New Veggies In Our Kitchens

There has been an influx of new produce in the market for the last few decades; these are still unfamiliar and considered foreign, especially by the masses who classify them as “pangmayaman” or high class.

Among these are beets, broccoli, asparagus, zucchini, American spinach, iceberg lettuce, romaine and red-colored lettuces. Although the new lettuces command premium prices in supermarkets and organic stalls, they are practically given away free at the end of the sales day in Baguio wholesale stations and at Divisoria because they’re unknown and unaccepted by the lower and middle class shoppers.

GOURMET LETTUCE – Until very recently, Filipinos were familiar with only two types of lettuce. Most common is letsugas Tagalog, the loose leaf variety used in lumpiang sariwa (fresh spring roll); less popular with the masses is iceberg lettuce, known locally as letsugas Baguio, reserved for sandwiches and green salads.

Among the newly-introduced varieties available at select high-end tiangge and delis are Romaine, Bibb, dark-tipped Oak Leaf, Lolla Rosa (red curly variety), Cobb and light green curled leaf varieties for sandwiches, Korean BBQ wraps and shabu-shabu or hotpots.

BROCCOLI-- Nutritionists label it as a superfood linked to preventing and controlling Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, calcium deficiencies, stomach and colon cancer, malignant tumors, lung cancer, heart disease, arthritis, and even the aging process.

Pinoys correctly identify broccoli with cauliflower – combining and interchanging the two in pancit and chopsuey. When a popular fastfood chain popularized Beef Broccoli in Oyster Sauce, the dish became such a hit that a brand of oyster sauce is now retailed in sachet packs. With new popularity and acceptance, broccoli’s price in public markets has soared far above cauliflower.

ZUCCHINI—Ordinary Filipinos are puzzled by the zucchini, which started being cultivated in the Philippines only in the last couple of years. “Mestisong pipino, upo at patola” is how they describe it, so they’re at a loss on what dishes to add it to.

After much experimenting, I have identified several Filipino favorites that zucchini is perfect for: inabraw or bulanglang, pinakbet, miswa (instead of patola), chopsuey (julienned instead of sliced crosswise), okoy (seeded, sliced like matchsticks), torta (grated into and mixed with potatoes), ginisang sardinas (instead of mustasa, ampalaya or pechay).

The secret with zucchini is picking fruit that is young, dense, heavy and seedless or with very small seeds. Do not peel nor soak in salted water like some cookbooks advice.

BAGUIO SPINACH – Different from the Chinese spinach that’s been available in public markets for many decades, what is known as Baguio Spinach (because of where it is grown) has thicker leaves and fleshier stems. The stems and leaves are shipped in one-kilo packs wrapped in newspapers to keep them dry and maintain freshness.

Initially propagated and sold mainly for hotels and restaurants, this type of spinach has now found acceptance in a growing number of Filipino kitchens where the leaves and young stems are added to native dishes.

In our household, spinach is more acceptable to the young generation instead of ampalaya leaves in ginisang munggo. Because my hands are very sensitive to the microscopic hairs in gabi leaves, I use spinach leaves instead when preparing laing.

Other Tagalog dishes which can use spinach in lieu of other leaves are: tinola (in place of sili or malunggay), sinigang (to replace kangkong or kamote tops) and pinakbet.

ASPARAGUS – Fresh asparagus has only been available in the Philippines since the early 1990s, when parts of Mindanao were picked by Japanese agricultural giants for the contract growing of green asparagus spears, mainly for shipment to Japan, the home country of their financiers and contractors. Before this turn of events, generations of Filipinos knew asparagus only from canned soups and canned stalks in brine.

Annually, thousands of tons of asparagus grown in Mindanao are sorted, packed for retail in Japanese supermarkets, and shipped by air.  Only spears that meet the grade for exports, in size, color and quality, are exported.

The rest of the harvest, amounting to tons daily, stay in the Philippines where enterprising businessmen pick the second best from among the rejects. These are trimmed, weighed and held together by rubber bands in 500-gram bunches.

Asparagus consumption in the Philippines will definitely shoot up once it becomes common knowledge that for thousands of years, the pricey shoots have been venerated in Mediterranean cultures for their aphrodisiac effects.

With asparagus, the first thing I do is throw them in a pot of boiling water, where they are blanched for 30 seconds until they turn green. They’re drained and immersed in very cold or iced water until they are chilled, then drained and kept in the fridge until ready to use. This procedure stops the spears from maturing further and allows for a longer shelf life.

The blanched asparagus take well to garlic butter, browned butter, white sauce, oyster sauce, cheese sauce or any salad dressing.

By SOL VANZI

mb.com.ph

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