Sepia is a Spanish word for cuttlefish.

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Saluyot (Corchorus olitorius) is the Filipino name of an edible leafy vegetable that is a member of the genus Corchorus, classified under the sub-family Grewioideae of the family Malvaceae. Saluyot is widely found in tropical and sub-tropical areas from Asia to Africa valued as food and for its strong fiber. Saluyot has long been used as food staple since ancient times by Jewish people and Egyptians hence derived its English names Jew’s mallow and Egyptian spinach. Saluyot leaves are very nutritious, it is rich in calcium, iron, protein, vitamin A, C and E, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folate, and dietary fibers. Saluyot is often cooked as stew, forming a thick slimy syrup similar in consistency to Okra or Ladies fingers. The cooked dishes using the leaves are generally eaten with rice or other starchy staple, such as Yucca. Saluyot can almost grow anywhere in the Philippines. It is a favorite vegetable made into several dishes particularly among the Ilokanos in northern Philippines.The leaves are versatile and in the Philippine kitchen there is a wide variety of preparations for the Saluyot leaves including Dinengdeng na Labong at Saluyot and Ginisang Labong at Saluyot. When I was a young girl, my father's sister, used to just cook saluyot leaves gathered in our backyard with chopped onions, Bagoong (fermented fish) and water with grilled fish mix all together then boiled. But it is not one of the vegetables often cooked by my mother because she also never grew up with it. So far, I have viisted some Asian stores in Germany and they are not available like Okra which is available in many Turkish shops fresh, canned and bottled Other Information: Saluyot: (Scientific Name: Corchorus olitorius) Saluyot is also known in other names such as: Saluyot (Tagalog), Jute, Jew’s Mallow, Egyptian spinach, Jute Mallow, Bush Okra, West African sorrel (English), Chang shouo huang ma (Chinese). Krinkrin (French). It is called Tugabang in the Visayas region of the Philippines and is an annual plant or shrub, growing up to two (2) meters high. The leaves are edible and is a popular ingredient in many native vegetable stews and meat dishes. The leaves of Saluyot are rich source of iron, protein, calcium, thiamin, riboflavin and niacin. Cultivated as a leafy vegetable in many Philippine provinces. the leaves are used fresh or dried. They can be stored after drying and used later on during periods of scarcity. Saluyot is one of the favorite vegetable dish particularly among the Ilokanos in northern Philippines that locals even have a song for this leafy vegetable. The leaves are versatile and in the Philippine kitchen there is a wide variety of preparations for the saluyot leaves Saluyot is a hardy plant that is resistant to pests and requires little care. It can be found in the wild as it can also be grown in a farm. Saluyot plants are tall, reaching 2-4 meters in height, having only a few side branches. Saluyot leaves are alternate, simple, lanceolate, about 5-15 cm in length tapering to a pointed tip and has finely serrated margin. Saluyot flowers are yellow about 2-3 cm wide with five petals. The fruit is capsule like with plenty of small seeds inside. One of Egypt's famous dish is made of Saluyot and is called Mollakia or Molakhia which is said to be a meal fit for a King . See related article of Molakhia

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Sorekai or Churakka is the Malayalam word for Bottle Gourd. It is one of the common vegetables in India, particularly in south of India. Sorekai is often used to make vegetable dishes, such as Sambar . Churakka is another word of Bottle Gourd in Malayalam Sorekai is called Upo in the Philippines where it is one of the popular vegetables Please see related article about Upo.

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Sikam Paa refers to dried pork from Bhutan. One of the country's traditonal foods.

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Salupsup refers to a dish from the Philippines, particularly from Ilocos Sur. It is a delicacy from Vigan, the capital city of Ilocos Sur made of glutinous rice which is slightly toasted with grated coconut and Muscovado (sugar).

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Sampalok is a Filipino word for Tamarind. In the Philippines its pulp/fruit are eaten and used as a souring agent. Its young leaves are also used for souring agent or as filling for whole chicken for grilling to remove its fishy taste.

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Sampalok  can be cooked as one of the ingredient for Filipino sour stew/soup, like Sinampalukang Manok (Chicken soup cooked with Tamarind) where its young leaves are used. Its fruit brown pulp is made into a sweet candy with tamarind flesh/pulp  mashed and cooked with brown sugar

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Moreover, in the Philippines,  the pulp of the Sampalok fruit is very much used as a souring agent for dishes like Sinigang , a cross between sour soup and stew and also made into delicious candies. Likewise, when the fruit is fully ripe, they are eaten in the Philippines as is with a bit of salt

In Kerala, India, Puli is the Malayalam word for Sampalok. It is the basic ingredient for making their sour soup called Rasam . Meanwhile, Thailand is very popular for their Tamarind candies called Makham Gao that most tourists bring them back home.  

Using Sampalok as a souring agent can be a long task as you need to squeezed the pulp from the fruit until you get its juice so my mom rarely use Sampalok as a souring agent. But as a child, together with my siblings and cousins, I enjoyed eating Sampalok as is when fully ripe and in season. It is sold in most wet markets (Palengke) during its season very cheap in the Philippines by a kilo. 

I only found Sampalok fruit after 7 years of living in Germany by chance, few packs of ripe Sampalok fruits were offered in one of the groceries I go to and they were imported from Thailand

Other countries also used Tamarind fruits for making sweets or candies. Mexico has its own version called Dulce de Tamarindo. Some countries called them Bolitas de Tamarindo (Tamarind balls)

 

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