Burong Mustasa

I recently stayed with Kuya Jon, a farmer in Mindoro whose wife and daughter prepare simple but spectacular fare everyday. They use the vegetables they grow around their house. Since Kuya is partly Capampangan (his dad moved to Mindoro to escape the army), and he does not own a refrigerator, pickled or fermented things make sense.

I am still dreaming about their burong mustasa. Fermenting mustard leaves takes away their bitterness, and produces a lot of good enzymes for the stomach. The organic greens are harvested, chopped, and blanched for a short while, and left with some salt and water.



It makes an excellent companion to all the vegetable dishes we had there. Most especially to this eggplant and kangkong simmered in coconut milk (with some roughly polished rice harvested from behind his house).