Sautéed Vegetable with Alugbati is not your usual vegetable dish recipe. What make this unusual is the use of alugbati leaves. I bet only few knows that this is an edible leaves. From what I found out, alugbati is also known as Malabar spinach.
My dad always add this to his vegetable dish instead malunggay. We used to have this in our backyard so he always have this in our vegetable. However, nowadays this is a scarcity and a bit expensive.
My mom told us that she only ate this when she married my dad. She even joked my dad that they used to feed it to their cows before. She only found out that it’s edible through my dad which is an Ilonggo.
Alugbati is a great substitute to malunggay. We often add this to sautéed vegetables, sardines and even pork. What makes alugbati delicious is its crispy texture. Even when cooked, it can maintain its subtle crispiness compared to other leafy vegetables.
Today, my dad ask me what do we want for lunch. I don’t have any idea and I’m too lazy to cook since our house is in a mess due to renovation. I just quickly told him some vegetable dish and fried fish. So when he came, I saw him in the kitchen and I knew exactly what he’s going to cook. So, I took over the kitchen and did my routine.
Tips
This Sautéed Vegetable with Alugbati uses ground pork to flavor the broth. However, canned sardines in tomato sauce is also a great substitute. You can basically use other vegetables like mung beans, squash and eggplants. This is also a great side dish for your fried or grilled fish.
For more vegetable dishes check out our Vegetable Recipes.
Ingredients
| 250 grams | Ground Pork |
| 1/2 cup | Water |
| 4 Tablespoons | Olive Oil |
| 8 cloves | Garlic, chopped |
| 1 piece | Onion, chopped |
| 4 pieces | Tomatoes, diced |
| 1/4 cup | Water |
| 1/4 teaspoon | Ground Black Pepper |
| 3 Tablespoons | Fish Sauce |
| 1 piece | Beef Bouillon Cube |
| 1 1/2 cups | Water |
| 8 pieces | Okra, halved |
| 6 pieces | Bitter Gourd, deseeded and halved |
| 12 pieces | Yard Long Beans, cut into 4-inch long |
| 4 cups | Alugbati Leaves |
| Fish Sauce to Taste |
Procedure
In a pan, combine ground pork and water. Cover and pan and simmer until the pork render its own fat and the water evaporates. Sauté pork until golden brown.
Using the same pan, sauté garlic, and onion in olive oil. Add tomatoes and water. Let it simmer until the tomatoes are soft. Mash the tomatoes using the back of your wooden spoon.
Season with ground black pepper, fish sauce and bouillon cube. Pour water and let it simmer for 10 minutes.
Add okra, bitter gourd and yard long beans. Simmer for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are half cooked.
Add the alugbati leaves and season with fish sauce. Simmer for another 5 minutes with lid on the pan.
Sautéed Vegetable with Alugbati
Ingredients
- 250 grams Ground Pork
- 1/2 cup Water
- 4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 8 cloves Garlic, chopped
- 1 piece Onion, chopped
- 4 pieces Tomatoes, diced
- 1/4 cup Water
- 1/4 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 3 Tablespoons Fish Sauce
- 1 piece Beef Bouillon Cube
- 1 1/2 cups Water
- 8 piece Okra, halved
- 6 pieces Bitter gourd, deseeded and halved
- 12 pieces Yard Long Beans, cut into 4-inch long
- 4 cups Alugbati Leaves
- Fish Sauce to taste
Instructions
- In a pan, combine ground pork and water. Cover and pan and simmer until the pork render its own fat and the water evaporates. Sauté pork until golden brown.
- Using the same pan, sauté garlic, and onion in olive oil. Add tomatoes and water. Let it simmer until the tomatoes are soft. Mash the tomatoes using the back of your wooden spoon.
- Season with ground black pepper, fish sauce and bouillon cube. Pour water and let it simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add okra, bitter gourd and yard long beans. Simmer for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are half cooked.
- Add the alugbati leaves and season with fish sauce. Simmer for another 5 minutes with lid on the pan.
