Lasang Pinoy

Posted on May 30, 2007 under Daily Memorables |

I have been an avid reader (and closet fan :D) of Toni’s blog for quite some time. So when I read the Lasang Pinoy 18: Oh My Gulay!, I knew I had an interesting topic to share about my love for Pinoy veggies.

You might be suprised that my favorite vegetable of all time (yes, Im overreacting, but it’s true!) is the ampalaya (bitter gourd) :). Yep, you read that right. I love eating ampalaya. My love affair with this veggie dated back as far as my memory can take me. When I was five years old, my Dad had this rule during meal times - we should have one serving (one takal as he calls it) of each prepared vegetable every meal. If we didnt finish it within 10-15 minutes into the meal, he would add another serving (or takal). Those days, the vegetables we always see on our table were: mongo, ginataang kalabasa and sitaw, string beans, the usual potatoes and carrots seen in tomato-based meals, and ampalaya. My brother absolutely hated it! I was then a kid who was afraid of getting punished so I just finished off my meals - a task which was not really hard for me ;).

But then, I grew to love to eat it. Most especially if the ampalaya is sliced really thin and cooked with scrambled eggs. Pair it off with a daing na bangus and I might never finish eating. I notice there are lot of variations of cooking ampalaya, but my Mom has taught me how to cook it so that it wont be so bitter tasting. I think the secret it to scrub the veggie first with salt before slicing it really thin. And as what my Dad has always said, “Ang pagluluto, naguumpisa sa masarap na ginisa. Dapat di sunog ang bawang and ang sibuyas madami!”.

There you have it, my favorite Pinoy vegetable! I wish I can share a recipe but alas, Im not a really good cook!

9 Comments so far »

by Glo , on May 30 2007 @ 10:50 pm

hay naku i’ll never eat ampalaya siguro.

We had the same deal ni Mamu when I was growing up. Actually meron pa nga pag pakbet at diningding ang ulam, susubuan nya kami ng naka-kamay. O diba la choice!

Now I eat, talong and okra with no problem.

Ang mga di ko kinakain, yung saluyot, ampalaya at ang una sa listahan ang mabahong toge.

LOL!
by caryl , on May 31 2007 @ 5:59 pm

OMG Aggie! I HATE amplaya but I love cooking it kasi gusto ng hubby ko.
by Wifely Steps » Blog Archive » LP 18: Oh My Gulay! Vegetable Parade (The Round-Up) , on June 1 2007 @ 12:02 am

[…] Aggie tells of how her Dad’s strict rules on eating vegetables turned her from a vegetable hater to a vegetable lover, particularly for ampalaya. […]
by Lisa , on June 1 2007 @ 10:12 am

Wow. I had never heard of ampalaya. You do learn something new every day.
by kaoko , on June 1 2007 @ 2:09 pm

Ampalaya omelette? Pwede, methinks this will be interesting, since I’m one of those people who’d rather not eat ampalaya.
by Rach , on June 1 2007 @ 3:09 pm

I like eating ampalaya in pinakbet and thinly sliced ampalaya with scrambled egg. But I have yet to discover other interesting ampalaya recipes.

I like your Dad’s rule on the dinner table. I might try it on my son since he doesn’t seem to be fond of eating veggies. Thanks for sharing.
by dhey , on June 1 2007 @ 3:20 pm

ahaha… we will never hear the end of it. and the wonders of ampalaya. every mom wants us to eat it. kaya kung ano-ano naiimbentong luto sa kanya. hehehe…
by iska , on June 1 2007 @ 6:31 pm

Hi Aggie! We have the same memories of ampalaya And it’s been a long time since I cooked it with eggs. Myman will eat this veggie only if it’s pakbet. Yeah, how weird!
by ces , on June 2 2007 @ 3:39 am

interesting story! good for you aggie it’s your favorite gulay! we all know the nutrients we get from it…ako, i eat it but it doesn’t come on top of my list..hehe..