buridibod is a typical ilokano dish. and it’s truly a unique ilokano specialty to concoct what’s sweet and sweetish and pulpy with a variety of leafy green veggies. or some vegetable blossoms and fruits. ilokanos love their vegetable soup somewhat sweet or sweety, the magnificent blending of sweetness and saltiness of the blessed bugguong. a sweety, pulpy soup so bugguongy fragrant and that distinct leafy raw scent that’s so perfect for igup (soup to consume exclusively through spoonfuls or usually taken through the rim of the bowl), and labay (soup to go with rice) as well, to please a not so finicky but just characteristic ilokano palate.

any edible roots will do with this delicacy. camote or sweet potato is popular. and so with marunggay leaves, petchay, paria (bitter melon) leaves and tops, kalunay or kuantong (spinach and amaranth), and camote tops itself, and other leafy greens. but it also is known, buridibod still, with other root crops like aba (yam), tugi, buga, kamangeg, ube, balinghoy or kamoteng kahoy (cassava, yuca, or manioc) and others.

alukon or alokon (allaeanthus glaber) is also a popular ingredient. either blossoms or young leaves. but the flowers is preferred. the young fruit of the singkamas plant (jicama) is also a perfect ingredient, as well as the young fruit of the marunggay tree. i even sagpaw (add in) tarong (eggplant) especially the smaller and younger fruit (busel). or even young parda pods and kardis (kadios) young beans. it’s up to your ilokano instinct to add a variety of available vegetables.

buridibod1

my buridibod here is typically camote, marunggay and alukon. it’s alukon season when i made this dish. instead of the usual alukon and sauteed pinablad a balatong (boiled mongo beans) combination, or alukon in a pinakbet, i decided a buridibod when i spotted these lovely white and purple sweet potatoes and these freshly picked marunggay stalks.

alukoncloseup

i just love alukon blossoms. these are the kababai blossoms (female). there are two alukons that i know. the kababai and the kalalaki (male), just like papayas. and mind you, i like the kalalaki alukon more. its flowers (or is its fruit?) are roundish and aptly, resembles the human male testicles, complete with pubic hair-like, well, hairs that grew out of the flower/fruit’s pores. for me, it’s more edible than the kabaian alukon flower. but you can’t find male alukon flowers sold in markets, only the kabaian ones. i wonder why. we used to have a kabaian and kalakian alukon trees in my place in nueva vizcaya. but the kalakian tree is already cut down for pagtungo (firewood).

anyway, here’s how i came with my buridibod: i boiled some water in a pot for the bugguong. i peeled the camotes and cut them in to cubes. washed the alukon, and rinsed and segregated the marunggay leaves. after the bugguong is boiled for some time, i put in the camote cubes first and let it cook. here, you can prefer your buridibod somewhat drier or soft and pulpy. if you want a pulpy buridibod, boil the camotes some more or you can mash it by using a ladle. but mash it not too mushy so enough broth remain. you have to retain enough broth for your souping purposes. when the camotes are cooked, i put in the alukon blossoms, i let it cook for some time and then, just before serving, i put in the marunggay leaves. do not overcook the marunggay.

here’s the result:

buridibod2

a closeup:

buridibod3closeup

what a heavenly viand to go with your rice!