SIMPLE WAYS TO COOK MALUNGGAY

SIMPLE WAYS TO COOK MALUNGGAY

    This is a follow-up to the article about the malunggay which we posted in previous days.

    Malunggay or Horse Radish is a common plant in the Ilocos Norte. Before the researchers discovered its importance and its other medicinal worth, this plant seems to be just a simple plant in the eyes of Ilocanos. They did not treat this plant as special until they discovered its magnificent wonders.

    However, this plant especially its leaves and fruits are ordinarily and often served in the dining tables of Ilocanos. I just do not know if in other provinces, they do the same way.

    In the eyes of the Ilocanos, malunggay is the “GREAT EQUALIZER” among the rich and poor because this is serve in the dining whether you belong to high class society or poor.

    There are many ways on how we cooked malunggay but to an ordinary person like me, there are only few. Among these are the following:


1.    The most basic is DINENGDENG.

Pure malunggay leaves or mix up with other kinds of vegetables or legumes. You may cook the leaves purely or mix up with jute leaves commonly known as saluyot. If you opt to mix up more vegetable to our malunggay leaves, the perfect ones are the unripe papaya fruit, flower of squash, kalabasa or squash or legumes like dried beans or balatong. The preparation for the cooking the malunggay leaves, whether it is pure or mix with other vegetables or legumes is the same. You just have to put first those that are harder to cook like the kalabasa or the unripe papaya fruit or legumes and put the malunggay after the former becomes tender.

Dinengdeng na malunggay topped with talaba or any kinds of shelled sea foods. Boil first the talaba. Set aside the water used in boiling the talaba because you will use the same when you are going to cook the dinengdeng. Remove the contents of the shells para ang laman ng talaba lamang ang maihahalo sa dinengdeng.

Dinengdeng is best served along with inihaw na isda or grilled fish of any kind.

Malunggay fruit topped with inihaw na isda. You may also use the fruits of malunggay to make a dinengdeng. If you want to top it with a inihaw na isda, then that is better. However, this kind ofdinengdeng has fewer “sabaw” or use an smaller amount of water so that it will be more delicious.

2.    An extra-ordinary way to cook it? Mix the malunggay leaves to a noodle soup. It may sound extra-ordinary but this is good. The first time I saw this kind of preparation, I was hesitant to try but when I already tasted it, I always prepare this every morning as my breakfast. This is best to prepare if you woke late in the morning and worrying that you might be late arriving in the office.

This kind of recipe makes you ordinary noodle soup more nutritious and the malunggay nutrients will eliminate the artificial ingredients of the noodles.

I am not good in cooking, however, this are the ways on how I cook my malunggay.