Ginataang Puso ng Saging

Ginataang puso ng saging is made with banana blossoms cut strips simmered in a sauce made with coconut cream, onion, garlic, ginger, dried anchovies, siling labuyo and vinegar. Added with some red and green chilies, this ginataang puso ng saging is one of the best veggie ulams. You can also have this as a side dish. This coconut banana heart is definitely a dish made with love!

GINATAANG PUSO NG SAGING RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 1 banana heart
• 1 medium onion (chopped)
• 4 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 1 thumb ginger (minced)
• ¼ cup dried anchovies
• 1 can coconut cream
• 6 pieces siling labuyo
• vinegar

Directions:

1. Prepare the banana heart and peel the outer red layer. Trim the stem off and then cut in half. Slice them into thin strips and then place into a bowl.
2. Pour some vinegar and mix well. Let it rest for around 5 minutes.
3. Rinse the banana heart with water and squeeze a bit.
4. Heat enough oil in a pan and saute the onions, ginger, and garlic for a few minutes until light brown and aromatic. Add the dried anchovies and saute for a few minutes.
5. Add the sliced banana heart and saute for 5 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent it from burning. When lightly browned, add the whole can of coconut cream and chopped red chilies. Season with pepper and fish sauce to taste. Stir gently and let it cook using low heat for around 20 minutes. When the sauce thickens, turn the heat off.
6. Transfer the ginisang puso ng saging to a serving dish and serve with hot steaming rice. Yum!

WHAT IS A BANANA HEART OR PUSO NG SAGING?

There is an old saying that during midnight, when one eats the powerful potion that will come out of the banana heart, that person would be a superhero. That saying became more famous when the Pedro Penduko series started, where the hero eats the potion and fights Pinoy mythical monsters. Ever since that series started, I became more and more amazed with the banana heart.

Banana heart is one of the ingredients I’m truly fascinated about. Unlike other vegetables, banana heart is a bit rare (unless you own a banana plantation). A banana plant can have around 7 banana hearts which will all turn into bananas in the future. #Amazing So you might consider a banana heart as the babiest form of your favorite saging.

Banana heart is used in dishes similar to cabbage. It is usually sauteed or made into a ginataan dish like the recipe featured in this blog. More and more recipes on banana heart are evolving like banana heart patties, banana heart meatballs, and many more. If you haven’t tried using banana heart in your dishes, the ginataang puso ng saging is a great dish to start one.

GINATAANG PUSO NG SAGING

There have been only a few recipes on puso ng saging but its ginataan version is really the classic and one of the best. I don’t really include banana heart on my grocery list since they are a bit rare in our place. Serving a banana heart dish is really a special one.

We have 3 banana plant in the backyard where we get our banana heart from. And everytime I was about to harvest the banana heart, I was really torned on whether I should gather it now and make it an ulam or wait for it to become a full-grown banana. And yes, I sometimes let them grow, but there are many times that I crave for ginataang puso ng saging so harvesting is on.

Making a banana heart dish is truly awesome. It’s texture is similar to a cabbage. When cooked, I sometimes use them as a palaman to a pandesal because they somehow look like a pancit to me. Banana heart is a flexible dish and we can explore more on how to use it.

If you wanna know how to make some ginataang puso ng saging, read and follow the simple recipe below. Happy cooking!

HOW TO COOK GINATAANG PUSO NG SAGING

Making some ginataang puso ng saging is super easy and simple. This will surely won’t cause you a sweat!

Start by preparing the banana heart. With the first look, a banana heart is red. These red layers are the old ones. Peel the red layers until the white young ones are revealed. These young ones are what was ideal for this ginataan recipe.

Slice the banana heart into thin strips. If this is your first time, it will just feel like you are slicing a cabbage. When done, we need to first soak it in vinegar before using, to remove the aftertaste. After soaking, rinse it with water and now it is ready to use!

The rest of the recipes will be simple and quick. Saute the aromatics and the anchovies first to extract the flavors in the oil. Then, add the banana heart and saute. Just like with other veggies, stir them occasionally to prevent from burning. Lastly, add the cream and the chilies.    

Paano Magluto ng Ginataang Puso ng Saging

Mga Sangkap:

• 1 puso ng saging
• 1 sibuyas (hiniwa)
• 1 luya (hiniwa)
• 4 butil ng bawang (hiniwa ng maliliit)
• ¼ cup tuyong dilis
• 1 lata ng gata
• 6 piraso ng siling labuyo
• Suka

Paano Gawin:

1. Ihanda ang puso ng saging. Alisin ang outer layer nito at putulin ang stem. Hatiin ang puso ng saging sa dalawa, saka hiwain nang maninipis na strips at ilagay sa bowl.
2. Lagyan ito ng suka at haluin. Hayaan muna ito ng 5 minuto.
3. Hugasan ang puso ng saging at medyo pigain ng konti.
4. Magpainit ng mantika at igisa ang sibuyas, luya, at bawang hanggang maging light brown. Ilagay ang dilis at igisa ng ilang minuto.
5. Ilagay ang mga puso ng saging at igisa ng 5 minuto. Haluin paminsan minsan para hindi masunog. Kapag medyo brown na, saka ilagay ang isang lata ng gata at ang mga sili. Budburan ng paminta at patis. Haluin at lutuin ito gamit ang mahinang apoy sa loob ng 20 minuto. Kapag lumapot na ang sauce, patayin ang apoy.
6.  Ilipat ang ginisang puso ng saging sa serving dish at ihain kasama ng mainit na kanin. Enjoy!