I don't know how much water I've drank today maybe a bit more I'll have to increase my salt intake. The heat's just been too harsh... How I wish I were just on a beachside sippin' coconut juice fresh from the tree but at the same time I don't really want to bond with the sun right now. So I'll just beat this heat with something OG refreshing.
I am fond of shaved ice items like Mais con yelo, Halo-halo, Ice scramble, and my all-time favorite Saba Con Yelo~ or what I'd like to personally call Sabananer. What? it sounds cuter and I love the redundancy haha.
Saba Con Yelo or Sabananer is a shaved ice dessert/drink. The saba(plantain) is boiled with sugar to soften and sweeten. The caramelized sugar or Arnibal is also used to sweeten the dessert/drink and it also gives it a nice banana flavor. Shaved ice and milk are then added. I also enjoy it with big or small sweetened Sago.
As I said, I don't really want to go out and bond with the sun. We are to beat the heat not be under it ;v
I'll probably have this face throughout the walk if I go out and buy a Saba Con Yelo from a street vendor.
Luckily, I found some ingredients for Sabananer at home~
Banzai! Mother!
So here's what I found in our pantry.
Saba - a plantain used in cooking some Filipino cuisine. Can also be eaten raw.
Toiny Sago (optional)
Brown Sugar
Vanilla extract (optional)
Evaporated milk
Ice
Ice shaver
Let's cook our banana and sago~
| Brown Sugar and water | Add in your Saba |
First, we boil our saba whole in 2 cups of water and 250 grams of brown sugar till soft but still firm. This took me around 15 mins in medium heat.
(I don't like cutting the banana before boiling it. For some reason, it changes the texture probably from the starch the banana releases. )
Let the sugar water reduce until it turns into a darker color and slightly thicker in consistency kinda like a syrup.
While that's going we can cook our Sago on the side.
| Boil the sago | Strain the Sago |
Sago is a bit tedious to cook since it involves boiling, soaking, and rinsing to properly cook it but yeah let's put in a little bit of effort for our Sabananer. OR you can buy ready-cooked ones in the wet market.
To cook small Sago. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil then add in 3 tbsp of small sago. Cover and boil under medium heat for 25 minutes. Rinse your sago and let it soak in water for 10-15mins. I got kinda impatient so my Sago is not fully translucent haha. After I rinsed it I put it in with the bananas to boil again and let it soak in the syrup.
Our sweetened saba with arnibal(caramelized sugar) and Sago is ready.
Slice your banana into bite-size pieces. Personally, I like crushing a few pcs of the Saba and mixing it into the syrup to enhance its flavor and thicken the mixture.
To assemble our drink just put the banana slices, sago, and syrup into a glass. Fill the glass with shaved ice and top it with evaporated milk.
Ja jaaan~ our finished product! Sweet and refreshing Saban Con Yelo or what I'd like to call Sabananer!
Just give this a mix then you're all good to sit back and cool your head, body, and/or spirit. Whatever it is you're dealing with in this heat.
If you don't have an ice shaver, that's fine too! I also enjoy having the saba with just chunks of ice and milk. Like this!
I like to cook(sometimes) so I don't find this a chore but if I was feeling lazy and really wanted a sabananer I would probably still order it from Grab or have someone else buy it for me cus hiss hiss sun.
There are a lot of options for a cold summer drink. Most would probably go for Iced Coffee or heck even hot coffee cus why not we're pinoy haha.
but on most days I just drink moderately cold water. So it's nice to have a flavored iced beverage/dessert on a hot day like this.
Here's me just chilling with my sabananer al fresco style. Partner it with some chill music like Hanggang Kailan by Orange and Lemons.
Relaxing.
But wait no.
As I am enjoying the moment, I can't help but think. That every year it's getting a lot warmer. I also heard some news of students passing out from the heat. So some schools would have online classes instead. The elderly who used to visit the mall to enjoy the free air conditioning can no longer travel and opt to stay indoors.
Times have really changed. When you think about it, 5 years from now, how much hotter will it be? Will our way of life experience a drastic change?
Climate change is a real and pressing issue that has caused major disruption to our planet's weather patterns, natural disasters, and ecosystems. Our country is currently experiencing a severe heatwave, with temperatures soaring to as high as 43 degrees Celsius in some areas. Yikes.
We can help the environment in our own small ways too!
I guess I also distracted myself from this heat by cooking. After putting in a bit of work for my cold beverage to beat the heat, It felt more rewarding and relaxing. If I were asked how I beat the heat, I'd probably stick to Sabananer... or a mango shake -- aw now I changed my mind (just kidding)
I could say I beat the heat today but I'm not sure bout tomorrow (ehem Mango shake). I'll probably melt again but yeah unless we do our part in helping the environment I'd probably be putting shaved ice over myself instead to beat the heat in the future. Welp.
How about you? what's your secret to beat the heat?
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