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Coconut & Chili · Taro Leaf Stew

Laing

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Bicolanos often skip the word 'laing' altogether — locally the dish is just as likely to be called pinangat na gabi, with 'pinangat' also naming a related version wrapped in whole, uncrushed taro leaves.

Dried or fresh taro leaves are simmered slowly in thick coconut milk with shrimp paste, ginger, and labuyo chilies until the leaves turn silky and the sauce clings thick. Bicol's market stalls and carinderias sell it by the scoop over rice, sometimes with shredded pork or dried fish folded in.

Why it's made this way: Bicol's cuisine leans harder on coconut milk and native chilies than any other Filipino region, and laing is the dish most often held up as the clearest expression of that combination.
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