Ginataang Malunggay Recipe! - The Bicolano Way

We, Bicolanos are not just famous for our Bicol Express, our sili-infested dishes, but also for our wide range of dishes that includes "gata" or coconut milk.

One of which is our dish for today, this ginataang malunggay or as we call it in Bicol, "Gulay na kalunggay". Don't forget that accent! haha!

One thing I observed as I am living here in Manila for 6 years now is that they put maybe just a cup of malunggay leaves on their dishes as accompaniment for their ginataang papaya or tinola. I'm like, dude! that's too little! In Bicol, we cook it purely. meaning, we like to use a lot of malunggay leaves then add some protein like fish, dried fish, maybe some pork, chicken or beef but they are of lesser quantity compared to our malunggay leaves which is like the "rice" of that certain viand. Well, except for our infamous kinunot, my Kababayans like to put the same amount of shredded shark meat or "pagi"  (stingray) which basically makes the dish really thick and oozing of our favorite "kalunggay". 

Photo from Moringa Vinga Website

The Bicolano version of every ginataang dish is my favorite among every ginataang dish there is. A Bicolano that has lived in Bicol can taste the difference! Also not to mention the wide range of health benefits that malunggay have. I also would like to point out that almost every Bicolano household has this "Kudkudan" or pangkayod in Tagalog. It's sort of a machine haha. It's basically like a very low, slim chair where you sit down and has a blade at the forward edge where you grate your coconut. It also takes a lot of strength and practice for one to master it. I'm proud to say that your girl knows how to use it HAHAHA.  In the province, though since there is an abundance of malunggay, one can just ask some from neighbors, while here in Manila it's a rarity in groceries, if there are, it's a tad expensive too! I miss the province!

What's also amazing is that almost every vegetable dish in Bicol can be cooked easily, in just one pot or pan. And I think that's the best part. That's a big, time-saver ;-) 

So, here's our simple yet very tasty recipe for today. I use the power of estimate always when cooking so good luck guys HAHAHA

INGREDIENTS:

Malunggay (lots, with the leaves removed from the branches)
Coconut Milk or Coconut Cream (I prefer the latter, you can squeeze some fresh coconut, or you can use some commercial ones from the stores)
Garlic (crushed)
Onion (sliced)
Siling Haba
Salt
Protein (fish, dried fish, shrimp, chicken, pork or beef bits, really up to you)

Photo from Jamaicahospital.org

PROCEDURE: 

1. In a pan or a wok, place your coconut milk,  garlic, onion, siling haba, your proteins. Salt it then let it boil. 

2. As your coconut heats up, you need to continuously stir it slowly so the water will not separate from the coconut cream itself. It will prevent coagulation. (This technique I learned from dad) 

3. When the coconut milk boils, place your malunggay leaves, making sure that the leaves are submerged in the coconut milk. Some leaves will stick on your ladle and on the sides of the pan, place them back in that milk lol. Just also make sure not to stir them too roughly or too much, this will make your leaves bitter. 

4. Malunggay leaves are cooked approximately 5 minutes after boiling. Just check if your proteins are cooked through. You will also know if the leaves are cooked. At this stage, you can also taste it if it needs more salt. Sometimes I like to add in a bit of brown sugar for a slight sweetness. But most of the time, this thick coconut cream is already perfect so it already does the job. 

5. Remove from the heat then serve. You can also slice some kalamansi and drizzle them on your ginataang malunggay. I like doing that. 

The dish I made yesterday as shown in the first photo should have more Malunggay leaves but the leaves that I got from the grocery are beat up. I also used the whole pouch of coconut milk cause it's a waste if I throw it away as I am not planning to cook gata-infused dishes in the next 3 days. 

So that's it! Happy cooking everyone! I hope you'll enjoy this recipe! Comment your techniques in cooking "gata" below! See you!