Glorious guava: Filipino chefs share summer fruit interpretations
It's summertime, and in a tropical country such as the Philippines, this is the time when tropical fruits are at their bountiful best.
A lot of fruits are in season, so chefs and pastry chefs alike waste no time in harvesting them and using these edible blessings in whipping up sauces and salsas for savory dishes as well as in creating uniquely delicious pastries and sweets.
Guavas come in different varieties, sizes, and colors. There are those with pink flesh; other variants have white flesh. Local guavas, known colloquially as bayabas, are as small as pingpong balls, but are exquisitely sweet when ripe. Bite into one and it is pure magic in the mouth.
Guavas are used as a souring agent for sinigang, that favorite hot and lightly sour Pinoy favorite savory dish that is so versatile it can be different versions — bangus, maya-maya, pork, beef — and can use various souring agents depending on what’s bountiful in a province. If your sinigang relies heavily on sinigang mixes to give it that well-rounded flavor, you will find that in a sea of Sinigang sa Sampalok Mix variants, a pouch of Mama Sita’s Sinigang sa Bayabas Mix sits quietly on the supermarket rack to complement your fresh guava.
There are, however, more sweet applications to guava. For one, you can turn it into jam. That’s the easiest.
Monique Tancongco of Moniquecakesph has turned guavas into her signature Helen’s Guava Cake, which she named after her mom Helen. The cake is a unique and refreshing treat. The guava flavor is very pronounced not only in the two layers of pillowy soft, moist chiffon but also in the homemade organic red guava frosting. The cake is encased in a light green frosting and is simply designed with slices of red guava to garnish the top of the cake.
Then there’s the Guava Ensaymada of Lulu’s, created by pastry chef Paul Pamaran Zamora. He makes the best apple pie in town which he fondly calls Lulu’s Pie, after his late mom Marilou ‘Lulu’ Pamaran-Zamora.
Chef Paul’s Guava Ensaymada is the newest addition to his range of ensaymadas. Soft and fluffy, teeming with grated cheese, and crowned by a dollop of guava jam on top, the new and exciting Guava Ensaymada has got a layer each of guava jam and vanilla cream infused with guava syrup. Both guava jam and guava syrup are homemade.
