Fried Tofu with Malunggay Leaves

Just last tuesday, I felt like being adventurous and so I tried to experiment a new dish... Tada! "Fried tofu with malunggay leaves"

Ingredients:

1 bundle of malunggay (Moringa oleifera) leaves (~3 cups)

2 small cubes of tofu, cut into fours (tokwa)

a thumb-sized ginger, diced

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

2-3 cups water

salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:
1. Fry the tofu then set aside.
2. Saute the garlic and onion on a saucepan.
3. Add the malunggay, water, ginger and fried tofu.
4. Season to taste then bring to a boil until leaves are cooked.

The verdict:
Haha, well, the dish I made was a bit blunt. But I guess you can add mushrooms to give it more flavor. During this times I missed the flavor meat or meat broth gives, but hey! I already made a commitment to be an ovo-lacto vegetarian and I'll definitely take "blunt meals" as a challenge to improve my cooking skills. lol. xD

Malunggay Miracle

Malunggay (Moringa oleifera) is one of the recently becoming famous "miracle vegetable" of the Philippines. The once left-out tree that grew anywhere where there is soil, was researched by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and was found out to be loaded with nutrients and antioxidants. The Philippine Information Agency stated that Malunggay leaves contain

"7 times the vitamin C of orange"

"4 times the vitamin A of carrots"

"4 times the calcium of milk"

"3 times the potassium of bananas"

"2 times the protein of yogurt"

No wonder, pregnant and lactating Filipino women were told by their grandmothers to eat malunggay as often as possible. You can see Cris' blog about the ways on how to use malunggay and my favorite is "how to make malunggay powder". Moringa powder can be used as seasoning to any dish you prefer. Interestingly enough, there are ongoing businesses from the leaves of this humble tree. Visit inquirer.net or biotech for details.

As for the taste-value of this vegetable.. I say it's much like spinach.. Compared to the nutritional benefits of ampalaya (bittermelon), I say malunggay can be comparable, and even tastes better than bittermelon. :P