marunggay salad express

the leaves of marunggay (moringa oleifera) or marunggi, as ilokanos fondly call it, can be prepared in a variety of ways. foremost, it is a basic, even vital, ingredient in the inabraw or dinengdeng potpourri of veggie leafy greens, shoots and tops and pods and fruits.

or as a solo marunggi broth perfect for a nutritious igup or labay.

i love it also as a leafy topping in my instant pancit mami.

it is also inevitable as a leafy mix in sauteed pinablad/boiled mongo or balatong and other dried beans/legumes or any other pusi like kardis, patani or parda. it’s even sometimes a preferred garnishing in tinola a manok if sili or paria leaves is scarce.

and of course, as a salad or kinilnat as simple as itself, slightly boiled or blanched and dipped in bugguong juice with some tomato slices or a perres of calamansi. or dressed, drenched with bugguong.

i love marunggi salad and i want it fast, quick express that my fancy way of blanching it is i just dip it whole, stalks with leaves intact, in a boiling water for a minute or two, season it, garnish it, and then enjoy it, as it is, again, with the stalks serving as a convenient stick to to hold it to your eager mouth and consume the sumptous leaves right away.

ahh, the versatility and the ilocano frugality of it all… what a gastronomic bliss!