This morning, however, our friendly neighborhood magbu-buko (coconut vendor, with a rolling cart) came around and offered his wares at 2/3 the usual price (these days, at least). I was tempted but having decided to go fruit (again) this year, I politely refused. He wouldn't take no for an answer, and to show me the error of my choice, he opened one and showed me the lovely buko meat that was just perfect for salad.
(Side note here - when we buy buko we always specify - mala-uhog, pang-salad, or pang-gata. Mala-uhog, or literally "snot-like" or "mucus-like", is from very young coconut. The meat is gelatinous, like the texture of mucus, and is commonly used in desserts and drinks. Pang-salad, literally for salad, is, as the name suggests, best for buko salad. The meat is rather firm but not tough or dry. Pang-gata simply means for coconut milk/cream. The meat is from old or matured coconuts and is really tough. It is so tough that a grating machine is used to grate the meat off the buko shell; it is this grated coconut meat that is used to extract coconut milk or coconut cream.)
Anyway, having seen the pang-salad buko meat, ignoring it was not an option. Quite suddenly, I was struck with longing for buko salad! And, while the timing was not ideal (it was still a few days before Christmas), the chance to have buko salad this season was too good to pass up, especially since I had nata de coco in the pantry, as well as some homemade macapuno preserves!!!!!!!
Presenting... Buko Macapuno Salad!
This is actually a twist on my personal, traditional buko salad...
The recipe is likewise as simple and as easy... even if the measurements are estimations...
coconut meat from 5 buko, the pang-salad type
1 large bottle of nata de coco, drained
half a large bottle of macapuno preserves (mine was homemade!)
2 cups cream, mixed with
1 cup macapuno ice cream
Just toss everything together and chill thoroughly before enjoying!
