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Laswa
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Laswa is the everyday soup of Ilonggo kitchens: not a restaurant dish but a home one, made with whatever the market or backyard garden offers each morning. The principle is a medley of local vegetables —sweet potato tops, okra, ampalaya, squash— simmered in a light broth thickened by the okra's own mucilage or an added thickener. Cheap, healthy and quick, it usually has a few small shrimp (hipon) for depth, though the austere versions are vegetables only.
Ingredients
- 2 cups sweet potato tops (talbos ng kamote)
- 6 okras, sliced
- 1 small ampalaya (bitter gourd), in strips
- 200 g squash, cubed
- 100 g small shrimp (hipon), optional
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch slurry or gabi leaves as thickener
- 1 small onion and 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon patis (fish sauce)
100–180 kcal per typical serving.
per bowl, with small shrimp (estimated from the typical recipe)
How it is made
- Sauté onion and garlic in a deep pot until fragrant and sweet.
- Add water or light broth and the shrimp; let them release their flavor for 3 minutes.
- Add the squash first, then the okra; simmer 6-8 minutes.
- Thicken with the dissolved cornstarch and add the ampalaya and sweet potato tops in the last 2 minutes, so they keep their color.
- Season with patis and serve right away, on its own or over rice.