Pick & pickle

The latest addition to my “I-didn’t-know-you-could-do-that!” list is pickled kangkong (water spinach). It came with our order of grilled mackerel, looking all-too familiar in that curious way that makes you doubt your eyes. “Excuse me,” I said to the waiter. “Is this what I think it is?”

Of course it was. I just wanted to be sure, you see, because kangkong has always struck me as having limited culinary use. It’s wonderful in sinigang, stir-fried with bagoong or plain soy sauce, or you could fry the leaves, battered — but what else?

Well, this, apparently. Kangkong is so abundant, I imagine that someone figured there was nothing to lose by seeing how it would take to pickling. That someone ought to have a statue built in his/her honor, because I never thought kangkong could look so sexy and taste so good. It had a nice mouthfeel, too: crunchy in that uniquely hollow fashion, and not at all limp, soggy, or slack like I expected.

The restaurant, by the way, was Ocho. We had just dropped some friends off at the Tacloban airport (at the last minute, I might add, laggards that we were) and my tummy was demanding attention after the three-hour trip. So we ventured downtown and hooked a left behind the Provincial Capitol. Or in front — I’m not really sure. The sign said we were on Senator Enage Street, which I took as a good omen, named as it was after my great-grandfather, and sure enough we soon came upon this place which looked to be doing brisk business.

Note to fellow bloggers: If you plan to take pictures of the display, pretend that your iPod is at full blast, rendering you deaf to the staff’s admonition that taking pictures is not allowed. (I didn’t have one on me so I had no excuse to keep on clicking.) Aside from that, you are guaranteed to have a wonderful meal. We certainly did. The service was prompt and courteous, the food good and downright homey, and the prices very reasonable.

Plus that pickled kangkong was a pleasant surprise. I tried to replicate it when I got back home, to excellent results. I expected nothing less.

If only I could say the same about the pictures. They sucked.

Pickled Kangkong

• 2 cups water
• 2 cups vinegar
• ¾ cup white sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
  
  
• 2 bunches kangkong
• onion
• ginger
• red bell pepper
• carrot (optional)

1. Mix water, vinegar, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly to dissolve solids. Turn off heat.
2. Wash kangkong. Drain. Remove the leaves (except for the young shoots) and the tough lower stems. Snip into bite-size pieces (use gloves to avoid getting sap on your hands).
3. Slice onion, ginger, bell pepper, and carrot into fine strips. (Try not to overwhelm the kangkong; it’s the star of the show, after all.)
4. Add kangkong and spices to the pickling liquid. Transfer to a sterilized jar, remove air bubbles (if any) with a spatula, and let cool completely before replacing the lid. Refrigerate.