‘Ang malunggay,’ the book

MANILA, Philippines - Chef-consultants Day Salonga and Mon Urbano, founders of restaurant solutions provider MonDay Chefs, recently launched a cookbook,  The Malunggay Book: Healthy & Easy-to-do Recipes and its companion guide Make Good Money with Malunggay”

These two books are produced together with the World Outreach Foundation Kansas City, which has piloted programs that provide seedlings, as well as fresh and powdered malunggay (moringa oleifera plant) leaves, to malnourished schoolchildren in small communities in Pangasinan and Laguna.

In line with this advocacy, the newly published books are meant to encourage the use of malunggay to promote good nutrition as well as small enterprise. 

The Malunggay Book in particular offers 65 simple recipes highlighting the nutritional value of malunggay, which is easily accessible to most Filipino households.

Make Good Money with Malunggay, meanwhile, presents novel ways by which one could earn from malunggay, given that it can be cultivated in one’s backyard and processed at minimal expense. 

Touted as the “miracle vegetable,” the malunggay is valued for its health benefits as food or food supplement, being rich in calcium, copper, iron, potassium, protein, vitamins E and C, niacin, biotin, magnesium, manganese, and zinc, among others.   

“One tablespoon of fresh malunggay is enough to fulfill the nutritional requirement for a child to be healthy … in fact, it has a higher vitamin content compared to an orange,” explains Salonga.

The Malunggay Book took a year to complete, with Salonga and Urbano working on the recipes in their test kitchen and at home.

“It was challenging to develop the recipes because malunggay doesn’t have a strong flavor; its value is more of the nutritional content… We utilized all the parts of the malunggay tree: the leaves, pods, roots,” says Salonga.

The chefs also had to take into consideration distribution of the book in the United States, where fresh malunggay may not be readily available.

“We needed to make sure that all the recipes could be made with a dried substitute. So recipe development was doubled because the proportions of fresh and dried malunggay would be different,” explains Salonga, noting that the equivalent proportions, in case of substitution, are itemized for each recipe.

“We made certain that all the ingredients are commonly available, because our target would be to reach as many Filipinos as possible, across all sectors,” says Urbano.

Urbano indicated that the recipes were made affordable in consideration of the D and E markets. At the same time, the recipes were also “elevated” to cater to more sophisticated palates, and therefore entice the A, B, and C segment.

This explains why the cookbook offers malunggay cookies, burgers, and even marmalade.

“In The Malunggay Book, we really have recipes where you wouldn’t imagine malunggay could be used. But it’s very simple, easy to follow,” notes Salonga.

On the other hand, the chefs felt that apart from being convenient to use in the kitchen, malunggay could sustain a viable home business. Hence the accompanying book Make Good Money with Malunggay.

“In terms of the home business, we’ve listed several how-to’s: how to make a malunggay capsule, how to make powdered malunggay, and how to make malunggay tea… A cottage industry can be generated from all these malunggay-based products,” said Salonga.

Both books were edited by Nancy Reyes-Lumen and printed by Anvil Publishing Inc.  She indicated that the recipes in the cookbook would address the demand for healthy, nourishing food that is also delicious.

“Why swallow dozens of vitamin pills to be healthy and strong, when you can eat it with pasta or drink it as a smoothie? More than ever, modern culinary lifestyles are in dire need of food which will nourish and comfort both body and soul, in answer to the high cost of living and the stress that comes with it. Green healthy foods are in demand, and malunggay answers all these needs,” says Reyes-Lumen.

The Malunggay Book: Healthy & Easy-to-do Recipes, and Make Good Money with Malunggay are now available at P130 each at all branches of National Book Store and Powerbooks. Part of the proceeds will fund the World Outreach Foundation Moringa Farming and Feeding Programs in the Philippines.

For more information, visit the MonDay Chefs’ official website www.mondaychefs.com.