Raising a Malunggay Generation

One of the advocacies which I fully support is the one which concerns the environment. It’s so scary when you think about climate change, global warming, the melting of the ice caps, the effect of plastics and smoke belching and the disregard for energy conservation.

So what does food have to do with all these? Pay close attention, and I will tell you.

In order for the earth to cool down, or at least maybe help in the slowing down of the environment’s degradation, people need to plant trees. Yup, trees. Why? Because trees utilize all the carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide and other toxic substances that are emitted in the atmosphere. Plus, they help protect watersheds. And most of all, they provide us humans with food, not to mention oxygen.

Now, we always encourage people to plant the seed of every fruit they eat. That way, they can continue to enjoy the fruits, and so will the generations after them. Plus, we would have more trees and the earth would be a happy place once more.

A tree which is very easy to grow is the malunggay tree. Malunggay (Moringa oleifera) grows practically anywhere. It requires very little attention, and yet it gives us so much. Today, it is known as the wonder tree. Why? Mainly because of its ultra-high nutritional content. Imagine this: 7 times more vitamin C than oranges; 4 times more vitamin A than carrots; 4 times the calcium than milk; 3 times more potassium than bananas; can help lower blood sugar and cholesterol levels; is an excellent source of iron and any other minerals that the human body needs. It’s not just a wonder tree. It’s a miracle! And it is found practically in every backyard in this country.

Growing up, I usually find malunggay in dishes like ginisang kalabasa, bulanglang, suwam na mais, munggo guisado, kinunot and tinola. Also, it is a staple for pregnant and lactating mothers because of the high calcium content. However, in our neighboring countries, the malunggay is used for so much more. They produce food supplements from it. They produce biodiesel from it. They process the pods into malunggay powder, which they sprinkle on anything they consume. And they’re not just found in backyards. They are being farmed. Or used as live hedges and fences.

In the last couple of years, people took an interest in the malunggay. I remember Heny Sison was even commissioned to create recipes involving the malunggay. Now, the lowly malunggay is not just an accompanying ingredient in vegetable dishes. It has even become the star in recipes like creamy malunggay pesto (my friend Allen V. makes them, and they’re yummy!), malunggay frittata, malunggay polvoron, malunggay pasta (instead of spinach), squash & malunggay patties…

And so, if we, the present generation, would like to do something about global warming and malnutrition at the same time, let’s plant malunggay. Imagine, if every Filipino would plant just one tree a month, we would have billions of trees each year! And let’s introduce the humble leaves of the malunggay on our dining tables. And to our friends. Let us raise a generation of malunggay planters and eaters.

As a final note, let me share a tried and tested recipe:

Guinatang Kalabasa and Sitaw with Malunggay Leaves

• 2 tsp oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 100 grams shrimp (suwahe), pre-cooked and peeled
• shrimp stock (to make this, reserve the shrimp heads heads; pound and add 1 cup hot water; strain)
• 1/4 of a whole squash, peeled and sliced into 1/2" pieces
• kakang gata from 2 coconuts, divided in half
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 bundle sitaw, cut into 1/2" pieces
• salt & pepper to taste
• about 2 cups malunggay leaves

Saute garic and onions in hot oil. Add in shrimps and then the squash. Add the shrimp stock and cover pan. Allow to simmer over medium fire for about 5 minutes. Add half of the coconut milk (kakang gata) plus 1/4 cup water and simmer until squash is tender. Don't forget to stir once in a while to prevent the coconut milk from curdling.

Add the sitaw, and season with salt & pepper. Simmer for another 5 minutes. By this time, some of the liquid has evaporated. Slowly pour the remaining gata while stirring until sauce is thick. Bring to a boil (keep on stirring!). Add the malunggay leaves, cover the pan and turn off heat.

Serve with crisp daing na biya or dry salted bisugo. Crisp fried galunggong or daing na bangus (buy the small kind of both, not the big, fat ones) also goes well with this.

Tip: To make sure that you are getting the sticky kind of squash (maligat), my lola said to look for indented bottoms in whole squash and have the tindero get from there. The more indented, the more maligat it is.