Our neighbor brought over some fresh gabi (taro) from the province, and they're perfect for laing. Laing is a popular Filipino dish made of gabi leaves, stems and corm stewed in coconut milk, ginger, garlic, onion, chili peppers; pork, shrimps or dried fish can be added. A palate shocker, its spiciness is determined by how much chili you can stand without breaking into a cold sweat. Remember that it's better to sun-dry gabi leaves and stems for a day or two before cooking. Raw taro leaves contain some poisonous compounds or irritants and should not be eaten raw.
My mother added dried labahita (surgeonfish) and some pork fat. I don't eat gabi leaves and stems so my mom includes lots of corm when she makes laing. The starchy corm makes the sauce thicker. This was smokin' hot---perfect with steamed rice and Pork Adobo.:p
