Saturday, November 14, 2009

Are There Alternative Vegetables For Kangkong?


Kangkong, in English is water spinach, swamp cabbage, water convolvulus or water morning-glory, and has many other names in other languages. It is found throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world but not known exactly where it originated.

Filipinos love “Sinigang” (Soured-soup meal) but you’d find most of the people from other countries wouldn’t like the taste and the idea of making a soup sour. Sinigang is a famous dish in the Philippines with variety ingredients. Kangkong is the main vegetable ingredient of sinigang. We also use Kamote (sweet potato)tops with stem (Ipomea Batata, Linn) for the fish sinigang version instead of Kangkong.

There are different versions of Sinigang. You can have fish, pork, chicken, shrimp, or even beef as the main ingredient. You can also choose whether to use tamarind or calamansi to make it sour. Some would use Kamias or guava.

During my three weeks stay in America two years ago, I would say those were the times I really appreciated Filipino dishes more and craved for them all the time. So when our friends cooked for us “sinigang na baboy” (pork version sinigang) and grilled fish, it was like bringing our home to America. I was surprised that Filipinos there can still find the ingredients for Filipino dishes. They go to a Vietnamese market to buy stuffs like okra, Kangkong leaves, and even tamarind soup powder from Manila.

You can find Kangkong from India and asian countries but how about in other countries where Kangkong does not exist? Filipinos are also known as resourceful individuals to find ways so they won’t miss tasting Pinoy’s delicacies.

Here are some options:

Lettuce (not the one used in salad)

Spinach leaves

How to Cook Sinigang na Hipon (Shrimp Sinigang)
Ingredients:

1 Kilo Shrimp – 1/4 kilo of Tamarind/Sampalok – 1 Onion – diced – 3 Tomatoes – quartered sliced – 2 pieces Radish regular size – sliced – 1 bundle of Sitaw – 1 bundle Kangkong – cut into 2″ long – 3 pieces long green chilli – Salt or Patis to taste – Water

Cooking procedure: 1. Boil Tamarind in water to soften. Mash and extract all juices and set aside. 2. In a casserole, boil water and Tamarind juice, onions, tomatoes and Radish. 3. Lower fire then add in Shrimps, Kangkong, Sitaw and green long chilli. Simmer it for 5 minutes. 4. Season with salt or fish sauce (patis).

Best served hot with fish sauce as dip.



“Always give glory to the Highest Throne, our Maker.”

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