• Description

Vernacular Names: heya lebati (T'boli), wild ampalaya, ampalaya

Parts utilized as vegetable and availability: fruits, shoots, leaves

Cultivated/Foraged: gathered

Habitat: garden, farm, forest, surroundings, river

Availability: after clearing the land;
all year round;
anytime

Other uses: medicine for anemia;
leaf extract helps to remove phlegm;
cure for anemia, diabetes and remove phlegm

Dishes:amapalaya with egg, Sautéed salad with fish paste, law-uy (leaves), Sautéed (leaves), salad (leaves), nilaga (fruit), sinugba (fruit), sauteed vegetables

Semia Lemnaw

Ingredients

• ½ pc chayote or s’yuti fruit, peeled and cubed (Sechium edule)
• ½ cup squash or kalabasa fruit, cubed (Cucurbita moschata)
• 1 pc eggplant or talong fruit, cubed (Solanum melongena)
• ½ pc bitter gourd or ampalaya fruit, cored and cubed (Momordica charantia)
• 1 cup sponge gourd or kwa/patola, peeled and sliced (Luffa cylindrica)
• ½ cup black nightshade or koti leaves (Solanum americanum)
• 1 smoked fish or tinapa, flaked
Alternative: 1 can sardines, sauce discarded
• 1 medium head shallot or sibuyas, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic or ahos, crushed
• cooking oil or mantika
• seasoning
• salt

Procedure

1. Sautee garlic and onions with tinapa or sardines.
2. Add fruit vegetables – chayote, squash, eggplant, bitter gourd and sponge gourd – and cover with enough water.
3. Add koti leaves 1 minute after the water starts to boil.
4. Continue to boil until fruit vegetables are all cooked/tender.

Pinakbet

Ingredients

Kalabasa
Ampalaya
Sitaw
Bunga ng malunggay
Alamang

Procedure