Malbar Night Shade the vegetable they hate my favorite vegetable

Philippines
February 8, 2012 12:34am CST
Malbar Night Shade a.k.a Alugbati in Tagalog. Most of the provinces i went to, I could see a lot of this plant in hedges. Children playing its fruit. The leaves and stem (young ones) are my favorite of them all. I just put it inside rice cooker to steam it then add some soy then its okay to eat it! But I notice fewer people would eat it. I ask the owner of the plant if they would it eat. They would say no. Most would say same answer whenever I try to ask a house has it. I'm thinking maybe because of its muddy taste and part like sand while chewing. Its just a waste. Having this awesome plant and not eating it. I told them if you were going to choose the right part it is also taste like any other Jute leaves we common eat. It has also an excellent source of calcium and iron , some vitamin A, B C and definitely for those who want to loose weight. It has a high roughage value. Would you try to eat malbar night shade?
2 responses
• Philippines
9 Feb 12
Hi kisstin! you're damn right! actually I didn't know the english word for it until I saw this post. It's also one of my most fave veggie because of its gee whiz and unique taste, its slimy texture and most of all because of its nutritional value. It's actually a staple veggie in my hometown Cagayan De Oro City. Almost every household there has this veggie in their backyards and when the time I came here in Manila 2 years ago I was greatly surprised to discover that almost the majority of Tagalog people seems to be a poor fan of this vegetable, which is evident when you go to the markets around here- I could seldom see someone buying this veggie.
1 person likes this
• Calgary, Alberta
9 Feb 12
most people who eats this are the ones who have it planted on their backyards. i think it is not commercialized before until Ernie Baron talked about its health Benifits. this vegetable is also eaten in African countries. Americans might hesitate to eat it cos its English name have the word "night shade" on it and most members of nightshade family are poisonous but this one is not poisonous. other countries call it vine spinach.
• Calgary, Alberta
8 Feb 12
Its taste reminds me of Okra, minus the gross slimy texture. Yeah that vegetable is good. I usually boil canned mackerel with calamondin (calamansi) juice, then add these purple green goodness and its delicious. Its tastier than sweet potato greens and as crispy as swamp cabbage. Try to add it in sinigang it really works wonders. Plus it gives soups this pretty purple color.