While Asian food is very well-known in the US, Filipino food is still a bit of a mystery. With new Filipino restaurants popping up across the country, Filipino style dishes are becoming increasingly popular. One of the most well know Filipino desserts is a Filipino fruit salad. This dish is commonly served in the Philippines on Noche Buena, aka Christmas Eve, or at any special family gathering.
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The two main variations are Pinoy fruit salad and Buko salad. While both are creamy fruit salads, Buko uses fresh young coconut as the base. The great part about both of these Filipino fruit salads is the flexibility of ingredients and the almost non-existent prep time. With a total time of just a few minutes, it's an easy dish to whip up during any busy holiday season. You can swap ingredients in and out depending on your personal preference and what you can find in the store. Some people add in canned fruit like lychees and maraschino cherries, while others use fresh fruit like mandarin oranges or pineapple chunks. Either way you're getting a little bit of Vitamin C with your dessert!
Filipino Fruit Salad Recipe
For these dessert recipes, you'll need canned fruit cocktail, a selection of kaong (palm fruits), nata de coco (coconut gel), young coconut meat, sweetened condensed milk, all purpose cream (table cream), and cheese. You may be thinking this all makes sense together, except for the cheese. The video uses Velveeta cheese for the saltiness and creamy texture. If that doesn't suit your taste, cream cheese would be a good substitute.
In a colander, drain the fruit cocktail so that no syrup remains. In a large bowl combine all of your diced, tropical fruit that you wish to add. In to this bowl you'll also add your cheese of choice. In a separate mixing bowl, add the table cream. Whisk until smooth and add the condensed milk. Whisk both together until well incorporated. Pour the cream mixture over the fruit mixture and still until well-combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least a few hours. When you are ready to serve, remove from fridge, stir, and serve.
This delicious and easy recipe is sure to be a hit at your next get together!
Find the full recipe here.
