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Laswa with Patola and Malunggay
Photo courtesy of Ces Nepomuceno-Gamad
MANILA, Philippines — There's no better time to try going vegetarian (as you’ve always planned to!) than during the Lenten season.
The fasting that a lot of people do during the 40-day period — with a collective effort to abstain from meat and divert attention to fish, seafood and vegetables — somehow makes it easier to finally go vegetarian.
Now should be a perfect time to “discover” the nutritious and delicious vegetable dishes that the Philippines is truly proud of. One of them is Laswa, a traditional vegetable soup dish that originates from the Visayas, particularly Iloilo.
It is a simple dish of boiled indigenous vegetables — including squash, eggplant, okra, saluyot, malunggay, ampalaya (bitter gourd) — that capitalizes on the freshness of the vegetables. It is usually flavored lightly with bagoong isda, guinamos, or fish sauce, and is very similar to the Ilocano vegetable soup dish called Dinengdeng.
So if you make it at home, you can also call it Dinengdeng, and it would not really matter.
What matters is that you learn to love it because regular consumption of vegetables does the body a lot of good — long after Lent is over. Mama Sita’s marketing executive and weekend kitchen warrior Ces Nepomuceno-Gamad shares her recipe of Laswa with Patola and Malunggay.
Happy cooking!
Laswa with Patola and Malunggay
Ingredients:
1 1/2 liters water
1 segment kalabasa (squash), sliced
1 pc. talong (eggplant), sliced
1 bundle okra, sliced
1 pc. patola, peeled and sliced to 1/2-inch pieces
1 bundle malunggay leaves (moringa), picked and washed
1-2 tbsps. salt or patis (fish sauce)
Procedure:
1. In a pot, boil water, then add slices of kalabasa and cook until tender.
2. Add talong and okra next, and boil for about 2 minutes.
3. Add patola and malunggay, stir, and let boil for another 2 minutes.
4. Season with salt or patis.
5. Serve hot with rice.
*Makes 3 to 4 servings.
RELATED: Lenten recipe: Kare-Kareng Gulay with Crispy Calamares
