Tamal de piangua con hogo líquido y ají de cidra: Pacific Colombian Tamal

Keep the piangua chilled Buy piangua only from a legally harvested, traceable supply subject to official controls. Keep it at or below 4°C. If frozen, thaw it in the refrigerator. Never taste it raw. Cooking does not reliably destroy marine biotoxins, so heat cannot make shellfish from an unsafe or unknown source safe.

Cook the hogo Warm the achiote oil and 30 ml sunflower oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Add about 150 g of the onion and the garlic; cook for 3–4 minutes, stirring, without browning the garlic. Add thyme, oregano, cumin, tomato, pepper, sugar and 1 g salt. Cook 15–20 minutes, stirring, until the tomato collapses into a thick, spoonable sauce. Reserve about one third. Blend the rest smooth with a little coconut milk to make the liquid hogo; keep refrigerated if not using promptly.

Cook the plantain masa Blend the peeled plantain with about 250 ml coconut milk and the clean water until mostly smooth. Transfer to a heavy saucepan and add about one third of the cooked hogo, 40 ml sunflower oil and 0.5 g salt. Cook over low heat, stirring continuously and scraping the bottom, for 15–20 minutes. The masa is ready when glossy, cohesive and beginning to pull from the sides. Spread it in a shallow tray and let it cool until easy to handle.

Cook the piangua filling safely In a clean pan, warm 20 ml sunflower oil. Add the remaining onion and cook until soft. Stir in the reserved thick hogo, the cleaned piangua and about 150 ml coconut milk. Simmer gently, stirring, until the sauce reduces and the piangua is opaque and firm. Check several pieces with a clean thermometer; the centre must reach at least 63°C. If it has not, keep cooking and check again. Set aside about 60 ml sauce for the tamal centres; cool the filling promptly if not assembling at once.

Make the cidra-papa ají Blend the blanched cilantro with cooked cidra-papa, chile, lime juice, 10 ml sunflower oil, the remaining 0.5 g salt and a spoonful of water. Blend to a vivid green, pourable sauce. Taste and adjust the chile only; keep the measured salt amount unchanged.

Wrap four tamales Rinse and wipe the leaves, then warm them briefly over a low flame until supple. Set a leaf piece on the work surface and spread one quarter of the masa into a thin rectangle, leaving a border. Spoon one quarter of the piangua filling and a little reserved sauce down the middle. Fold the sides over the filling and tuck the ends underneath to seal. Tie snugly with food-safe twine. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.

Boil, check and serve Bring a large pot of water to a steady boil. Set the tamales in a steamer basket or on a rack above the water, cover and steam for 60 minutes; replenish with boiling water if needed. Open one parcel carefully and check its centre; it should reach 74°C and the masa should be fully set. If it is cooler, rewrap and continue cooking, then check again. Serve hot with smooth liquid hogo and cidra-papa ají. The leaf is a wrapper and is not eaten.