Getting savvy with it

“Manang,” I tell the help, “can you get me some of that, uh… you know, that leaf from the garden?”

“That that?” Later: “You mean this?”

“That.”

“It” has a proper name: Gynura procumbens. In English, longevity spinach. Also according to StuartXchange, Igorots call this vine sabuñgai. Locally, however, I have yet to meet someone who is familiar with it to the extent of knowing its name in the dialect.

The ones blooming in our garden — they are very easy to propagate from cuttings — came from a specimen I purchased at the Pabulhon fair three months ago. Because of the plant’s many reputed health benefits (among them anti-inflammatory, anti-hypretensive, and anti-diabetic), I have been trying to sneak the leaves into several dishes. They are the ones featured in the Thai-inspired pomelo salad pictured in the previous post, standing in for lettuce (recipe; I added a teaspoon of sugar to the vinaigrette). Raw, its leaves taste like guava’s, with a hint of bitterness but pleasantly so. Takes some getting used to, I must admit.

Here they are in an open-faced tuna sandwich I had this morning:

Now a tip. Use white bread if you have that. The brioche was too much of a textural distraction, not to mention made with lots of eggs and butter. (Go easy on the mayo, too.) Aside from using the leaves as garnish, chiffonaded some to toss with the tuna-mayo mixture. Most of what I have read online suggest you need to consume 5-8 raw leaves daily to get the most of their health benefits.

As for putting them in pizza, well, that can’t make the dish any unhealthier, no? Or have it taste better (or worse), either. Elsewhere, they are fine in a law-oy (vegetable stew), although not so much in tinowa (fish soup) — they are too thick and rough. Pesto sounds promising.

By the way, it is said that some unscrupulous sellers are passing off Gynura procumbens as Angelica keiskei or ashitaba, another supposedly “miracle” plant whose health benefits are not necessarily the same, so here is where you get to make good use of, uh, you know… your Internet savvy. I assume you are at least familiar with what a bookmark is. Or you can practice here, now. We all have to start somewhere.