Pansit Kalabuko: Forest Wood Garden’s very own delicacy

FILE: COOKING KALABUKO. A guest tries out cooking pansit “Kalabuko” at the Forest Wood Garden Farm in San Pablo City, Laguna. The kalabuko is a healthy stir-fried noodle dish made of organic vegetables and fruits. (Photo courtesy of Myrna Katigbak Frago via PNA)

SAN PABLO CITY, Laguna — A unique delicacy that you can only find at the Forest Wood Garden Farm located in Sta. Elena village here is the pansit “Kalabuko,” a healthy stir-fried noodle dish filled with organic vegetables and fruits.

Joselito “Joel” Frago, owner of Forest Wood Garden Farm, said the name “kalabuko” is derived from its ingredients: organic mushroom (or kabute in Filipino, the “Ka”), squash (or kalabasa stands for “la”) mixed with coconut (buko) meat, and seven other vegetables and two fruits.

Frago said the dish that is unique to their farm was concocted on a rainy day when it was impossible for them to go out and buy food.

“I have children, a family to feed, so what I did is to make use of whatever ingredients I have in the farm, mix it up with noodles and came up with my own version of noodle dish,” he said.

Due to its unique taste, especially the crispy coconut meat, his family and children liked the dish, which has health benefits because the ingredients are organic.

His friends and relatives started to order Kalabuko, so he decided to make it as one of the main dishes of his restaurant’s menu.

Aside from the farm, Frago also owns a restaurant in the town’s busy area where “kalabuko” can be ordered for dine in and take out.

Forest Wood Garden is accredited by the Department of Tourism as an agri-tourism farm site, and by the Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Training Institute (DA-ATI) as a learning site.