‘Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.’
– Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish novelist.
I was so happy my daughter-in-law came to my house yesterday.
In the midst of pruning the shrubs in my garden, I happily cut a lot of cangkok manis (scientific name: Sauropus androgynus; also known as mani cai in Chinese and cekur manis, sayur manis or pucuk manis in Malay) for her to bring back to her mother.
“I don’t cook on weekends,” she told me. But her mother does and I am sure the hardworking lady will be able to conjure up some nice dishes from the sweet vegetable I gave her.
I like to share my blessings with my family and my friends. If we have bountiful harvests from the garden, we should always share them with other people.
Sometimes I see ripe rambutans rotting on trees in some gardens. “How nice if these owners take the trouble to put out these free rambutans on the sidewalks for other people,” I’d say to myself.
In Europe, I hear that some farmers do so with their apples. They put free stuffs out on the curbs.
Now, if you are a typical Sarawakian, you will love stir-fried cangkok manis with eggs. This is a favourite dish of my son as well as all my nephews, either at home or in the restaurants.
Two other popular dishes, especially at Malay restaurants, are ‘labu dan pucuk manis masak lemak (pumpkin and cangkok manis cooked in coconut milk) and ‘cecuk manis dan keledek masak lemak’ (cangkok manis and sweet pototoes cooked in coconut milk).
Do you know that cangkok manis is a good source of Vitamin K and that the freshly-plucked leaves have high levels of Pro-Vitamin A and carotenoids, as well as vitamins B and C, protein and minerals – iron and zinc, notably?
It is said that a 100g serving can provide 100 per cent of the daily recommended value of Vitamin C.
The plants need to be pruned regularly to keep them short and to ensure the growth of fresh, tender shoots.
Cangkok manis can be 6m tall in the wild but usually grows to about 2-3m tall. Quite often, it is trimmed short as the leaf shoots are regularly harvested to be cooked as a vegetable in stir fries and soups.
The plant is quite easy to grow. You propagate it from leftover stems.
Another favourite dish for my son and nephews is stir-fried kangkong (water spinach) with belacan (shrimp paste). They like to order it in restaurants.
I have never tried kangkong. Maybe I should. After all, it is easy to grow.
Besides vitamins and minerals, kangkong has a large presence of dietary fibres and antioxidants. It is relatively high in beta-carotene, natural antioxidants, protein, carbohydrates, and dietary fibres and rich in electrolytes, such as sodium and potassium.
As I have stated so many times in my column before, my garden is my pride. After I retire, I plan to spend more time in the garden.
Besides cangkok manis, I have a pot of Brazilian Spinach.
Brazilian Spinach is a low growing perennial growing as a compact mound to 30cm. It has a decorative rich green colouring and a crinkled or ‘bubbly’ leaf structure.
It was introduced to Malaysia not so long ago.When I was young, there were no Braziiian Spinach for sale in the markets.
Brazilian spinach grows easily by stem cuttings. The young leaves and shoots can be eaten raw as a salad. Usually, it is stir-fried with anchovies or garlic or made into soup.
You can also make crispy spinach chips by frying the leaves with flour
Besides cangkok manis and Brazilian Spinach, I have one small moringa tree in my garden. Moringa oleifera is a plant often called the drumstick tree, the miracle tree, the ben oil tree, or the horseradish tree.
Moringa also has many important vitamins and minerals. The leaves have 7 times more vitamin C than oranges and 15 times more potassium than bananas. It also has calcium, protein, iron, and amino acids, which help your body heal and build muscles
I often use the moringa leaves to make soup. I mix them either with anchovies or chicken or pork bones.
There is also a lime tree, a mulberry tree, some banana trees as well as tapioca plants in my backyard garden.
I am blessed that the plants in my garden are growing well. I am always happy to share nature’s bounty with my family and friends.
