Cured + Caramelised Sausage, Green Mango, Chilli & Mint Salad (longanisa)

Don’t call it a comeback, Longanisa has been calling this Filipino boy’s tummy home for years. I’ve been eating it the same way since I was kid – with rice, lightly salted chopped tomatoes and fish sauce which is why I decided to do a Remix to the traditional recipe for the precious warmer months. Plus, it’s like damn, doesn’t your CD have other tracks?!

What the heck is it? Longanisa is cured sausage, native to the Philippines. My country was colonised by the Spaniards for over 300 years, so it has similarities to that of the famed chorizo but of course being such sugar fiends, it’s a sweeter version. It’s made up of vinegar, fatty pork mince, sugar to caramelise, packed with enough garlic to fend off any Vampires this Twilight season and in my version, tomato paste and paprika. If I had my way, I would also add tamarind, but that’s just being silly. Or is it…?

I decided to use green mango as the other core ingredient because they marry up so well together. The tangy and sour notes of the mango offset by the sweetness of the sausages, set on fiyah by the chilli and then a cool down brought to you by team breezey aka cucumber and mint. Have mercaaay! The salad doesn’t need any dressing apart from perhaps and sprinkle ‘O’ salt as there are enough flavours already happening here. Dressing will only outshine the core of this dish being tangy green mango, chilli and the caramalised Longanisa.

filipino longanisa

Zee Ingredients

Longanisa

1 kg pork mince (NOT LEAN!!!!)

1 egg

½ cup raw sugar

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons of white vinegar

2 teaspoons of salt

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon brown pepper

2 teaspoons of paprika

Canola oil

Green Mango Salad

1 Green Mango

1 Cucumber

1 Red Chilli

1 bunch coriander

1 sprig of mint

ingredients for longanisa

Zee Procedure

Curing  The Sausages

1. In a large bowl, combine the pork mince, egg, sugar, minced garlic, paprika, salt, tomato paste,
vinegar and brown pepper.

2. Mix the ingredients with your hands until evenly combined. Skinless in my opinion is much better because I’m lazy.

3. To cure, grab the largest square container you have and some non-stick baking paper.
Roll the mince into index finger-sized thick sausages and lay them on the non-stick paper, stacking
them up within the container. This will save you from having to do this later.

Refrigerate for no longer than overnight. If you’re stuck for time, 10 hours will do.

To Cook the bastards

4. On a flat surface, lay 1/2 cup of raw sugar and roll each piece into it to coat

5. On a low-medium heat, add canola oil to a hot pan then cook the sausages until they are
slightly charred on each side. They should caramelise due to the sugar content. Set aside.

The Green Mango Salad

We want to julienne practically everythaaang here, so let’s get to it.

1. Wash, peel and julienne the green mango, pat dry with a kitchen towel then set aside in a large bowl. Repeat process with the cucumber

2. Roughly chop up the coriander, slice the chilli and place them into the bowl

3. Depending on the ripening stage of your green mango, it may be delicate so using your hands, gently combine the ingredients. Slice the sausages into roughly 3cm wide pieces and plate it up alongside the salad.

You’ve been served!

And there you have it. A simple mix of meat and veggies perfect for the warmer months when all you want is something that’s refreshing, a little different BUT easy to prepare. Judging yesterday’s hot weather, I can’t wait for the summer roadtrips where I get to break out my ultimate men’s summer gear being shorts, singlets and flip flops having been shunned to the dark crevices of the wardrobe for the last nine months!

filipino food longanisa salad

MIX IT UP!

longanisa with green mango filipino dish

Craving more delicious Filipino recipes? Grab a copy of my cookbook What The Heck is Filipino Food? A Beginner’s Guide to Filipino Cooking.

WHAT THE HECK IS FILIPINO FOOD?

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Keep eating…LIKE CRAZAAY!

Adrian

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34 thoughts on “Cured + Caramelised Sausage, Green Mango, Chilli & Mint Salad (longanisa)

    1. I could eat it everyday! You gave up pork???!! Say what? hehe Beef should be fine to use so long as you don’t use lean mince!

  1. HAHAHAHHAHAHA… You cracked me up at your description for not lean pork meat. I concur 1000%. Should make it in bold and large font in case ppl miss it. I like how your Filo cooking use sugar to caramelise your meat. It’s awesome both in texture and flavour makes for a great cooking tip too. Simple, nice, balanced meal with all the salad too. YUMMO!!

    1. Lean meat is a waste of time! No flavour lol. I reckon I should BOLD it!
      Sugar is the bees nees. I love how it helps with the charring. Thanks WINCE!

  2. Did you say a sweeter version of a CHORIZO? 🙂 Yes please!!! I love chorizo and could only imagine loving this even more because it’s ‘sweeter’!

    I love how you’ve paired it with a green mango, I’ve never heard of longanisa 🙂 Want to try though!

  3. What a cool site you have! I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to find it. But so glad I’m here now. I love your enthusiasm to share Filipino food! This caramelised sausages a.k.a. longanizas with my fave green mango looks awesome! Thanks for sharing!

  4. Longanisa is the bomb.com. I could probably eat it every day for the rest of time and not get sick of it, haha. And that green mango salad looks epic! 🙂

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