Utan Bisaya (Visayan Vegetable Soup)
Being a true-blue Cebuano, one must have tasted the ever-famous Visayan Vegetable Soup or in Visayan terms “Utan Bisaya”. Some locals call it “Lau-oy”. Regardless of the name, I’m sure you would describe it as delicious and healthy at that. Basically, this is a mixture of vegetables made into a soup. Most household cooks this dish every now and then and serves to the family. To share the wonderful yet very simple recipe, I wrote it down here and hope you’d try this one in your homes:
Prepare: (Good for 5 persons)
10 stalks “Malunggay” leaves
10 stalks “Alogbati”
1 pc eggplant
6 pcs okra
1 pc “sikwa” (big)
6 pcs string beans
300 grams yellow squash
3 pcs gabi (small)
Lemon grass ( 3 leaves)
Spring onions ( 2 heads)
1 pc tomato
Ginger
Salt
Msg (optional)
Fried fish (optional)
Steps:
Put water (around 1000 ml) in the casserole and bring it to boil. Put Gabi first, and when soft, add the following in order: squash, eggplant, stringbeans, okra, sikwa, lemon grass, and spices, salt. After a while, add the alogbati and malunggay. Being leafy and easy to cook, the last 2 are dropped last. Served while still hot.
