This first post is in celebration of Jollibee's establishment (1) of a branch in Milan, which opens today.
This Philippine fast-food chain is McDonald's fiercest rival here. It has managed to branch out to other countries, and the Milan store is its first ever in Europe. It sells fried chicken as well as the rice noodle dish known as pancit palabok, with a special yellow-orange savory sauce. Both these items are beloved by Philippine expats.
It also sells its eyeroll-inducing sweet-sauce spaghetti.
Granted: it's more of a comfort food than a food enjoyed for its taste. But this kind of spaghetti has dominated other Philippine variations of spaghetti, so much so that people think of "Philippine spaghetti" as sweet.
I beg to differ. So, I prepared Spaghetti alla Moringa using actual moringa leaves from the front garden. This version has Cuban oregano (Coleus aromaticus) and basil to render the savory Mediterranean flavor, but it has sesame seeds to enhance the nutty flavor of the Moringa. I wish I had put in peanut oil instead of coconut oil, but it's still awesome.
If you want to replicate it, you need the following:
Garlic
Salt
Pepper (ground)
Cuban oregano
Basil (I used dry basil, but fresh basil might be better)
Sesame seeds
Moringa leaves
Coconut oil (for cooking)
Water
Pork (I used just 1/4 kg of pork, cut into about 1.5 cm-wide pieces longitudinally)
I used the smallest burner turned on at low heat the entire time.
I first fried the pork first using two tablespoons of coconut oil till brown. Then I sauteed garlic and oregano in the pork fat-coconut oil mixture, adding salt and pepper. After that, I poured a cup of water and let it simmer, adding the basil and sesame seeds. The oil-water mixture extracts the flavor from the garlic, oregano, pepper, basil and sesame seeds, and the flavor can only grow more intense as the water evaporates.
After some time (about 5 minutes from the addition of the sesame seeds), I put in the moringa leaves and added a half-cup of coconut oil. The presence of more oil will extract the moringa oil from the leaves and give the dish a distinct moringa flavor. After simmering for 5 more minutes, I mixed in the moringa leaves and allowed the sauce to reduce to a state where it had more oil than water.
After that, I cooked the pasta al dente, as desired. Delicious!
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I didn't describe my cooking in the usual recipe format because it's mostly flavor- and texture-providing ingredients, and I think the amount of ingredients and flavor should be adjusted to one's taste and preference. This is true for me except when the recipe calls for a strict ratio of ingredients, such as cakes and breads, because the ratio affects the food's stability. I think I will make something like that in the future, though.
The Maillard reaction (2) with pork will lead to a brown-green sauce, with the oil portion of the sauce a faint yellow-green because of the moringa. Most of the good food is actually a product of this reaction, so it won't be the last time we hear of it.
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References:
(1) http://www.agrodolce.it/2018/01/09/jollibee-fast-food-filippino-arriva-anche-in-italia/
(2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maillard_reaction