Warm up your belly with a comforting bowl of Kansi! This Ilonggo sour soup with beef shanks and green jackfruit is filling and delicious. Perfect for chilly weather!
Don’t you love the world wide web? I certainly do. It’s mind-blowing the abundance of knowledge and information at our fingertips.
Take, for instance, this kansi. I am a Kapampangan from Tarlac, and I’ve never been to Iloilo. But due to the encompassing internet, I don’t have to travel to Bacolod City to experience and learn how to make one of their classic soups. All I had to do was a simple Google search. 🙂
Today was, in fact, the first time I’ve made kansi, and judging by my contented sighs after lunch, it certainly won’t be the last. With fork-tender beef and meaty green jackfruit in a hot and sour broth, it’s comfort food at its best! I enjoyed it so much I might have just eaten my weight in rice.
What is Kansi
Kansi or Cansi is an Ilonggo soup made with beef shanks, green jackfruit, chili peppers, and batwan, a fruit native to Western Visayas traditionally used as a souring agent in dishes such as KBL (Kadyos, Baboy at Langka) and pinalmahan (Ilonggo-style paksiw).
It has been likened in taste to the traditional sinigang, but I think that is too basic of a comparison. The two may share the same sour notes, but the flavor profile of this Visayan sinigang na bulalo is a lot more complex due to the addition of lemongrass and atsuete.
Ingredient substitutions
- Since batwan is hard to find outside of the Iloilo area and nearly impossible to get here in the US, I substituted kamias and a package of tamarind powder to flavor the broth. I read in a recent article that batwan powder is now available commercially, and I’d be sure to share my review with you if I find it.
- I used green jackfruit in the can, which is pretty much ready to eat, so adjust the suggested 10 to 15 minutes of additional cook time to about 20 to 25 minutes if using fresh langka.
How to serve and store
- Serve the soup as the main dish for lunch or dinner with steamed rice and fish sauce as a condiment.
- Transfer leftovers to a container with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
- Reheat in the microwave at 2 to 3-minute intervals or in a saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat to 165 F.
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