GINATAANG PAPAYA

GINATAANG PAPAYA (green papaya with coconut milk). Papaya, also known as kapaya, paw-paw or papaye is a native of Southern Mexico and neighboring Central America. The Spaniards brought the papaya to our islands, the Philippines in the 1560's where it rapidly propagated throughout the islands.

Because of our trade with ancient pre-Hispanic Malay-Indonesian kingdoms, we were influenced by cuisines from as far away as India and Arabia, namely the use of coconut milk in cooking vegetables (called ginataan). When papaya came, the early Filipinos naturally cooked the green fruit in coconut milk. The result was 'ginataang papaya' which was simply delicious. Today, this dish is very popular in Southern Luzon, Mindanao, Sulu, Palawan, Visayas and Bicol where the trade was the strongest.

Here is my recipe of ginataang papaya:

Ingredients:

1 small green papaya (sliced)

1 c thick coconut milk

1 c thin coconut milk

2 Tbsp leeks or spring onions

(use garlic/onion if preferred)

salt, seasoning, chilis

Procedure:
1. Saute leeks or spring onions in 2 Tbsp thick coconut milk. Add papaya, thin coconut milk, salt and seasoning. Cover and cook.
2. When papaya is tender, add thick coconut milk and chilis and cover. Remove from heat. Serve.

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