Laing is one popular vegetable dish that is loved by many Filipinos. With ingredients readily available in the market, we can easily try cooking this at home. However, when laing is not properly prepared, one may experience an itchy mouth feel caused by the taro (gabi) leaves. How do you make taro leaves not itch?
Taro leaves or gabi leaves, the main ingredient used in laing, naturally contain toxins that cause itchiness when not properly processed. To prevent this itchy feel, I suggest that you use dried taro leaves, and to cook it for a long period of time (at least 40 minutes). Drying and longer cooking time helps break down and dissolve toxins present in the leaves.
Taro Leaves in Laing
What makes the laing dish unique is that it is one of the few known dishes that makes use of taro or gabi leaves.
Taro or gabi is a root crop widely cultivated in the Pacific regions of the world. It is abundant in the Philippines and is harvested for its leaves and corm (root stem).
In case you don’t know, the taro leaves and corm is actually poisonous when eaten raw (you’re welcome ;D). They contain calcium oxalate crystals and this poisonous compound must undergo an extensive heating process to be destroyed and neutralized.
Maybe you’ve heard that taro leaves have tiny needles that cause itching when eaten? Well, there are no needles but there are toxins. These toxins are responsible for the irritation and itchiness in the mouth.
When cooking, toxins present in the leaves may not be fully destroyed when they are not properly prepared or cooked. These toxins cause irritation in the mouth giving you that itchy feel once you bite into the supposedly yummy laing.
How Do You Make Taro Leaves Not Itch?
Making taro (gabi) leaves not itch means getting rid of the toxins present in the leaves. To do this, it would require two things:
- Proper drying
- Cooking in liquid for a long time period.
For the drying part, unless you have extensive knowledge about drying, you don’t have to do this yourself. There are available dried taro leaves in the market, some even label it as “laing leaves”. Simply buy these and cook it directly.
And when it comes to the cooking part, it is quite straightforward but very essential. We just have to cook the leaves in liquid for a long period of time.
When we cook the leaves for a long period, we break down the plant cell walls that contain these toxins. It will then dissolve and get neutralized in the liquid we are using in cooking. In the case of laing, we will be cooking the leaves in coconut milk.
How Do You Stop Itching From Laing?
If you experience itching from the laing you are eating, you have to first stop eating since something already went wrong with the process. Gargle with lukewarm water to soothe and remove the toxins.
You may also try gargling with salt water or intake a spoon of honey in this type of situation.
Ready To Cook Laing?
Now that you are equipped with this knowledge of preparing taro (gabi) leaves and preventing them from making your laing itchy, I think you are now ready for the cooking part.
We prepared an easy to follow recipe, which includes everything you need to know to pull off your perfect laing dish. Simple click on this link: Special Laing Recipe or click the image below.
Pin this article on Pinterest!
Thank you and I hope you find this article useful! It’ll mean a lot if you SHARE THIS TO YOUR FRIENDS! 🙂
