Palapa (A Maranao Condiment)

December 20, 2019

Palapa is one of the crucial parts of the Maranao cuisine. Maranao (means “people of the lake”) is a term called to a group of Muslim people in the Philippines who originally lives in the southern part of the Philippines. Going back to the Palapa, it is found in most of the Maranao household. It is a condiment that is mostly used in our dishes.

Sakurab is the main ingredient in making Palapa. They are native scallions that can be found in Lanao province. It is sold by bundle (about 500 g each bundle, depending on the size). Depending on the weight and the size, each bundle costs about Php 20.00 to 30.00. These days, Sakurab can be bought outside Lanao, but they are more expensive.

Other than Skaurab, we also need ginger and chilis to make the Palapa. It is made my mixing the three ingredients using a food processor or just by a mortar and pestle. We had a large version of mortar and pestle in our province and even at home back in the days. After mixing the three ingredients, we need to add salt and this can be kept in fridge if you only want to use it for cooking. The only downside – it won’t last that long.

Drying the Sakurab

Back in the days, we make two versions – the raw one (only the mixture of the three ingredients + salt, then kept in the fridge) and the cooked one. The raw one – we only use it for cooking, although some can eat it as is. The cooked one, we also use it for cooking and can be eaten without the raw taste – this is the one I prefer.

The raw Palapa mixture

If you can remember, I’ve mentioned Sakurab in this Chicken Piaparan post – it is one way to use Palapa, to use it in cooking. There are also so many ways to use it – mix it with your scrambled eggs, use it is sautéing, eat it with fried fish or add it to your soy sauce seasoning, and so many more.

Getting Sakurab when you are living outside the Philippines is difficult, but you can use the white part of the spring onions to replace the Sakurab. The taste won’t be exactly the same, but it is close.

Now, let me bring you to the recipe. And oh, I’ve shared a video on my YouTube channel – I hope you can check it out.

I am so excited to co-host this week’s Fiesta Friday #307 with our amazing host, Angie. I hope you can join us. 😉

Print

Palapa Recipe

Course Side Dish
Cuisine Filipino
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Cleaning Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours
Servings 1 L
Author Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook

Ingredients

  • 4 bundles about 2 kg Sakurab, cleaned and dried
  • 4 thumb-sized ginger sliced
  • 4 tbsp birds eye chili depending on the level of spiciness you’d want
  • Salt
  • 1 cup cooking oil you can keep adding up to 1.5 cups
  • 1/2 tbsp turmeric powder
  • 1-2 bulbs garlic chopped

Instructions

  1. In a food processor, add sliced sakurab, ginger and chilis. You may do this in batches if you are making a huge batch. Just keep the processed mixture in a container and mix everything together later on.
  2. When everything is mixed and done, add cooking oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add chopped garlic and cook until fragrant.
  3. Add the sakurab mixture and turmeric powder (turmeric powder is optional but it adds a nice color). Let this cook while stirring from time to time to avoid the mixture from sticking to the pan. It make take up to 15-20 minutes (or until it changes color or cooked).
  4. This time, you can add salt and also additional oil (if desired).
  5. Let the palapa cool completely before moving a a dry container.

Recipe Notes

This can be kept at room temperature up to 2 weeks or in the fridge to last longer.

This recipe can be halfved or quartered. I always make huge batches when given the chance coz we always use this in our dishes.

The measurements here are just a guide. If you don’t have sakurab, you can use the white part of spring onion, you can refer to my Chicken Piaparan recipe that can be found in this blog.

Thanks a bunch for spending your precious time with me!

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