Passport & Plate - Saba Con Yielo
Philippines | Friday, March 6, 2015 | 5 photos
Ingredients
6-8 pieces Saba banana (also known as Cardaba Banana, Sweet Plantain)
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups water
1-2 tsp vanilla
Evaporated Milk
Crushed Ice
Add on: Sago (known as tapioca pearls in North America)
How to prepare this recipe1. Put bananas in boiling water. Cook for about 10 minutes or until soft.
2. Dissolve brown sugar and pour in vanilla.
Once the bananas are cooked, they should have soft edges. You can adjust the amount of sugar to desired sweetness of the syrup.
This dessert is called Minatamis na Saba (that is Tagalog which literally means Sweetened Saba) and can be eaten on its own.
To make the Saba con Yielo simply assemble the bananas with the crushed ice and evaporated milk in a serving bowl or cup.
Tapioca pearls can be added if desired. It is best to prepare the tapioca pearls and boil it before cooking the bananas. This will be the longest process but if you make it fun and sing a round of your favorite songs, what is 30 minutes? After they are translucent, rinse them and they are ready to be used as toppings!
Note: Make sure you use the Saba variety of banana. This grows locally in the Philippines but would be available boiled and frozen in most Asian stores. I got mine from one of the ubiquitous Filipino stores in Vancouver.
The story behind this recipeThe magic of midday in a tropical country lies in the raucous rhythm of lunchtime. This recipe brings me back to my university days when people leave the classrooms and rush to hole-in-the-wall eateries to hide from the burning 38C heat. Voices and the clattering of utensils seem louder in the sweltering noon air. For a while, it's as though students are always coming, and there wouldn't be enough seats. After the heavy, greasy and meaty lunch, we unconsciously rub our tummies in satisfaction. For me, the last hurrah of this cheap yet enjoyable budget meal would be the saba con yielo. Though irreverently contained in a flimsy plastic cup and scooped with an equally flimsy plastic spoon, this chilled dessert is the perfect noontime refreshment. The boiled banana and tapioca soak in the sweetness of the syrup. Once cooled, the chilled milk is poured and crushed ice unceremoniously plunked in.
At some point, food has been taken to a level where it’s cooked for the emperor with a jaded palate. Yet recipes like this one takes me back to celebrating food’s simplicity. Sweetened saba is ordinary dessert fare in the Philippines. It is local, accessible and affordable. Its simplest version, without the tapioca, ice and milk, is enjoyed by Filipinos both on ordinary days and special occasions. I remember having it in one of my Anthropology field trips to Talim Island, Rizal (a town a few hours away from the country’s' capital city, Manila). My classmates and I had lunch on one of the bamboo houses on stilts after swimming. Lunch was a feast of steamed rice on banana leaves, fried tilapia piled on a plate, crisp spring rolls, sinigang (sour soup), fresh deep red tomatoes and a bowl of calamansi (our local lemon). I ate to my heart's content until I was full but not full enough to refuse the dessert: minatamis na saba. I ate it with delight as though it’s through this dessert that one ends a satisfying meal with gratefulness for a truly sweet life.
