What are your 5 Favorite Vegetables?

Foreigners often ask me why Filipinos seem to have so few vegetable dishes, probably judging from their experiences at Filipino restaurants, which almost always feature a paltry list of overexposed local dishes such as pinakbet, adobong kangkong, chop suey, ginisang ampalaya, tortang talong, etc. Prior to starting this blog, I was often finding myself nodding in agreement, believing we had a limited list of vegetable dishes and often they featured overcooked and unappetizing looking vegetables. But over the last few years, I have discovered many interesting vegetable dishes and salads and I think our local restaurants have really under-represented this part of the Pinoy cuisine. I find that, in fact, the vast majority of non-city dwellers eat some vegetables nearly every day, in the humblest of soups to the fanciest of dishes. We are, after all, still heavily agriculturally based, so it should come as no surprise that we eat a lot of vegetables. In fact, if you do a cursory listing of vegetables, it would include beans, vines and tendrils, flowers, leaves, greens, herbs, gourds, tubers, parts of trees, in addition to the most common vegetables such as potatoes, onions, carrots, pechay, sitaw, etc.

So my question is, what are your 5 favorite vegetables? And let’s keep them to vegetables that are readily available in the Philippines. I can’t say they are local because so many of our vegetables were introduced during the colonial period and now farms have started raising produce that would have been unthinkable 20 years ago… like nice asparagus, capsicums, broccoli, etc. What are the vegetables that you could eat often, in different types of recipes, and might love even as much or more than meat and fish? What are your five favorite vegetables? Many thanks for your thoughts on this…

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Marketman

Marketman is a well-traveled management consultant who loves buying, cooking and eating good food. Read more »

163 Responses

  2. Eggplants
    Talbos ng Sayote
    Ampalaya
    Labanos (Radish)
    Monggo (is this even a vegetable? If not…)
    Kalabasa (Squash)

    You’re right on the restaurant bit. To get a taste of the vegetable life, you really have to go to the provinces. :3

  3. Need to start eating more of my veggies, I must admit! I absolutely love these 5 simple (and cheap veggies) though:

    Okra (in pinakbet or steamed with a good bagoong)

    Eggplant (the small round ones in pinakbet or torta or plain fried, eaten with my favorite Pampanga’s Best tocino)

    Cabbage (in pochero, in nilaga, in lumpia etc etc etc)

    Carrots (whether cooked, fresh or juiced)

    Patola (definitely with misua)

  6. Kalabasa (risotto,soup,stir fry,casseroles,sweets)
    Sitaw
    Talbos (be it kamote, sitaw, sayote)
    Monggo
    Talong

  8. Okra (steamed with bagoong)
    Sitaw (sauted with pork)
    Talong (grilled for torta)
    Patola (sauted with crab meat)
    Ampalaya (steamed with bagoong)

  12. talbos(all kinds)
    eggplant(ihaw,torta,steamed,salad,etc)
    beans(sitaw or french)
    spinach or all green leafy vegies
    camote(baked,bbq,in springrolls or fresh lumpia,ukoy)

  14. Readily available in the Philippines… hmmm… thinking… thinking… back to my childhood…

    pechay
    kangkong
    sayote
    carrots
    sitaw

    If I were to remove the Philippine restriction…

    arugula
    pechay
    spinach
    carrots
    bell peppers (i know these are readily available in the Philippines, but the “local” ones just plain suck)

  15. Malunggay..really!
    Ampalaya
    Talong (eggplant)
    Bean Sprouts (to-ge or is it tau-ge)
    Choy
    I love vegetables, all but brocolli.

  18. I was raised-up to love veggies so there are lots I like but limited to 5 I’d say:

    pechay
    pako (fern)
    lato or arrosep (seaweed)
    sampaloc leaves and flowers
    kalabasa

  20. 1. Malunggay
    2. Talong
    3. Sigarilyas
    4. Brocolli
    5. Kalabasa
    6. Mongo
    7. Kamote tops

    Unfortunately for me, I’ve been eating malunggay only when I’m in the province. I’ve never chanced upon fresh-looking malunggay in supermarkets and I rarely go to wet markets for grocery. MM, please do tell if you know of a good source of malunggay that is not you neighbor’s front or backyard :).

