Spicy hot, creamy, aromatic and delicious. Halang-halang is a Visayan dish traditionally cooked with chicken or pork. It is served either as a stew or as a soup. Despite the many variations, there are two ingredients that define halang-halang — coconut milk and chilies. The name of the dish itself, according to Visayan readers, literally translates to anghang-anghang (or hot-hot, in English).
This is vegan style halang-halang. Instead of chicken or pork, I used tofu. And in place of sili leaves, I added spearmint leaves. Why mint leaves? The cooling sensation of mint goes terribly well with both the creaminess of the broth and the heat from the chilies. I would have added Thai basil too but our Thai basil in the garden is almost bald so I should give it time to grow more leaves before I start plucking again.
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 small onion thinly sliced
- a knob of ginger sliced
- 2 finger chilies cut in halves
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 small chayote peeled, cored and cut into wedges
- 100 grams firm tofu cubed and fried (see tips)
- a few sprigs of spearmint
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Heat the cooking oil in a pot. Saute the garlic, onion, ginger and chilies with a little salt and pepper until softened and fragrant, about five minutes with occasional stirring.
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Pour in the coconut milk.
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Add the chayote wedges. Bring to the boil, lower the heat, cover the pan and simmer for about 10 minutes.
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Taste the broth, add more salt and pepper, if needed.
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Add the fried tofu. Simmer for another four minutes or until the tofu is heated through.
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Taste the broth once more. The tofu would have soaked up the salt so you may need to ajust the seasonings.
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Add the spearmint and simmer for another minute.
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Serve as a soup or with rice.Heat the cooking oil in a pot. Saute the garlic, onion, ginger and chilies with a little salt and pepper until softened and fragrant, about five minutes with occasional stirring.
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Pour in the coconut milk.
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Add the chayote wedges. Bring to the boil, lower the heat, cover the pan and simmer for about 10 minutes.
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Taste the broth, add more salt and pepper, if needed.
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Add the fried tofu. Simmer for another four minutes or until the tofu is heated through.
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Taste the broth once more. The tofu would have soaked up the salt so you may need to ajust the seasonings.
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Add the spearmint and simmer for another minute.
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Serve as a stand-alone soup or with rice.
