Oh my Laing!

My co-worker cooked laing on our Christmas party at year. It was a such a hit that I sworn that I try to cook laing just like hers. I bought a bunch of fresh taro leaves in the market 2 days ago worth P10 and added a bag of dried leaves from the supermarket worth P30. I am not sure why I bought from two different sources but I want the laing to be more of the leaves than stems. I dried the fresh leaves under the sun. If I am correct, the leaves are dried not just to be preserved but also to get rid of the sap that can cause itch.

I cooked a big batch since laing can be stored in the fridge. The longer it sits the better it will taste. Anyone who wants to eat laing can just reheat just the right amount. Laing taste better when the coconut milk is very generous.

Ingredients:
2 packs or 2 bundles dried taro leaves, cut to small pieces
Coconut milk, from 8-10 pieces of coconut
1/4 kl liempo, chopped
1 cup Fresh bagoong or shrimp paste, rince with water once
1 joint of ginger, minced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp ground pepper
Patis, to taste
Siling labuyo (optional)

Put the liempo in the pan with a cup of water, boil the meat until the water dries out and the meat is brown. Put the ginger, garlic and onion and saute until fragrant only.

Wash the taro leaves and press firmly to remove excess water. Put the taro leaves and coconut milk in the pan. Then cook until the volume of the coconut milk is reduced and oil starts to appear. But keep stirring to prevent the laing to stick in the bottom of the pan because of the coconut milk. Adjust taste with patis and put sili to add spiciness.