Laing (using Haddock and Collard Greens)

I always have the craving for laing when I feel like going mostly vegetarian (mostly because I am and never will be a pure vegan), usually when I want to lose some weight.

However, being too far from Asian stores, and actually never really finding the dehydrated taro leaves in this state, I looked at some of the greens available in the grocery store and felt them with my fingertips, trying to imagine their consistency in comparison with fresh taro leaves. The collard greens seemed close enough...and I started my quest in finding a good substitute for taro leaves in cooking laing.

I have friends who have tried fiddleheads for this mainly-veggie dish, paired with pork. But for some reason, I get dizzy eating fiddleheads. It must have some component that did not agree with me.

I also have cooked spinach haddock laing, although it was heavier on haddock, so it was like a marriage between fish chowder and laing, using coconut milk instead of milk or cream. It was one of the recipes I submitted to Hannaford when they interviewed me for the "Food Lover's Favorite" column in fresh magazine.

But I really wanted a leafy type of veggie to make this dish with. Collard greens seemed like a good substitute.

I am posting here a procedure that I think will give me a better outcome. When I tried cooking this, I did not realized that the collard greens took a lot of time to cook to the tenderness I desired, and in effect, the fish was overcooked, and the coconut milk almost turned all the way to oil (I want it to reach only the creamy stage, not oily). So with the following revision in the procedure, I hope to next time cook this again, hoping that the results will be what I had hoped to achieved. Because after the "getting-to-know-you" stage (I admit I was not too fond of the veggie at first, because it somewhat left a subtle hint of bitterness, maybe because it was not fully cooked), I have come to love the taste of it on the subsequent days when I had it for lunch.

Ingredients:
1 bunch collard greens, cut horizontally in strips (separate the hard stems from the greens)
3 tbsp oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 onion, slilced
3 tbsp (roughly) equivalent slices of ginger root
1 pound haddock, sliced (or you may purchase chowder cut;they are cheaper)
1 cup water (or enough to half cook the greens)
1 can premium coconut milk
3 tbsp patis (fish sauce)
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

In a wok, sautee the ginger and garlic in hot oil. Follow with onions and cook until translucent. Add patis and let sizzle. Add 1 cup water and the stems. Let boil for about 5 minutes. Add the greens and stir. Let boil until just past half-cooked (I'd say about 10 minutes). You may have to add some more water to make sure it does not dry up. Add the coconut milk and let boil for about 5 minutes uncovered. Add the fish cuts and let cook for about two minutes or so (do not overcook). Enjoy with plain rice.