MANILA, Philippines?These days, it pays to learn to cook and eat dishes made with inexpensive but healthy ingredients. For example, local homemade vinegar?s finer flavor blends well with adobo, paksiw, kilawin and kinilaw. Some of them are made from pineapple, balimbing, sinegwelas, kamias, mango, guava and santol?each of them characterized by exotic taste.

Lunch

Our recent lunch consisted of kilawin gabi leaves, stalks and roots, mixed with pineapple vinegar. Here are some suggestions:

Kilawin (vegetable cooked with vinegar):
1. Use one of the following vegetables: grated raw papaya, sliced banana heart, sliced eggplant, sliced coconut palm heart, or gabi (taro) leaves, stalks and roots.
2. Sauté onions and ginger.
3. Add vegetables, and pour in some water, vinegar, salt and pepper.
4. Cook over low heat for 20 minutes.
5. Throw in some seaweed flakes for a mild added flavor.

Kinilaw:
1. Use chopped jackfruit, kamansi, banana heart or gabi leaves and stalks.
2. Cook kilawin-style.
3. When almost done, add fresh, thick coconut milk.
4. Mix in chopped red bell pepper, tomatoes, fresh leeks and green umbrella chilis.
5. Cook for three minutes.
6. Serve as appetizer or main dish.