for those truly satisfying Bicolano flavors. For me, it tastes of home. Nothing says Welcome to Bicol better than an incredibly spicy chili-based dish like the Bicol Express or the creamy, coco-nutty flavors of the local dishes such as Laing and Ginataang Langka.
