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Garlic Alugbati

I love alugbati! It's my favorite leafy vegetable though not as popular as kamote or kangkong tops for outside outside the region. It is known as malabar nightshade/spinach with a distinguishable red stem. It is usually paired with squash and meat/seafood for a simple yet delicious dish. It can also be  part of a laswa dish or as greens to ginisang monggo. But it is yummy on its own - boiled or stir-fried with another favorite - fried garlic.
Here's a simple Garlic Alugbati recipe

Ingredients
  • 2 bundles Alugbati, washed and "stemmed"
  • Garlic, fried before hand or bought
  • Salt and pepper
  • Oil
  • Water
How to make Garlic Alugbati
  1. In a pan, place alugbati leaves then add a small amount of water. Cover and cook until the "consistency" you want half cooked or until "tender"
  2. Season with salt and pepper.
  3. Add a little oil and mix
  4. Finally add fried garlic and mix. 
  5. Serve topped with more garlic.
A perfect side dish to a grilled or fried meat of fish but also delicious on its own. This recipe is also applicable to other leafy vegetables like kamote, kangkong and pechay. And you can tweak the recipe to suit your taste. Extra rice, please!

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