#314_Saluyot for Health and Beauty

"Saluyot" in Northern Luzon, "Tugabang" in the Visayans,
"Jute Leaves" in English

The Power of Saluyot....

As I was browsing around the net to find out the health benefits of Saluyot, I stumbled upon this link below which has a very interesting infos on this vegetable. I was so amazed to find out that Saluyot has, among other things, "anti aging" properties. It's incredible!! I better start eating Saluyot regularly from now on to be wrinkle-free in my old age...(wink, wink).

http://www.antiaginghacks.com/cleopatra%E2%80%99s-secret-wrinkle-buster/

Move over Botox...here comes Saluyot!

How I cook Saluyot:

Just like Peas and Carrots, Labong and Saluyot are best friends.

When cooking dinengdeng such as this, I let my measuring utensils take a rest because I just eyeball everything, or I just measure with my hands...a handful or a pinch of this and a handful or a pinch of that.

My recipe here starts by sauteeing minced garlic and chopped onions in a little canola oil. Add a can of labong, (drained) and continue to saute. If using fresh whole shrimps, rinse and blanch them first, then flash saute in butter (not over cooked).

To the sauteed labong, add some rice water or meat broth. bring to a boil, turn down the heat and let it simmer for about 5 minutes, then add some patis, the shrimps or fried fish. Continue to simmer for about 10-15 minutes, then add the Saluyot leaves. Check the saltiness, cook until leaves are wilted but not over cooked. DONE! Mangan tayon!!

This is a very simple everyday viand and very nutritious.

I would have preferred shrimps in this dinengdeng,
but because I'm allergic to shrimps now a days,
I just used some fried salmon fillet.


I discovered that you can also add fresh corn kernels in this dish.
Saute corn with labong.

ENJOY!!

#174_Sinigang na Isda

Fish Stew, Sour Soup or Sinigang

For those unfamiliar with this dish, "Sinigang," can be simply described as stew, but not just an ordinary stew. It is a sour stew using some fresh vegetables or fruits as souring agents. As in my case here in my neck of the woods, I use the powdered form for souring agent as the fresh ones aren't available. Back in the Philippines my mother had used different kinds such as santol, kamias, unriped mangoes, salomague or sampalok....OMG, just thinking of these fruits makes me salivate. These fruits are so sour and make really good Sour Soup.

Sinigang is one of the easiest dish to prepare and very forgiving. There is no right or wrong way as long as its broth is sour. For the veggies, you can use any vegetable you may have like eggplants, green beans, kangkong, etc. Sinigang can be fish, shrimps or pork.

I posted Baked Salmon in Foil a few weeks ago, click here. When the salmon was just partly eaten I knew exactly what to do with it: make Sinigang, because that is the first step I do anyway in making Sinigang na Isda in order to remove the fish odor or taste (langsa) in the broth, except I only bake it for a few minutes so that when cooked in the sour broth the fish will not fall apart.

Here's how I cooked the Sinigang:

I sauteed some chopped garlic in canola oil, then threw in those sliced onions which are on the fish. Added some water then I brought it up to a boil then seasoned it with patis ( you can also use salt). Lowered the heat then simmered it for about 10 minutes. I then added in half a packet of the sinigang powder mix, a piece of ginger, jalapeno pepper, tomato, then simmered for another 5 minutes. I placed the fish into the broth and let it simmer for about 5 minutes, then I took the fish out and placed it on a serving dish. I turned the heat back on medium high and threw in the veggies such as carrots, bokchoy and cabbage and cooked them til the veggies are done. I ladled the broth and veggies in the serving dish with the fish.

O, kain na! lami kaayo!!

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#26_Ampalaya with Shrimps

Shrimps with Ampalaya

Steamed Shrimps

Almost-paper-thin slices of Ampalaya

Sliced Ampalaya soaking in water and salt

A few weeks ago, my friend, Aida, was reminiscing about the time when my parents lived here with me. She said that she missed my mother's Shrimp with Ampalaya. I told her that I would try to make some for her. I made some last week but, I don't think it's as good as my mother's....hers is always the best. On a scale of 1-10, I think I'll give mine an 8.5! Not too bad.

My mother was also good at stretching menus and at the same time maintaining the nutritional values in her dishes that she fixed for her family. This dish is so easy to cook and so simple that it only has the shrimps and ampalaya as the basic ingredients, and yet it is so full of flavor and so nutritious.

Procedure:

Start with the ampalaya by cutting them crosswise about 2 inches long and cutting each piece into halves. Then take out the seeds and the white membrane with a knife. To achieve thin slices of the ampalaya, use a vegetable peeler. Then soak the sliced ampalaya in water and salt. Lots of salt! because the salt sucks out the bitterness of the vegetable. After an hour or so, rinse it with water.

While the ampalaya is soaking in salt and water, steam the shrimps.

First, clean the shrimps by cutting off their whiskers and the thorns (for lack of scientific terms) and rinse them with water and while they are still dripping, put them right in a pot. The drips from the shrimps is all the water needed to steam the shrimps. Put the lid on and cook them over medium high heat. After about 2 minutes, and with the lid on, gently shake or toss the shrimps. Continue to cook for another 2 minutes. Take the lid off and put some salt and some butter on the shrimps. Give the shrimps a little more shaking and tossing and continue to cook for another 2 minutes, uncovered. At this point, add some rice water, ( for a pound of shrimps, use about 3-4 cups of water or rice water) and bring to a boil. Add some patis or salt, whichever you prefer, and simmer for few minutes. Finally, add the rinsed ampalaya, but do not put the lid on. Bring it back to a boil, without stirring, until the ampalaya is tender and cooked. 
                                                      Enjoy!

Notes from Mamely:

1)Fried fish can be substituted for the shrimps. 
2) Update: I learned that the bitterness in the ampalaya is good in lowering blood sugar, so now I don't soak them in salt and water anymore.