taro in coconut milk - i will never neglect my comfort food again

Being that I have lived my entire life (up until college) in Hawaii, the one thing that I can say that I miss the most from home is the food. There's just no other food out there that will satisfy my laulau, spam musubi, or loco moco cravings. One thing that I made sure to do while visiting my parents (who unfortunately no longer live in Hawaii) was to at least replicate a few Pacific Islands foods that I miss. While strolling down the aisles in the grocery store, I spotted a few lonely taros and I knew that I had to save them.


I know I've seen taro before in grocery stores on the mainland, but it frightens me to go out and buy one because it usually doesn't look like the kind that I'm used to. The ones we bought here in Washington were called "small taro root" or something, which I'm not too sure if it's the same thing, but I figured I'd at least give it a try. There's just something so divine and homey about the taste of taro to me personally, and it really brings me back to my childhood.


This entry probably seems like a cop-out, because honestly these are the only ingredients- taro, coconut milk, and onions... But trust me, this dish deserves its own blog entry.


When my mom first told me that onions went in this, I was in complete disbelief. But after tasting the final dish, I am now a believer. Somehow the onions sweeten up and lend a slight crunch to an otherwise chunky soupy dish.


So if you can't figure it out by now, this is the entire recipe directions: Cook taro, chop taro, cut onion, cook onion, add taro, then add coconut milk. Basically that's it, but trust me, the taste is indescribable and you'll never imagine that the recipe would be this simple.


I know it probably looks gross and goopy to other people, but there's nothing like it in my eyes. This dish proved to be a "comfort food" for me, when I didn't even know it was one in the first place.


I have no idea how, but I must have forgotten how much I love taro and other similar foods that remind me of home. I am now making a promise to myself and to my blog that I need to buy these foods occasionally to make my taste buds happy once again.

---RECIPE---

ingredients:
a couple of medium taros
half an onion
1 can of coconut milk (unsweetened)

directions:
1. Scrub taro and place in pot of hot water until they get tender (depending on the size, it can take 20 minutes to more than an hour). After soft, take out and cool, and then peel away skin. Cut into cubes.
2. Cut onion (can be large pieces) and simmer in pot.
3. Add cut taro and add coconut milk.
4. Let simmer for however long, and add salt if needed.