"Kolo at Latik"

CEBU, Philippines - There's a tree that's a common sight in many rural backyards. Its thick crown provides good shade from the sweltering tropical sun. And its fruit - oh, the fruit - can be turned into a filling treat!

People in the provinces are very familiar with the fruit - kolo! It is a popular snack among them. Others make it into a dish for the main meal.

But the more common use for 'kolo' or breadfruit is as snack. Many people like it fried and then paired with 'latik', caramelized coconut milk and brown sugar. The delectable combination is heavy enough in the stomach; one is likely to skip a meal when "kolo at latik" is taken close to mealtime.

The preparation of the snack is simple, but involves two separate processes - the frying of the 'kolo' and the making of the 'latik'. But it's really not anything tedious. And yet the resulting treat is delightful.

Fried 'Kolo'

Ingredients:

1 pc kolo

2 cups cooking oil

Pinch of salt

Procedure:

1. Slice the kolo into a good number of thin pieces, about half-inch thick each.

2. Apply a pinch of salt on the slices, just to give it a very slight hint of saltiness.

3. Heat cooking oil in a pan and bring to a simmer.

4. Place a batch of kolo slices in one layer flat in the pan. Fry until slightly brown then turn over to the other side and, again, fry until slightly brown.

5. Place the fried slices in a metal strainer to allow excess oil to drip.

6. It's ready to pair with latik. The usual way is to have latik as dip.

Latik

Ingredients:

1 pc coconut, grated

1 kg brown sugar

3 cups water

Procedure:

1. In a bowl, pour one cup water on grated coconut, and then squeeze for about two minutes. In the final squeezing, put the pulp in a separate container. Using a fine strainer, pour the resulting coconut milk into a separate bowl.

2. Put pulp back in the squeezing bowl for second squeezing. Pour two cups water on the pulp and squeeze for another two minutes, and then separate the pulp in the other container. Run the second-squeeze coconut milk through the fine strainer.

3. Pour both first- and second-squeeze coconut milk into a pan. Add brown sugar and allow to come to a boil while stirring every now and then, in order for the sugar to melt quickly and the consistency of the coconut milk to be uniformed.  

4. Continue to boil until the mix thickens, and the color darkens, and clear oil begins to appear along the sides.

5. Remove the pan from the heat. Pour the 'latik' into a glass or enamel bowl and allow to cool a bit. Then, it's ready as dip for fried kolo. (FREEMAN)