  27. Bunga at Dahon ng Malunggay
    Bunga at Dahon ng Ampalaya
    Sitaw
    Bunga at Dahon ng Sayote
    Kalabasa
    Talong
    Sigarilyas
    Alugbati
    Pechay

  37. ampalaya shoots
    squash flowers
    cassava shoots.

    my laptop’s on a fritz.. posting once, twice, then tihs.
    readers, sorry for the glitch! ;(

  38. hmmm… top in my list:
    – green papaya
    – ampalaya
    – kangkong
    – string beans
    – cabbage
    then all other veggies except okra

  39. Mga Paboritong Gulay na Pinoy:
    1. Kalabasa (Squash) – Usually in the form of a soup.
    2. Talong (Eggplant) – Kahit anong luto, basta masarap.
    3. Puso ng Saging (Banana Blossoms) – In Kare Kare.
    4. Ube (Purple Yam) – Ube Halaya.
    5. Kamoteng Kahoy (Cassava) – Cassava cake.

  44. 1. eggplant
    2. potatoes
    3. cabbage / lettuce
    3. onion (is that considered a vegetable)
    4. garlic (another vegetable?)
    5. are herbs vegetables? (especially the strong ones like parsley, basil, etc.)

  48. My 5 favourite vegetables are:
    1. puso ng saging (yung green ang balat hindi yung pula, sa kare-kare)
    2. ubod ng coconut (sa sariwang lumpia)
    3. sigarillas (sa sinigang o sa gata)
    4. eggplant (sa torta)
    5. okra (steamed lang na may bagoong balayan at kalamansi).

  62. white corn (yes, vegetable in some dishes for me)
    talbos ng sayote/chayote
    cauliflower
    mushrooms
    gabi

  68. My top faves:
    1. Ampalaya
    2. Kankong
    3. Talbos ng Kamote (steamed with bagoong and patis!)
    4. Pechay
    5. Saluyot leaves

  72. oh boy this is gonna be more than 5…

    kalabasa, including the flowers
    talbos ng kamote and fiddlehead ad anything that goes in a salad with suka at kamatis
    kangkong and spinach
    anything that goes with gata like talong, okra, sigarillas
    broccoli, cauliflower
    asparagus
    artichokes- but are they available locally?

  76. > okra
    > alugbati (pinoy version of spinach but i love our version best)
    > broccoli
    > bokchoy
    > asparagus
    > string beans

    —correct me if im wrong, but isnt tomato a fruit not a veggie?

  79. okra
    talbos ng kamote, kangkong
    malunggay
    monggo
    sigarilyas
    talong

    at miss namiss ko na dahil wala dito except for monggo and talong….

  80. Tomato is technically a fruit but is used as a vegetable in most countries except Korea where the tomato is served as dessert (as a fruit).

    1. malunggay
    2. talong
    3. okra
    4. kangkong
    5. langka (green kind)

  83. Wow! Getting lots of comments/replies, this one. =)

    Corn!!! Chunky chowder with dahon ng sili
    Okra!! boiled/steamed with burong isda (made at home)
    Eggplant!! inihaw or with egg
    Brocolli florettes and stalks! cooked any which way
    Potato! fries, hash, in nilaga, baked, mashed

  85. brocolli
    kangkong
    talong
    patatas
    carrots

    next can be…
    gabi leaves (because my mom used to cook this as laing every sunday)
    okra
    sitaw
    repolyo
    pechay

  93. 1. carrots
    2. eggplant
    3. stringbeans
    4. kangkong, talbos ng kamote,ampalaya and sili
    5. broccoli, mushrooms, asparagus, cauliflower

  95. btw, can we consider mushroom a vegetable? di po ba its a fungi? Kasi po, I read some of the entries but I guess, okey lang naman yun, di po ba?And it’s a good alternative to meat!!!Yum!

  101. green beans, endives, bok choy, cour de sucrine(french lettuce for salads,dunno in english..), rocquet

  102. oops sorry. didn’t notice at first that veg. should be readily avail. in phil. so i add cauliflower & eggplant

  108. i dont really like veggies.. the only veggies na nakakain ko are:
    – lettuce
    – kangkong (if its in sinigang)
    – squash
    – sayote
    – broccoli

  112. Hay… bakit 5 lang, dami kong favorite eh…

    1. Kangkong
    2. Pako
    3. Malunggay
    4. Talbos ng Kamote
    5. Ubod

    etc. etc.. heheh. Ang nabibili naming fresh dito sa Houston: Chinese Kangkong, Talbos and once in a while Malunggay. Yung ubod – de lata at yung pako, wala pa akong nakikita rito since pagdating ko year 1979.

  114. 1. eggplant (fried – sliced or patties, baked, in salads)
    2. squash (soup, roasted, okoy, in cakes)
    3. potato (baked, soup, salad, fried)
    4. beans (soup, salad)
    5. kangkong (salad, sinigang!, guisado)

  116. Ooops . . . I forgot to say that I don’t live in the Philippines but the veggies that I did list earlier are “readily available” here in the states except for the artichokes which are seasonal.

