Comments on: Sinigang na Hipon at Kamias / Shrimp and Belimbing Soup

By: Marketman

Marketman — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 11:10:40 +0000

Ricka, thank you for your comment. Actually, I refer to belimbing as another name for kamias or iba, not BALIMBING (Starfruit or Carambola), which is altogether another fruit, though both are cousins. I have a post on kamias and iba here which talks about it some more. As for wikipedia, I generally find it interesting but you must be careful about using it as your only or main source of information, as it is not always reliable... in this case, however, I suspect the issue is simply one of a similar spelling... BALIMBING is different from BELIMBING. :)

By: Ricka Concepcion

Ricka Concepcion — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 07:37:08 +0000

Thanks for the info Marketman regarding kamias. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_sorrel however refers to balingbing which is totally different from kamias. Kamias has smooth surface and balingbing has edges (as they say, balimbing has several sides/faces – like the politicians in the Philippines! :)

By: brenda

brenda — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 00:35:28 +0000

I also love kamias in paksiw and sinigang though I haven’t tried the kamias shake and candy. I have another use for kamias though: for those who still do the laundry manually, after washing, you could use the over ripe kamias to your hands, it will help cleanse the soap totally.

By: izang

izang — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 05:14:03 +0000

i remember being caught by my values ed teacher eating kamias during class…munching it silently while dipping it in rock salt…yum yum yum…

siniganag n hipon s kamias has always been a staple in our house….my lola used to cook kamias in another way…
saute galic and onions in little oil, add hipon-pugot then add water, season with little patis and add sotanghon. when boiling,turn-off the heat. add sliced kamias then immediately serve…do not over cook…love it with bahaw… and cold pinya with bagoong….yum……

By: Gigi

Gigi — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 03:39:53 +0000

I love to put sliced camias on top of a hot and heaping plate of pancit bihon. Ay, Champion!

By: Kate

Kate — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 22:38:13 +0000

Sorry! Apog nga pala. I have it confused with the lye we use to make suman sa lihiya. Come to think of it, apog is one of the items I plan to buy when I go home to RP. For the life of me, I can’t find slaked lime, as it’s called here. Thanks VMA.

By: VMA

VMA — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 11:49:08 +0000

Kate, the soaking solution is LIME (apog) mix with water NOT Lye! There is a book published by the Bureau of Plant Industry titled “Preservation of Fruits and Vegetables”. The procedure for making Candied Camias is on this book. I think the book costs about P200 at the BPI office in San Andres, Manila.

By: Kate

Kate — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 05:51:28 +0000

MM, I’ll have to ask my Mom how she made preserved kamias when I was a kid. She’s a grad of UP HE so you’ll probably find a recipe for it in one of the college’s food preservation textbooks.

If memory serves, I think she pierced each trimmed kamias with a fork several times, soaked the fruit in a lye solution or something, and later squeezed out the liquid from each one before drying it all in the sun. I think she soaked the fruit in several changes of water after the lye solution, repeating the squeezing after each soaking before sun drying.

When the kamias was dry, she made a sugar syrup in which she cooked the fruit to the right texture. I remember helping squeeze the heck out of those kamias and after the long process, finally popping the yummy, chewy, sweet-sour preserved fruit into my mouth. Way better than champoy.

By: Marketman

Marketman — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 02:01:52 +0000

I love Gaita Fores’ Kamias shakes. Love them. I am intrigued by all these wisps of fond memories of sugared preserved kamias…recipes please?! please?

By: Olive

Olive — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 01:57:14 +0000

I remember my tita making delicious bars ala fig newtons using dried kamias. they were sooo good; moist, chewy and the sourness of the kamias was hardly noticeable. Will have to try and get the recipe from her as she has stopped making them. And I think Cafe Bola in Cubao also serves good kamias shakes.
MM, thank you for such lovely posts.