We received 2 bundles of these for free the other day and I was curious what it was. I looked it up and it seemed to be used in Caribbean, Trinidad and Jamaican dishes. I thought it was so interesting that it was often paired with tomatoes and coconut milk; it reminded me of several Filipino dishes that are also cooked in coconut milk.
I searched Callalou and Taro leaves to see if there are any similarities in these two vegetables that are cooked so similarly and found that sometimes, Callalou is referred to as Taro leaves! I was astounded at this new discovery.
Laing is Filipino dried taro leaves simmered in coconut milk, tomatoes and shrimp paste. Our kids just got their back to school shots and our pediatrician recommended for us to avoid seafood for the next few days, so I opted to cook it like how I could cook collard greens, with a few slabs of bacon!
Costco has this set of already cooked bacon that we almost always have on hand at home layered row by row gently prefried! It does cost more than their regular uncooked bacon, but it takes the splattering out of cooking bacon making it not as greasy and it’s easy to take out however pieces you want to make a meal or use in a recipe!
The flavor reminds me of a cross between collard greens with flavor that is a hint of chinese broccoli. My husband said it reminded him of kale. Personally, I thought the texture was more tender than collard greens and I noticed it cooked faster as well.
This has got to be one of the tastiest and easiest vegetable dishes I’ve ever made and it is
A M A Z I N G! If you omit the coconut milk, it’s just as tasty.
Picture Walk
Ingredients
2 bunches of Callalou
1 can of coconut milk (optional)
3-5 slabs of bacon (we used 4 thin slices)
1/2 onion chopped
1/2 head of garlic minced
Salt and pepper to taste
Any spicy pepper (we simmered in 2 whole Serrano peppers)
Steps
1- Wash and prep Callalou (I soaked twice in slightly salted water for about 5 minutes each time, then chopped to bite size pieces)
2- Sautee onion and garlic for a few minutes.
3- Add in few slices of bacon, Serrano peppers and Callalou and cook for a 2-3 minutes
4- Add salt and pepper to taste .
4- Add in the tomatoes and mix well (cook until tender 3-5 minutes or when tomatoes are soft and it’s ready to eat as it is)
5- Pour in a can of coconut milk if you wish and simmer for about 8-12 minutes. The longer you simmer, the softer it gets.
6-Serve with white rice and if you like it spicy, you can break apart the Serrano pepper to mix with your portion. I leave it whole because I love the flavor, but don’t want it spicy for the kids.
Do you have any recipes for Callalou you love and want to share?
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