Ginataang Kamansi

Young breadnut sliced thin and simmered in coconut milk with shrimp, garlic, onion, and ginger, the Filipino way with the seeded ancestor of breadfruit

Origin: Manila & Luzon

From the journey of Breadfruit.

Kamansi is the breadnut, Artocarpus camansi, the seeded, spiny-skinned species from which breadfruit was selected, and the Philippines cooks it young, as a vegetable. The immature fruit is peeled, sliced thin, and simmered in coconut milk, gata, with garlic, onion, ginger, and a little shrimp or pork, until the slices are tender and the sauce has thickened and begun to show its oil. Ginataan means cooked in coconut milk, and ginataang kamansi sits among the ginataang dishes of squash, jackfruit, and sweet potato that are cooked in every Filipino province. The species takes its name from the Philippines. The Augustinian friar and botanist Francisco Manuel Blanco described it in his Flora de Filipinas of 1837, taking the epithet from its Tagalog name. By then the Philippine breadnut had already travelled a long way. The French naturalist Pierre Sonnerat, whose account of his eastern voyage calls the tree by its Philippine name, rima, had it growing on Réunion and Mauritius from 1772; from there it was shipped to Cayenne in 1788 and to the French Antilles soon after. That is why the breadnut of the Caribbean, the châtaigne of Martinique and the chataigne of Trinidad, most probably came from the Philippines and not from Tahiti.

Ingredients

Kamansi

1 young breadnut (kamansi), about 800 g
1 tbsp salt, for the soaking water

Sauce

2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 onion, sliced
30 g ginger, cut into fine strips
200 g small shrimp, peeled (or thinly sliced pork belly)
400 ml coconut milk
200 ml thick coconut cream (kakang gata)
2 long green chillies (siling haba)
1 tbsp fish sauce (patis), or to taste
0.5 tsp ground black pepper

Method

Oil a knife and your hands, then peel the breadnut, quarter it, cut out the core, and slice the flesh thinly.
Soak the slices in salted water for 15 minutes, then drain.
Heat the oil and fry the garlic, onion, and ginger until soft and fragrant. Add the shrimp and cook for a minute, until just pink.
Add the coconut milk and the breadnut, bring to a simmer, and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until the slices are tender.
Stir in the coconut cream and the chillies and simmer until the sauce thickens and its oil begins to show on the surface.
Season with fish sauce and pepper and serve with rice.

Notes

Breadnut is sold fresh in Filipino and Caribbean grocers. Young breadfruit can be used in the same way, though it lacks the nutty seeds of the breadnut.

The Gastrographer

Name: Ginataang Kamansi
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Manila & Luzon
Ingredients: 1 young breadnut (kamansi), about 800 g; 1 tbsp salt, for the soaking water; 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 4 garlic cloves, crushed; 1 onion, sliced; 30 g ginger, cut into fine strips; 200 g small shrimp, peeled (or thinly sliced pork belly); 400 ml coconut milk; 200 ml thick coconut cream (kakang gata); 2 long green chillies (siling haba); 1 tbsp fish sauce (patis), or to taste; 0.5 tsp ground black pepper

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control