A Green Bicol Stew as the Coconut Steam Deepens
Pour coconut milk into a pot and the air in the kitchen softens for a moment. Add ginger, garlic, onion, pork and bagoong, and simmer quietly. When you heap dry leaves on top of the white steam, at first you are a little unsure whether this is really edible. But as you wait over low heat, the leaves sink, the color deepens, and beneath the sweet scent of coconut the aroma of fermented shrimp and chili rises.
Laing is a dish of dried taro leaves cooked in coconut milk, enjoyed in the Bicol region of southern Luzon in the Philippines. Locally it is sometimes called natong, and dried gabi leaves are cooked with coconut milk, coconut cream, pork or seafood, chili and bagoong alamang. Like Bicol Express (in Japanese), it is a dish of Bicol's "coconut, chili and fermented saltiness."
The crux when making it at home is how to handle the dried taro leaves. You will not find them at an ordinary supermarket, so look at Filipino grocery stores or online. Substituting leafy greens gets you a similar mood, but the scent of laing itself is decided by dried taro leaves. This article keeps to the true path of using dried leaves, while organizing how to approximate it on days you really cannot get them, heat control and a safe simmering time.
Taro leaves contain calcium oxalate crystals that irritate the mouth and throat. Even dried leaves are not for a quick cook. This article is designed so that, after sinking the leaves in coconut milk, you simmer them for at least about 45 minutes until completely soft. If your throat feels prickly when you eat it, do not push on; simmer it longer next time.
Background of the Dish: A Land Where Gata and Chili Are Everyday
To understand the Bicol region, you cannot avoid gata, coconut milk. Kawaling Pinoy explains that coconut is an important crop in Bicol and coconut milk is often used in its cooking. Chili is layered on top, and out of that a distinctive stew culture has arisen that is sweet and round but then hot.
Laing is not just "greens in coconut milk." Dried taro leaves are not a vivid green like raw greens; they have a slightly earthy, deep aroma that also resembles seaweed. Soaking up coconut milk, the leaves loosen and take in the fat of the pork and the saltiness of the bagoong. Put a little over white rice and the rich sauce gets between the grains, making it a dish you eat bit by bit.
In Panlasang Pinoy's recipe updated in 2026, it is explained that you do not stir the dried taro leaves right after adding them but first let them absorb the liquid. Kawaling Pinoy likewise says to stir hard not at all for the first 15 to 20 minutes and only push the leaves into the coconut milk. This is not just superstition; it also makes sense for rehydrating the dry leaves without breaking them and keeping the mouthfeel from turning coarse.
At Bicol tables, laing can be a main or a side. Grilled fish, fried fish, white rice, the acidity of tomato and onion. Add a little laing to that and the richness of the coconut becomes the center of the table at once. It is a quiet, rich Filipino dish unlike the charcoal aroma of chicken inasal, the sourness of sinigang or the big platter of noodles of pancit canton.
Ingredients (serves 4): Dried Leaves Look Small but Expand
This serves 4. Laing is a dish you put on white rice a little at a time, so it is more filling than it looks. 80 g of dried taro leaves is enough. Before cooking, spread them out by hand and check that the bag has no large stems or foreign matter.
Main ingredients
Aromatics and heat
This dish uses pork, seafood (bagoong, fish sauce) and coconut. Bagoong is mostly made from shrimp, so do not use it if you have a shellfish allergy. To avoid seafood, you can approximate with 2 tsp miso and salt, but it becomes something different from the fermented-shrimp aroma that laing properly has.
Ingredients and equipment for this dish
What is most worth buying extra for laing is coconut milk, fish sauce and a deep pan. Dried taro leaves are a specialty ingredient, but coconut milk and fish sauce also carry over to Bicol Express (in Japanese), kare-kare and mie goreng.
Method: Do Not Hurry the Dried Leaves
Laing is not a dish for boiling hard and fast. At a heat where the coconut milk does not separate, you wait for the dry leaves to absorb the liquid. The more you resist the urge to touch what is in the pot, the smoother it turns out.
