Chef-tested recipe
Young jackfruit simmered in freshly extracted coconut milk with tomato, chilli and crisp daing
Ginataang langka is a Filipino home-style dish of unripe jackfruit slowly cooked in coconut milk until the fibrous pieces become tender and absorb the rich sauce. Tomato, ginger and chilli keep the coconut from feeling heavy, while crisp dried fish adds salt and concentrated savoury flavour. Extracting coconut milk at home gives the sauce exceptional freshness.
Recipe at a glance
- Servings
- 8 servings
- Prep Time
- 40 mins
- Cook Time
- 1 hour 15 mins
- Drying Time
- 10 mins for the rinsed dried fish.
- Total Time
- 1 hour 55 mins
- Cuisine
- Filipino
- Course
- Main dish or vegetable dish
- Cooking Method
- Coconut extraction, frying and simmering
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Best Served With
- Steamed rice, grilled eggplant, tomato salad, sautéed greens, or calamansi with chilli.
Before you begin
Ingredients & equipment
Gather what you need first, then cook through the method with confidence.
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Equipment
- Cheesecloth or clean muslinpaid link
- Large mixing bowlpaid link
- Heavy potpaid link
- Wide frying panpaid link
- Tongspaid link
- Wooden spoonpaid link
- Chef’s knifepaid link
- Oiled cutting boardpaid link
- Digital kitchen scalepaid link
Ingredients
For the fresh coconut milk
- Freshly grated mature coconut: 1.2 kg
- Warm water: 1.5 litres
For the dried fish
- Dried salted fish or daing: 300 g
- Neutral cooking oilpaid link: 45 ml
For the langka
- Fresh unripe jackfruit flesh: 1.5 kg, cut into 4 cm pieces
- Neutral cooking oilpaid link: 30 ml
- Garlic: 35 g, minced
- Fresh ginger: 50 g, cut into thin matchsticks
- Brown onion: 250 g, diced
- Ripe tomatoes: 500 g, diced
- Bagoong alamangpaid link: 30 g
- Thin coconut milkpaid link: 1 litre, from above
- Bird’s-eye chillies: 4, left whole or sliced
- Thick coconut milkpaid link: 500 ml, from above
- Fresh malunggay leaves: 120 g
- Fine sea saltpaid link: as needed
- Freshly ground black pepper: 3 g
Preparation Overview
Massage 500 ml warm water into the grated coconut and squeeze through cloth to obtain about 500 ml thick first-press milk. Repeat with the remaining 1 litre water to obtain thin coconut milk. Wear oiled gloves when cutting fresh unripe jackfruit because its sap is sticky. Rinse excess surface salt from the dried fish, then pat dry for 10 minutes.
Method
Heat 45 ml oil in a wide frying pan over medium heat. Fry the dried fish until crisp and cooked through, about 3–5 minutes per side depending on thickness. Drain, cool, and remove large bones. Break into pieces.
Heat 30 ml oil in a heavy pot. Sauté garlic, ginger and onion for 5 minutes until softened.
Add tomatoes and cook for 8 minutes, crushing them until jammy.
Stir in bagoong alamang and cook for 1 minute.
Add young jackfruit and thin coconut milk. Bring to a gentle simmer; do not cover tightly because coconut milk can boil over.
Cook for 30–40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the jackfruit is tender and has absorbed much of the sauce.
Add whole chillies and thick coconut milk. Simmer gently for 10–12 minutes until rich and slightly reduced. Avoid a hard boil.
Fold in malunggay and two-thirds of the dried fish. Cook for 2 minutes.
Taste before adding salt because the bagoong and fish are already salty. Finish with black pepper and the remaining crisp fish.
Beginner Technique Notes
Unripe jackfruit is pale and firm; ripe sweet jackfruit is unsuitable for this savoury dish.
Use thin coconut milk for tenderising and thick coconut milk near the end for richness.
Stir over moderate heat and watch the pot closely. Coconut milk can split or scorch when boiled aggressively.
Tips and Variations
If fresh jackfruit is unavailable, use canned young green jackfruit in water or brine, rinsed thoroughly; reduce the first simmer to about 20 minutes.
Tinapa can replace daing for a smokier variation.
Keep a portion of dried fish crisp for the garnish instead of simmering all of it in the sauce.
Serving Ideas
- Serve in a shallow bowl with visible jackfruit pieces, malunggay and crisp fish on top. Spoon the coconut sauce generously over hot rice.
Storage
Refrigerate for up to 3 days in a shallow airtight container. Freeze for up to 1 month; coconut sauce may separate slightly after thawing. Reheat gently to 74°C while stirring, without boiling hard.
Nutritional Value
Allergen Notes
Contains fish, shellfish from bagoong alamang, and coconut. Commercial shrimp paste may contain preservatives or other seafood. Omit bagoong and season with salt only for those avoiding shellfish, but do not serve to anyone with a fish allergy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can ripe jackfruit be used?
No. Use unripe green jackfruit, which has a neutral flavour and fibrous texture suitable for savoury cooking.
Why did my coconut milk separate?
The heat was too high. Gentle simmering keeps the sauce smoother, although slight oil separation is natural in well-cooked coconut dishes.
Can canned coconut milk be used?
Yes. Use about 1 litre light coconut milk for simmering and 500 ml full-fat coconut milk at the end.
Is the dried fish cooked before adding?
Yes. Frying cooks it, improves aroma and allows some pieces to remain crisp when used as garnish.
