Utan Bisaya, also called law-uy, is the everyday Visayan soup of mixed vegetables simply boiled with lemongrass and tomato and often topped with fried or dried fish.
30 minutes · Serves 4
Ingredients for Utan Bisaya
5 cups water
1 stalk lemongrass (tanglad), pounded and tied in a knot
1 thumb-size piece ginger, sliced
1 medium onion, quartered
2 medium tomatoes, quartered
2 small taro roots (gabi), peeled and cubed
250 g squash (kalabasa), cut into chunks
6 pieces okra, trimmed
1 medium eggplant, sliced on the diagonal
1 bundle string beans (sitaw), cut into 5 cm lengths
1 cup alugbati or kangkong leaves
1 cup malunggay leaves
2 pieces fried fish or 4 pieces fried dried fish (buwad), optional
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
How to cook Utan Bisaya
1.Bring the water to a boil in a pot with the lemongrass, ginger, onion and tomatoes. Simmer for 5 minutes so the broth takes on their flavor.
2.Add the taro and cook for 8 minutes until it begins to soften.
3.Add the squash and cook for 4 minutes, then add the okra, eggplant and string beans and simmer for another 4 to 5 minutes until all the vegetables are tender but not mushy.
4.Season with the salt. If using fried fish, lay it on top now and let it warm through for 1 minute.
5.Turn off the heat and stir in the alugbati and malunggay leaves; they will wilt in the hot broth. Remove the lemongrass and serve hot with rice.
