Sometimes the simplest of food is the tastiest and most nutritious. On my recent trip back home to Manila I got to sample this vegetable dish called”Dinindeng“. Ate Neng kindly showed me how to prepare it. This is the Visayan version of Dinindeng and a staple of her hometown in Rombang, Belison, Antique.

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To make you will need several kinds of vegetables – alugbati (malabar spinach), saluyot (jute), sitaw (yard beans), talong (eggplant), kalabasa (squash) and okra. First, boil about 4-5 cups water in a medium size pot. Once it boils, add a medium sized chopped red onion and about 2 pieces of diced roma tomatoes. Then add 2 Tbsp fish sauce or salt to flavor the broth. Add the vegetables beginning with the hardiest, first add the cubed squash and let it cook for several minutes, then the okra and eggplant. Once these vegetables are tender you may add your leafy greens. Just let this cook for a minute or so, you don’t want to overcook it.

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Ladle into bowls and serve hot. We ate this with steamed rice and fried fish.

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P.S. Alternatively, Ate Neng said you can add the fried fish directly on the cooked vegetables before serving to make the dish more flavorful.