Author: Islander Outlook
Kalabasa (Kalabasang) – Pumpkin with Coconut Milk
Pumpkin with Coconut Milk
Fall is here! My favorite season when I moved here in Missouri. The weather begins to crisp and autumn colors are glowing beautifully. When I hear fall season immediately one that comes to mind is everything Pumpkin! Finally in my adult life I found out there are numerous different types of Pumpkins that are derived from the family of squash. Particularly for this recipe you need what is called Kalabasa. Looking it up there were so many different names so if you call it differently please excuse me. At one time I bought the decorative Halloween Pumpkin from the grocery store for my mom to do this recipe and it was a fail. One way to learn from trial and error, right.
Something new I tried was baking this recipe and it came out wonderfully. The salted butter really sipped into the pumpkin that all the flavors fused beautifully enhancing the sweetness. I bet if I have added a 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the pot boiled it would have came out the same. I have replaced my traditional Thanksgiving yam dish with this instead and it’s a hit! *If I’ll add or try more method I’ll definitely share! -See video at the bottom*
Traditional Pot Boil: 5bls Pumpkin, 1 Cup white sugar, 1 can Coconut Milk.
Oven Bake: 5bls Pumpkin, 1/2 Cup white sugar, 1/2 can Coconut Milk, and add 4tbsp of butter.
Let’s begin, we call this dish in Palau Kalabasang with Coconut Milk.
The tedious part is cutting and peeling. Just to let you know the Pumpkin itself is pretty heavy, thick and harder to cut through so be very careful in this process. The Best advice is place a towel cloth under the Pumpkin to help you control the grip while cutting. As my cutting skills are not the greatest. It was slipping and sliding when I used a cutting board. A box was not as bad but the towel helped a whole lot. Don’t want to cut ourselves in the process. Make your cuts in pieces along the Pumpkin sections for easy peeling later, because it has a rugged outer skin. Peel to rid off all of the outer skin to expose the orange coloring inside. After the peeling take out the seeds and clean the inside smooth. Then cut the Pumpkins into cubes about 1 to 2 inches.
In a bowl spread and mix the sugar to fully coat the Pumpkins. Let it sit for 15 minutes you’ll start to see the juices coming out of the Pumpkins. Transfer the Pumpkins and juices into a pot for the boiling method. Place on the stove at medium temperature, until it starts to boil. Poke the Pumpkins with a fork until tender that the fork goes through. Then pour 1 can of coconut milk in the pot. Let it come to a simmer for 5 minutes then turn it off. It can be served hot for the cold season or chilled and served during the summertime.
For the oven bake method. Set the oven at 375F degrees. Place Pumpkins on a baking pan with the juices, add 4 tablespoon butter, then cover with a foil and place it in the oven for 30 minutes bring to a boil. Uncover and pour 1/2 cup coconut milk, place it back in the oven without covering it for added 15 minutes or when it starts to boil again. Then turn off the oven and take it out. Also can be served warm or chilled.
*Note: Don’t be worried that there’s no liquid in the pot or pan. Once the heating starts it creates more liquid. I was even hesitant but it all came together well. Enjoy!
Chicken Roulade
Belsiich el Kukau (Taro Dish)
A native starch dish that we grew up eating from my home island of Palau. It’s like mashed potato, instead of butter we use coconut oil in the process. Belsiich is pounded taro with coconut oil or substitute with cooking oil. Making belsiich is harvesting fresh taro from the taro patch and preparing them as fresh the day you cook them. From my experience I’ve tried making them from cooked taro a day before and the taste was not as appealing as the fresh cooked taro.
- Harvest taro from taro patch /or buy at the market and cook the day you’re preparing it. Traditionally natives preferred firm taro or as we call them sodech are the best used. Due to having better texture after being pounded.
- Cook a batch of taro for about an 1 hour plus, poke through to check that they are fully cooked. After cooking, cut them to 1/2 inches for easier to pound thoroughly. FYI: Uncooked taro will leave a bitter and itching mouth.
- Grease a plastic bag before placing sliced taro inside. This prevents taro from sticking onto the bag and moistens the taro from getting dry. Also, it preserves the storage life of the taro. You can freeze for later consumption. Don’t use too much oil just enough to cover the sides of the bag. We don’t want a mushy taro.Â
- Now the pounding time. Back on the island the tools used are ngot (carved wooden base) and ai (carved stone tool). Being far from Palau my go to tools are the cutting board and a mallet. Pound the taro in the bag until it breaks down. With one hand pounding and the other shaping it to form an oblong or pod shape. See attached sample picture.
- Take out from the plastic bag, wrap each in a plastic wrapper, or corn husk. In Palau we use mengchongch (betel-nut tree husk). Tie a string around to hold together if you’re using the husks.Â
- Then steam for 10 minutes, use any steaming pot you have available. Start timing the steam process when water starts boiling. Steaming gives better end quality.Â
- Take out from the steaming pot and let sit until cooled off.Â
- Plate it and drizzle some coconut oil or cooking oil on top of the Kukau Blesiich – taro dish. The taro sticks together fluffy, moist, and melts in your mouth goodness. Enjoy!
Elbis el Diokang (Tapioca Dish)
Elbis el Diokang (Tapioca Dish) with Coconut Milk
SHALL WE! This calls for Tapioca peeled and cooked the day of making. For anyone curious, Tapioca is a root starch not sure if it’s a vegetable comparable to potatoes. I’ve looked it up and there’s no definite classification in the food groups. If someone knows please share. The best Tapioca are young pickings, great quality after cooking. In Palauan we call them Chedelumel. It is moist and soft when cooked. The more matured Tapioca will have a harder and dryer outer results when you cook it. The roots have hardened the same as regular mature vegetables. As we call them Ksekikl.
Boil 6 pieces of Tapioca that are about 3 – 6 inches long. For me the cooking process is about the equivalent to cooking potatoes. Using a big pot, I normally place a metal steamer basket in the bottom of the pot, stack the raw Tapioca in the pot evenly halfway or 3/4, and then fill it with water up till touching the top of the stacked Tapioca. Put it on the stove on medium heat for 30 – 45 minutes. Until fully cooked and tender with a fork through it.
After the Tapiocas are fully cooked, let it cool before we start the grinding. First grease the grinder with vegetable oil. Dip the cooked Tapioca in water one at a time before they go into the grinder. This will keep the Tapioca moist, fluffy and stick together. Lay them gently in strands lined up on a plate. Later they will be cut to about an inch, enough to be bite size. It’s okay to have them short, if they separate/ break just fill it back into the grinder and they will stick together better. After the grinding, cut them out to about an inch a piece, then plate them circular or however design is your preference to display your Elbis el Diokang.
Preparing the coconut milk sauce to drizzle/ dress over the grinded Tapioca. In substitute of fresh grated and squeezed coconut milk back in Palau I use the store bought canned coconut milk. For the size of our Tapioca recipe, like me you want to drizzle it, dip it and smother it like gravy sauce! Use 2 cans of 12 / 13.5 oz coconut milk (Depending on brands they have a variety sizes of can). On a small sauce pan at medium heat, bring to a simmer, add 2 tablespoons of sugar (taste for your sweet tooth liking), and add a teaspoon of tapioca starch or cornstarch (optional for gravy look and thickness). Whisk until thick, take it off the stove, then drizzle on your plated grind Tapioca. Now Enjoy your Elbis el Diokang.
*Taking care of our grinder after grinding Tapioca. Place it in a container filled with water and let it sit overnight or a couple hours for the sticky Tapioca to come off easily. Afterwards wash, rinse it with water, then use vegetable oil to grease it and store it away. This will prolong /prevent rust and damage.