This is one of five endemic leafy vegetables promoted by the FNRI to be a regular part of the Filipino diet, as they have been found to be extremely nutritious and are mostly organic.
When the family moved to Cavite I felt I was in abject
deprivation. This was in view of the vegetable selection in the area. I was as far
as I could be from my hometown for all it seemed. The kamote leaves being sold were
red, the string beans were unbelievably long, pale and so wrinkled they looked
ancient. And of course there was no baeg, no sitaw shoots, no heirloom tomatoes, no black beans!, and it was mission impossible to find a decent drop
of bagoong.
But as I adjusted and got to know the public market better I began to feel a sense of adventure. I was in Tagalog country, and it was an opportunity to explore. So with this attitude I began to see the distinctions of a Tagalog market. Where there were empty spaces where I felt should have been my Pangasinan staples, there were other corners presenting new ingredients I haven’t cooked with before. And spread before me were an array of plant parts that I certainly haven’t eaten before.
One of these were the ruby-stemmed and succulent-leaved alugbati vine tops being sold alongside rogue kamote, kangkong
and saluyot. It was funny because when I
asked the vendor how the tops were cooked she said she didn’t have an idea, but
that they get bought by the end of the day so they must be edible.
I learned from a DOST-FNRI seminar that these leaves come
from one of the five endemic organic plants that are packed with nutrients.* Of
the five I grew up eating only one, so I resolved to swiftly remedy my parents’
neglect. I don’t blame them, though, since most of the other four weren't
really regarded as food in my province, and our diet featured prominently other
much more nutritional leaves (hello, malunggay and saluyot).
The first time I ate alugbati (libato, malabar spinach, Basella rubra) was in a kind of pinakbet – okra,
eggplants, tomatoes and alugbati boiled in salted broth – served at our office
canteen, so I wrongfully concluded alugbati was an Ilocano vegetable I didn’t
know about. So that was how I first tried to cook it at home. Even without the DOST seminar I couldn’t overlook it during my
weekly marketing, for they are ever present no matter what the season was.
But it did not become a favorite. The flavor isn’t pleasant –
very earthy, pervading the entire dish. The alugbati turns mucilaginous when
cooked, though not as evidently phlegmy as saluyot or okra. It also loses its
magenta hue, becoming nondescript brown like most Ilocano veggies.
One rainy weekend there was a dearth of vegetables at the
market, but there were bunches of ever attractive alugbati. The vendor told to
me to buy some to cook with albacora (tuna albacore), which were plentiful that
time. Ever eager to try new dishes and bearing in mind that DOST touts them as
a superleaf I followed her instructions, with happy results.
Albacore steaks are seared both sides in a pan. Then sauté garlic,
lots of onions and a heaping handful of
sliced ripe and juicy tomatoes. Then mix in the alugbati tops that have been
trimmed of the tough lower stems. Let cook until wilted, season with salt and
pepper, then add the albacore steaks. Cover and let cook for 2-3 minutes or
until the sautéing juices have been absorbed by the steaks.
It is a delightful confluence that albacore tuna and
alugbati are both accessible at the Cavite public market. My weekly meal
repertoire became enriched, in variety, flavor and nutritional benefits. For
this dish I love to cook again and again. The sweetish acidity of the tomatoes
downplays the earthiness of the alugbati, which in turn tames the tomatoes’
sourness. The addition of the high-protein, low-fat tuna packs it all in and
transforms it into a rounded, one-pot meal.
But the story of my discovery doesn’t end here. One Saturday a lola sat beside my son at the
waiting area of the public market while I finished marketing. When I came to
collect my son and the fruits of our labors that day, the lola asked me if I
was a Bisaya. I was confounded, for it was my first time to be asked that
question. She proceeded to explain that she noticed the alugbati leaves
protruding from our bayong, and thought that we were Bisaya like herself. She went
on to say that alugbati is planted everywhere in the Visayas, and they
frequently eat it mixed with stewed monggo (with gata), or sautéed with ground pork and
tomatoes.
My alugbati menu suddenly lengthened, and that fateful weekend
I planted in my little garden patch the stems of the two bunches of alugbati
that we had bought at the market. I went to Facebook, and friends in the
Visayas and Mindanao confirmed that the vegetable is common enough where they
live.
So now I know that that first alugbati dish I ate was a kind of Bisayan
utan. We tried it again just last night, with alugbati tops from my garden, but
this time we had the vegetables sautéed with home-made bagoong alamang and left
out the ampalaya since we ran out of it. It was as good as it could be. Like
pakbet, but the alugbati flavor took the place of the bitterness of the ampalaya, so it wasn’t as sharp. It was so good I had to set aside some to bring to the office for lunch the next day.
I again took to Facebook, and my Pangasinense friends retorted
that they knew alugbati as, along with kangkong, good fodder for pigs. Lucky
pigs, to be so nourished. I hope the nutritional benefits get translated into enriched meat, so I won’t have to pity my friends.
*Alugbati purportedly contains phytochemicals and anti-oxidants, and is rich in Vitamins A, B, and C, iron, carotene and nitrates, and a good source of soluble fiber. It is used to treat headaches, inflammations, acne, and burns and scalds, and used for catarrhal infections, hemorrhagic diseases. It is said to be a galactagogue, as well as used for fertility and other sexual issues.
The Philippine Organic Super-Leaves
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