It’s the 24th edition of Lasang Pinoy and the chosen topic or ingredient is coconut, hosted by Kai over at Bucaio! Having just returned from Albay, where nearly everything you eat seems to incorporate some aspect of the coconut, I thought I might write an entry on something with gata or coconut milk. But then again, I was incredibly fascinated by my ubod (heart of palm) experience at the Legaspi market, so I decided to do two ubod-based salads instead, as a double contribution to Lasang Pinoy 24. First up, a fusion salad that I made without a recipe, but patterned after a favorite Italian salad I have enjoyed for many years. Ubod paired with parmesan may sound odd at first glance, and “fusion” cooking isn’t my thing, but do this the way I describe it and you will probably love the results… The inspiration is an Italian salad made with raw baby artichokes, endive, raddichio, celery or fennel and parmesan shavings with a simple vinaigrette. The original salad is edgy, slightly bitter, crunchy, sharp and delicious. I wanted to recreate some of this experience, but experimenting while at the family office in Cebu, my choice of ingredients was limited at best…
You would be forgiven if you thought the above photo to be the work of some avant garde sculptor; in fact, it is a whole ubod (albeit a small one) which I had purchased from the Carbon market in Cebu for just PHP150. I wanted to closely inspect the different cross sections of the ubod and I decided to make this salad with the ubod from exactly halfway up the piece in the photo. By the time I blanched the ubod, it was probably not more than 8-10 hours since it was decapitated from the living tree.
This photo shows the cross section of a freshly sliced ubod, with the center section being the most succulent. I sliced off several pieces of this fresh ubod and ate it raw. It was rather moist, somewhat sweetish and the flavor reminiscent of fresh buko juice. After thinly slicing up about 5-6 cups worth of this utterly fresh ubod, I blanched it in a pot of boiling water for about 1 minute, then drained, cooled, and stuck the ubod in a fridge in a colander lined with paper towels to remove any excess moisture. Chill for at least 1 hour before continuing with the recipe.
Meanwhile, slice up 2-3 stems of good crisp celery (I used imported Australian celery), make about a cup or two of parmesan savings from authentic parmiggiano reggiano or the best parmesan you can find. Take the chilled ubod out of the fridge and dry it with more paper towels and place in a salad bowl. Add the chopped celery, and dress with a simple vinaigrette of good olive oil, some white wine or red wine vinegar and salt and cracked black pepper. Toss with about half of the parmesan. Sprinkle the remaining parmesan over the top and serve. This was surprisingly good. The ubod was a good substitute or replacement for the baby artichokes, while the celery provided crunch and the cheese, well, who doesn’t like parmesan?? Ideally, I would have wanted to add some baby arugula for some bitterness and sharpness, but the salad was a hit anyway… Other possible variations might include shaved fennel and or raddichio.
Curious about Marketman’s other Lasang Pinoy Entries? Here they are…
Lasang Pinoy 1 – Blonde & Brunette Adobo a la Marketman
Lasang Pinoy 2 – Sinigang na Bangus at Bayabas
Lasang Pinoy 3 – Pinoy Street Food
Lasang Pinoy 4 – Nilagang Baka
Lasang Pinoy 6 – Pulutan
Lasang Pinoy 7 – Part I : Ensaimada, Part I
Lasang Pinoy 7 – Part II : Ensaimada, Part II (The Recipe)
Lasang Pinoy 8 – Cooking with Kids
Lasang Pinoy 10 – Food Memories From Childhood
Lasang Pinoy 11 – Coffee & Mangosteen Ice Cream
Lasang Pinoy 12 – Pan Asian Fusion Meal
First Anniversary Lasang Pinoy – Contents of a Pinoy Pantry
Lasang Pinoy 15 – Chili Crab Torta
Lasang Pinoy 19 – Binagoongang Bagnet
19 Responses
Wow,this looks good and it reads like it would taste good, too!
Maybe some sweet, peeled steamed shrimp added?
CecileJ, I was able eat that salad, it was really verrry good. Good food is synonymous with MM.
ubod reminds me of my childhood. we used to eat it with shrimp with a little coconut milk. now that we’re all grown ups, it’s high time to try other ways of cooking or serving it. the salad looks tempting.
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful salad idea, MM! I started to enjoy eating salads when I started to live a healthier lifestyle. This is a great salad I can enjoy this weekend. Thanks so much, MM.
MM, i laugh while thinking about what my staff must think of you, buying a whole trunk of ubod, setting it on a platter and “posing” it in the garden, haha…
the salad looks yummy. add some few peeled steamed shrimps or lobster pieces or some flaked crabmeat, and you’re on the way to another level of deliciousness. some american menus feature “millionaire’s salad”, and more often than not, they are referring to ubod salad, since you theoretically need to cut down a whole tree just to ubod (hence, you “have to be a millionaire to eat ubod salad!).
millet, I presume you mean MY staff at the office… yes, I think they think I am a bit looney. Trish, this salad will only work with WICKEDLY fresh and good ubod, don’t try it with just any old ubod… idle me, stay tuned for another ubod salad, coming up. Pedro was present at the lunch with this salad, hence his first hand knowledge. CecileJ, yes, some seafood as millet also suggests, might be nice, but it may clash with the cheese.
This looks wonderful! I can so imagine those ingredients doing well together :)
Very inspired move turning fresh ubod into salad and the versatility is endless with the addition of seafoods or hard boil quail eggs. Ubod and seafoods compliment each other well!
what a lovely entrée!!
now, that looks so yummy! after the last blog item, i could use some fresh-looking veggies to whet my appetite again…hahaha.
What if you give napoleon abueva or eduardo castrillo an ubod trunk to carve? An ubod sculpture will definitely be better than a tacky ice carving or an overused chocolate fountain. On a next Fores catered event perhaps?
example: An ubod sculpture centerpiece with lumpia assemblage inspired by Bernini’s fountain of the four rivers.
i see an apparition in the ubod cross section… it looks like… yeah, ubod…
quick question: what is ubod in english?
oh and the ‘apparition’ i see, is a fetus, or the child in a mother-and-child abstract, or even impressionist, painting.
It looks like a Boholano tarsier smushed into a tiny toilet paper roll… hahaha. sometime lurker, ubod is also known as “heart of palm.”
MM, yes, sorry, i meant YOUR staff. am sure their next thought is “wonder what he’ll think of next?” :-)
Thanks for this entry, MM. Did you know I was somewhat counting on you to come up with a grand gourmet entry? And you did. This looks lovely. I hope you get to put up a restaurant beside Per Se someday, and serve this. Hooray for the coconut!
a natural coconut sculpture? ubod is one of the best-tasting parts of the coconut, if i say so myself. only thing is that it somehow signifies the end of the coconut tree’s life. :(