When I first discovered this product at the grocery, I was skeptical. I read and reread the label, and I couldn't believe that I was holding a Philippine canned product that was vegetarian-friendly. According to the label, a can of MoonDish Laing (All Veggies) contains coconut cream, taro leaves and stalks, ginger, salt, red chili pepper, and garlic. MoonDish's vegetarian take on the traditional Bicolano laing proved to be quite delicious. And to this day we keep several cans handy in our pantry for when nobody has time to cook or when one of us craves laing.
Aside from the laing being quite delicious, it also is relatively inexpensive. If memory serves, a can retails at under 40 pesos.
MoonDish Laing (All Veggies) is best served with steamed rice and fried tofu cubes. I also use it as a topping for fried bread.
Be careful when buying MoonDish Laing (All Veggies), though. You have to read the label carefully to make sure it's the All Veggies variety that you're buying. They have a "traditional" laing with fish paste and one with tuna flakes, and the packaging is basically the same except for the color band. All Veggies is green, Traditional is red, and Tuna Flakes is blue.
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photo by Jen Valmonte