  118. Hey MarketMan,

    All of the vegetables that can go into “PINAKBET”. Heck I might as well sing “Bahay Kubo” all the vegetable that are in that song sounds like pinakbet. Like I’ve mentioned to you on my comment when you had the “PINAKBET” as a topic. It should be Filipino’s National Dish. Since Adobo didn’t come in the picture until the Spanish decided divide and conquer the entire Philippine Islands and change everyone’s last name. Look out now, Spanish might make a come back and repossess their last name and endup with a last name “Kamukhang Puwet”. Ha ha :-)

  119. Hey MarketMan,

    All of the vegetables that can go into “PINAKBET”. Heck I might as well sing “Bahay Kubo” all the vegetable that are in that song sounds like pinakbet. Like I’ve mentioned to you on my comment when you had the “PINAKBET” as a topic. It should be Filipino’s National Dish. Since Adobo didn’t come in the picture until the Spanish decided to divide and conquer the entire Philippine Islands and change everyone’s last name. Look out now, Spanish might make a come back and repossess their last name and endup with a last name “Kamukhang Puwet”. Ha ha :-)

  121. Talong
    Kalabasa
    Monggo
    Mushrooms
    Baguio beans

    I will eat any vegestables prepared in any way with lots of rice of course.

  124. I’m pretty good with my vegies, but I guess my top 5’s are:
    broccoli
    green beans
    repolyo
    pechay
    kangkong

  125. talong
    kabute (as per Sam’s, foraged not farmed)
    ampalaya
    talbos ng kahit ano
    kadyos (sa nilagang baboy)

  131. 1. Sigarilyas
    2. Dahon ng Ampalaya, Dahon ng Sili
    3. Kabute or any edible mushroom – I know this is not a vegetable (heheeh!)
    4. Pako (edible ferns), Talbos ng Kamote or Sayote
    5. Potatoes, Carrots
    6. Pechay,Singkang,Spinach
    7. Cabbage, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Sugar snap peas

  133. Tough one. I love almost all the veggies but these are on top of my list:

    1) cabbage
    2) Blue Lake Pole Beans
    3) Escarole
    4) Kohlrabi
    5) Beets

  134. 1. tomato
    2. brocolli
    3. any kind of mushroom
    4. malunggay
    5. lettuce
    6. alugbati

    sorry had to do 6.

  139. sorry cannot follow your directions kasi dami eh:

    1. carrots [what’s up doc? :-)]
    2. romaine lettuce
    3. corn
    4. pechay baguio
    5. cauliflower
    6. patatas
    7. okra
    8. eggplant
    9. black olives (the canned type)
    10. kangkong

  142. Just 5? = ) In no particular order — Chinese broccoli, tomiao, talbos ng kamote, mushrooms, Baguio beans

  145. 5 vegetables I like raw:
    Carrots, arugulla, salad lettuce, celery, cabbage for slaw

    5 vegetables I like sauteed or grilled:
    eggplant or zucchini, okrah, asparagus, capsicums, red potatoes

    5 vegetables I like with soup or cooked in vinegar:
    pechay, banana blossoms, togue long, brocolli, mini ampalaya

  149. 1. pipino
    2. ampalaya
    3. talbos ng kamote
    4. okra
    5. kangkong

    i like them usually raw with a vinaigrette dressing or steamed/blanched with a sawsawan of bagoong balayan, kalamansi & chilies. plus a heaping bowl of hot rice=happiness!

  150. kangkong (esp chinese kangkong – so crispy!)
    broccoli (leaves and flowers)
    okra
    pepper (any color!)
    asparagus

  157. malunggay (both leaves and fruit)
    eggplant (the long, thin pinakbet material)
    patola (the kind with sharp, protruding sides, not patolang kastila)
    okra
    green papaya

  160. for me the best vegetable are;
    (1)kalabasa
    (2)okra
    (3)couliflower
    (4)brocolli
    (5)sitaw

  162. I am including vegetables and other plant ingredients in vegetable dishes (I cannot name only 5):

    talong, okra, ampalaya, malunggay, labong, monggo, kadios, batwan, tamarind (souring agent), string beans, pechay, kamatis, garlic, onions, banana blossoms, gabi, gabi leaves, coconut milk, sili leaves, sili, corn, young corn, sayote, saluyot, unripened papaya, kamote, kamote leaves, kangkong, takway, saba na saging, squash, patola, unripened langka.

  163. i love our local veg so as the sosy veggies but i love to eat the ampalaya with egg and bagoong sa breakfast. but most i love to eat kalabasa, may it viand or sauce or my favorite desserts. . .

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