Approximating the Authentic Dish in a Home Kitchen: A Branching Table
If you replace every ingredient of laing with what a regular supermarket sells, it easily becomes a different dish. Dried taro leaves in particular are the center of flavor and texture. You can substitute, but if you think of it as "laing-style greens in coconut milk," you will not fail.
Dried taro leaves crumble easily and lose aroma in water. If you are using an imported product, spread out the contents of the bag and check that no foreign matter or different leaves are mixed in. If dirt bothers you, put them in a colander, pass them briefly through water and drain at once. Soaking them long loses the aroma and makes the leaves break down easily in the pot.
| Ingredient you hesitate over | Local style | If cooking elsewhere | Effect of substituting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dried taro leaves | dried gabi leaves | Buy at a Filipino grocery or online | Nearly irreplaceable |
| Coconut milk | gata | Use unsweetened canned | Milk or soy milk makes a different dish |
| Coconut cream | kakang gata | Add a little at the end | Without it, the thickness and gloss are weak |
| Bagoong | bagoong alamang | Shrimp paste, or fish sauce plus dried shrimp | The aroma of fermented shrimp cannot be fully replaced |
| Chili | siling labuyo etc. | Green chilies, shishito, red chili | Leaving it out completely weakens the Bicol character |
| Pork | pork belly, pork shoulder | Pork belly, pork shoulder, canned tuna | It can be made without pork, but the richness is lighter |
On a day you really cannot find dried taro leaves, you can make coconut greens with komatsuna, spinach or kale. But change the cooking a great deal. Parboil raw greens, squeeze out the water, and toss them in the sauce for only the last 10 minutes. If you simmer them 45 minutes like dried taro leaves, the aroma and color of the greens are lost.
On the other hand, what comes close to something you must not substitute is a sweet coconut product. If you use sweetened coconut milk, a coconut drink or a pastry cream, it becomes a sweet sauce rather than a savory stew that goes with white rice. Choose a can that says "unsweetened" on the package.
Causes of Failure: Avoid Itchy, Separated and Watery
Failures in laing come from heat and consistency more than from seasoning. Leaves left hard, coconut separating and turning grainy, a watery sauce. If you avoid these three, it becomes much easier to eat even the first time.
| Failure | Cause | How to fix |
|---|---|---|
| Throat feels prickly | Leaves undercooked, or not having absorbed the liquid | Cover and cook another 10 to 15 minutes over low heat |
| Watery | Too much water added, or not reduced with the lid on | Take off the lid and reduce 10 minutes over low heat |
| Coconut separates | Boiled over high heat | Lower the heat and blend in 2 tbsp coconut milk |
| Salty | Bagoong added all at once | Add coconut milk and leaves. Go light on bagoong at the table |
| Sweet | Sweetened coconut was used | Hard to fix. Tighten with fish sauce and chili, and use unsweetened cans next time |
| Leaves fall apart | Stirred hard from the start | Next time wait 15 minutes before turning broadly |
On the irritation of taro leaves, the Poison Control Center of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia explains that plants containing oxalates can cause strong irritation of the mouth and throat. In laing it is important to simmer the dried leaves thoroughly. Kawaling Pinoy also says gabi leaves must be thoroughly cooked, and introduces sinking them in the coconut milk without stirring hard at first.
Keep the saltiness restrained to the end. The saltiness of bagoong differs by product, and some are quite strong even at 1 tbsp. Rather than perfecting the seasoning in the pot, leaving room on the table side with white rice, a small amount of bagoong and citrus keeps you from tiring of it.
Storage and Reheating: Better the Next Day
Laing comes together better the next day. The leaves soak up the coconut oil and the saltiness of the bagoong rounds off the edges. But it is a dish with coconut milk, so avoid leaving it out at room temperature.
Refrigerate for 2 to 3 days as a guide. Once cooled a little, move it to a shallow container and put it in the refrigerator early. Left in the big pot, the center is slow to cool and the leaves are dense, so it spoils more easily. If freezing, divide into single portions and eat within 2 weeks as a guide. After thawing the texture of the leaves is a little softer, so it suits being served over white rice.
