Alogbati is synonymous with being Ilonggo and West Visayan. Manila does not have this vegetable in their diet. They say that if you want to increase the blood in your system, eat plenty of alogbati. In the definitive book of Doreen Fernandez entitled Palayok, alogbati’s scientific name is basella alba and in English it’s known as Ceylon spinach.
You will need:
alogbati (choose healthy and young leaves from the purplish stem; you can include an inch or two of the tipmost stalk where the shoots grow)
kalabasa (squash), cubed
patola (slice into discs)
ahos (garlic), 1 sibuyas (onion) and 2-3 kamatis (tomatoes)
about a scoop/handful of ginaling nga baboy (ground pork) or pasayan (shrimps)
asin (sea salt)
How to:
1. Saute the garlic. Add the onion (allow to glaze), then add the sliced tomatoes. Stir around for a minute.
2. Add the ground pork.
3. When the pork changes color, add about 2-3 cups of water.
4. Bring to a boil. Season with sea salt. Add the squash cubes.
5. When soft (don’t overcook), put in the patola and follow up with the alogbati leaves and mix.
6. Adjust to taste, cover for a minute or two and your laswa is ready for serving!
July 18, 2007 at 1:46 am
While visiting Iloilo we enjoyed drinking young coconut juice. Here is some pictures:
http://talaga.info/blog/?page_id=114
July 19, 2007 at 1:58 am
ah, yes. our custom of pangulabo.
April 25, 2008 at 10:55 am
my fave dish of all time! although the one i grew up liking was the version where you use monggo. (as extender for pork,kay imul mo. hehehe) i can have this dish all the days of the week and never get tired of eating it! yum,yum,yum! my daugter has developed a liking to it na man although spinach lang ya galing instead of alogbati.
March 19, 2009 at 9:46 am
masarap nga talaga yan….i’m an “alog” but is quite fond of laswa kasi ilonggo parents ko e.i especially like the munggo with alugbati.tapos kan-on mo sya kasama ng chicharon…………hmmmmm!its like heaven on earth.heheheh
March 20, 2009 at 3:00 am
taga antique ako kag ang alogbati namits gid man.