The problem with polonchay

I have on occasion been chided for cooking with ingredients that are not available locally (or even in the broader domestic market). The implication being that I have no business sharing recipes with “ordinary” cooks here at home whose kitchens are not as well stocked.

What can I say? Some people collect shoes. Or bags. My mother likes frog-themed knickknacks. I go for books. And condiments (particularly patis or fish sauce) of fine quality. Why should I feel bad about providing my family with the best culinary experience that I can muster? Isn’t that what every kusinero or kusinera aspires to?

I have seen people make very good food with whatever basic ingredients are available to them. That’s a cook’s greatest asset right there (although I myself can not claim to be that cook). The dish pictured here, for example, has four ingredients: polonchay (Chinese spinach), garlic, salt, and pepper. Very simple, except for the fact that polonchay is not available locally. We have tangkong (water spinach) and alugbati (vine spinach), but not Chinese spinach. A pity, really, because I much prefer polonchay to alugbati (slimy) or tangkong (a tad tough).

(By the way, polonchay belongs to the amaranth family. I only mention this to avoid confusion with Chinese tangkong, which is of the morning glory family and very common here.)

Now here’s the interesting thing: I bought the polonchay at Metro Ayala in Cebu. From the sticker, I deduced that the spinach came from a company called “JJ,” which also supplies the vegetables sold at the similarly-owned local Metro. So the question is, how come we don’t get polonchay here? Or garlic scapes, for that matter? They can’t be any harder or more delicate to transport than the greens we do get (like sorry-looking lettuce, and, oddly enough, regular spinach), so it can only be due to the same reason we don’t get peanut oil, black vinegar, hon-dashi, and decent fish sauce.

How hard can it be to grow polonchay? I’m about to find out (I purchased a pack of seeds). At least it’s very easy to cook. Soak cleaned spinach in cold water to firm them up, then drain well. Fry minced garlic in a tablespoon of vegetable oil over low heat. When golden, remove garlic from oil and set aside. Turn heat up to high, add spinach, and sauté to evenly coat with oil. Cook two minutes or until wilted, season with salt and pepper, remove to a plate, and top with fried garlic. Serve hot.

This is one healthy dish. The thing is, it pairs extremely well with fatty food like grilled pork belly. I have no problem admitting guilt to doing just that. There — everybody happy now?