Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Kulinarya Cooking Club February Valentine's Aphrodisiac

The theme for this month's Kulinarya Cooking Club is not so surpising--Aphrodisiac! But it got me stumped for ideas...I mean there are a lot of food that are considered aphrodisiac but I was racking my brain for a Filipino preparation, soup number 5 (made from a bull's testes or penis) anyone? I had so many things to consider-foremost of all is the availability of the ingredients. I don't know if I can get the ingredients for the aforementioned soup at the supermarket near my house and then after I cook it, who would eat it? LOL.

Balut
or boiled fertilized egg may be easier to find but I wasn't too keen on eating adobong balut at the moment. So I looked at our host Pia's
helpful links and I settled on banana--banana heart or puso ng saging in the Filipino language.

But before I get ahead of myself, what exactly is an aphrodisiac food? This is how www.fuelthemind.com defines it -- "...one that is believed to stimulate the sex drive or increase sexual performance...it can be suggestive rather than cause a physical sexual reaction..." Hmm okay then banana heart it is.

I don't really know how this recipe came by our household but you can be sure that when we have banana heart, this is how it is cooked.

Ginisang Puso ng Saging

Coconut oil 2 Tablespoons
Onion, medium 1 piece
Garlic cloves 4 pieces
Banana Heart 1 piece
Sotanghon 1 Handful
*Vinegar 1 Tablespoon
Salt and Pepper to taste

* I used my favorite Pinakurat vinegar

Fill bowl with water and soften sotanghon (bean thread noodles). Remove the outer leaves of the banana heart, slice thinly and cover with cold water. Mince onions finely. Crush garlic and mince. Heat oil in pan and add onions and saute until translucent, add the garlic and cook until fragrant but not brown. Drain the sliced banana heart and add to pan. Cook until the vegetables wilt a little. Pour enough liquid (water or stock) just to cover the vegetables. Add the softened sotanghon. Mix until well incorporated. Add in the tablespoon of vinegar, do not stir until it boils. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot and garnish with spicy labuyo. Enjoy!


Kulinarya Cooking Club was started by a group of Filipino foodies living in Sydney who are passionate about the Filipino culture and its colorful cuisine.

Each month we will showcase a new dish with their family recipes. By sharing these recipes, we hope you find the same passion and love for Filipino food as we do.

If you are interested in joining our Kulinarya Cooking Club, please feel free to drop by our food blogs and leave a comment. We would love to hear from you!

For more of these Aphrodisiac food recipes...click here.






16 comments:

Ninette said...

Great job! I've never had banana hearts before, but they sound fab.

♥peachkins♥ said...

I love puso ng saging!..and I love your plate!


peachkins at The Peach Kitchen

cusinera said...

I missed puso nang saging, my mom cooks this but me personally haven't tried yet but hopefully soon...ang sarap niyan!

Wok with Ray said...

I usually have banana hearts in Kare-Kare. I've never had it cooked this way and it looks yummy and lite. Thanks for posting. :)

Joy Calipes-Felizardo said...

Hi! I never knew banana heart is an aphrodisiac, tnx for letting us know, we just had one dish last night i'll be posting the dish in my blog in a while! I'm so much interested in joining your Kulinarya Cooking club, please give me details how i can join! God bless!
Here are my food blogs:
gastronomybyjoy.com
joyshumblekitchen.com

Olive said...

I've never tasted puso ng saging, I remember refusing to eat this when I was a child ( I was very picky )...maybe I should give it a try and see if this aphrodisiac works.. lol

I like your plate btw :)

Oggi said...

My mom regularly cooked a similar dish and another one called laksa. I never knew how to prepare those. Thanks for sharing the recipe.:)

BTW, it's also very good cooked adobo style.

adorasbox said...

How very apt that banana heart is an aphrodisiac. The name, the shape and its mythical reputation to bestow super powers must have stemmed from some grain of truth. Your presentation is so lovely and I'm sure it is very tasty, too.

Tita Flips said...

Now I remember eating this dish when I was a kid.... brings back these memories... thanks for sharing this.

mommy j said...

Hi! My mom is from batanes island, and they would cook this dish often! love it and you're making me miss the old times ;-)

Rackell said...

wow! patikim mo naman samin nila smarla yan sa next food trip natin.. hehe

Anonymous said...

Another great filipino dish. Love reading posts from the Kulinarya cooking club.

Unknown said...

That looks great. Banana hearts kinda itimidate me. You did a great job.

Annie said...

we also made laksa with banana hearts at home. your dish would go so well with crispy fried fish! i'm getting hungry now.

Tangled Noodle said...

Thanks for this recipe! I have never cooked with puso ng saging but definitely want to try it. It is such a cool-looking ingredient... 8-)

Boabe de Cafea said...

Mmm...nice! I love this post and of course, the plate :))