Yes, It’s Edible

Not so long ago, we discovered an edible fern during our many visits to the wet market. In fact, I blogged about it before here. There are so many ways to prepare such. Blanching is one common way to prepare it or you can cook the young leaves in coconut cream.

Last Saturday, we chanced upon fresh leaves in the market.  I  made it into a  veggie salad by adding julienned  white onions, ginger, tomatoes and  ground pork. I blanched it first with hot water then added the ingredients together with the ground pork later. It tasted so good.

Fiddlehead fern

It is locally known as pako. It is not grown as vegetable but grows in the wild. Not all ferns are edible though so one should be familiar  with it.  It is a perfect side dish for grilled fish or pork.

 

 

 

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A Delectable Dish

Had this for lunch, a yummy fiddlehead fern topped with tinapa flakes, thin slices of ginger, onions and tomatoes!  They are locally known as pakú.

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Saturday Jaunt At The Wet Market

I always love looking and buying produce at the wet market.  One can find  fresh things there that you rarely and never see in an air-conditioned supermarket.  Seafood  and vegetables come in plenty and everything looks fresh.  Since I have a restricted diet, I always try to find something delicious and healthy and easy on the budget.  I  crave  for this edible fern every time I have the chance to do the marketing.

We simply call it  pako in our native dialect.   These are grown in some remote areas and they are not your regular choices of vegetables in the market because it takes months before they harvest them again (that’s according to the lone vendor who sells it now and then).

What a nice surprise!  Can’t help but buy at least three bundles  for lunch.  There are lots of ways to prepare this edible fern – you could have it fresh as veggie salad mixed with radish, fresh tomatoes and any dressing that you want.  You could have it  cooked in coconut milk  or simply blanched and mixed with grated green mango and onions.  But one sure way of having a really yummy treat is to saute it  in a little oil, add  about 2 grams of ground pork   and top it with two sliced hard-boiled eggs.

Or you can try this other recipe which is as nutritious and delicious as this one.

2 bundles of pako
6 pieces of fresh tomatoes
1 head of onion
a pinch of salt
coarsely ground black pepper
1 cup of small, fried dilis for toppings

Saute the tomatoes with the onion and diced ginger, set aside. Fry small dried dilis, the smallest ones are better, since they are crispy when cooked. Blanch the pako in hot water for a minute or two then put them in cold water to keep its crunchy taste. Top it with the sauteed tomatoes and serve!

And have you ever tried this crunchy and edible seaweed as starter?  This is  perfect for those freshly catched  tilapia or that daing na bangus. One kilo goes for P120.00 and I bought about 400 grams and mixed it with fresh tomatoes,  sliced onions, julienned ginger and a dash of paprika.

We call  this ararosep but some people call it lato. 

There you go, you might find these a little exotic to your taste but they are family favorites – pako and ararosep. You couldn’t go wrong having these on your table.

Bon Appetit!

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