For reheating, a pot over low heat is safe. If it is firm, add 1 to 2 tbsp coconut milk rather than water and warm until it bubbles. If you use a microwave, stir once partway and confirm it is hot through the center. If the aroma feels heavy after reheating, a few drops of lemon or calamansi-style citrus lightens it.
For next-day variations, the most natural is a small amount beside grilled fish. To change it a little more, mix about 2 tbsp of laing into rice and top with a fried egg. To lean toward a Filipino household, add a bit of leftover meat from adobo, and the acidity and the richness of the coconut go well together.
Building a Menu: Meet the Rich Leaves with Acidity and Grilled Food
Laing is a richer dish than it looks. It has coconut, pork, fermented shrimp and chili, so putting a stew just as rich beside it makes the table heavy. Think of the combination in the order of white rice, grilled food, acidity and a sweet ending, and it comes together.
Grilled fish is an excellent match. Salted grilled mackerel, horse mackerel or salmon are fine. If you have small dried fish like the local ones, it gets even closer. The savory aroma of the fish and the coconut of laing go together and the rice disappears.
To add acidity, slice tomato and onion thin and dress with 2 tsp vinegar, a pinch of salt and a little lemon. Rather than an elaborate salad, a bit of red-and-white acidity at the edge of the plate is enough. On a day you want to add a soup, a small bowl of sour sinigang washes away the heaviness of the coconut.
When lining up other Filipino dishes, keep fried food to a few lumpia Shanghai. On a day you also add the big platter noodle pancit canton, make laing a side-dish amount. For a sweet finish, sapin-sapin, made of glutinous rice and coconut, is natural.
Frequently Asked Questions and Sources
Where can I buy dried taro leaves?
Search "dried taro leaves," "gabi leaves" or "laing leaves" at Filipino groceries, Asian groceries and online. Putting in the English name is quicker than searching in only one language. When you open the bag, check that no different leaves or overly hard stems are mixed in.
Can I make it with fresh taro leaves?
I do not recommend it for home cooking. Raw taro leaves tend to be irritating, and they need judgment about variety and preparation. If you are making it as a Filipino dish, use dried leaves. Avoid using the leaves of ornamental plants from a home garden in cooking.
Can I make it without bagoong?
You can, but the laing character is weaker. If you have no shellfish allergy, the shortcut is to prepare at least a small amount of bagoong. If you have none, approximate with 2 tsp fish sauce, 1 tbsp dried shrimp and 1 tsp miso. But too much miso makes it a Japanese-style coconut stew.
Can I make a laing that is not spicy?
Yes. Use only one chili, with the seeds removed. The Bicol-style aroma is weaker, but with the axis of coconut and bagoong it becomes an easy-to-eat home version. For those who like it hot, put chopped chili or chili oil on a separate plate.
How long should I simmer if I substitute greens?
If you make it with komatsuna or spinach, treat it as a different dish from the dried taro leaves. Parboil the greens, squeeze out the water and put them in the sauce for only the last 10 minutes. Simmering 45 minutes loses the color and aroma.
Sources
- Panlasang Pinoy. "Panlasang Pinoy Laing Recipe." Updated 2026. https://panlasangpinoy.com/laing-recipe/
- Panlasang Pinoy. "Laing Recipe." Updated 2023. https://panlasangpinoy.com/laing/
- Kawaling Pinoy. "Laing." Updated 2023. https://www.kawalingpinoy.com/laing/
- Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Poison Control Center. "Plants That Irritate." https://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/poison-control-center/plants-irritate
Laing is not a flashy dish. Do not rush the leaves, do not over-boil the coconut, and leave a little saltiness to the table. If you keep just that, even in a home kitchen you get close to Bicol's rich green stew. Cook plenty of white rice and set grilled fish and citrus beside it, and the richness in the pot loosens just right at the table.
