Cheese Plant Books

As part of the World Garden School Programme (see attached), we get to know Sayur Manis (sauropus androgynus), a popular plant from Borneo. 

Watercolour (work-in-progress) by Almas Binti Abdul Kadir.

“Sayur manis“ simply means sweet vegetable in the Malay language. It tastes like spinach but more flavoursome, as if this plant had been crossed with asparagus and broccoli. But before we start, please note this: do not eat this plant raw. It has a little known toxicity about it that is rendered safe by cooking.

But once  cooked, sayur manis has all the goodness that makes it a cheap source of superfood for local people.  It is rich in protein, antioxidants and other nutrients like vitamin C, vitamin E and a compound called lutein, a key pigment in human retinas. It is also rich in papaverine, a drug used in the West to treat high blood pressure. Under the right conditions, it is very easy to grow sayur manis.

The one in the photo above is grown by Rita Othman in Sarawak, in the Malaysian part of Borneo, who is World Garden Schools Malaysia’s facilitator. Rita is a passionate gardener and this is her Facebook page.

Recipe: soup with sayur manis

A popular recipe is cooking sayur manis with onions, red chillies, dry-fried shallots and egg white. Rita makes a soup with sayur manis, and this is her recipe:

Ingredients:

1. Young leaves and shoots of the sayur manis plant
2. 250ml water
3. 250ml coconut milk (optional – for a creamy version)
4. 1 shallot
5. 3 cloves garlic
6. Dried anchovies (this can be purchased in Asian supermarkets)
7. Green chillies, sliced (optional)
8. ½ kg pumpkin, skin peeled and diced
9. Oil for frying
10. Salt and pepper for seasoning

Instructions:

1. Pound together the shallot,garlic and anchovies. If you do not have a pestle and mortar, roughly blend these in a blender.
2. Fry in a little oil until fragrant.
3. Add pumpkin and water. Boil gently until the pumpkin is soft. Add more water if necessary.
4. Finally, add the sayur manis and coconut milk. Season to taste.
5. suggestion : Serve with hot rice, fried fish and salted egg.

UK version, with nettles

I followed Rita’s recipe exactly with the following modification: I used nettles which grow profusely in the UK all year round. I managed to find dry anchovies in the local Asian supermarket. I think if you are unable to find that, you can substitute with fish stock though the taste of the resultant soup won’t be as intense.

Verdict: simple, cheap and delicious, four servings for under £2. (As I am on a no carbs, high protein diet, I did not eat mine with rice and fried fish, as Rita suggested, but I had mine with a soft boiled egg).

Note

I dried the pumpkin seeds so that I can grow pumpkins.

About World Garden Schools

World Garden Schools is a programme that seeks to bring young gardeners and communities across the globe together to learn about traditional plants and practices, culture through cuisine and ethnobotany. The plan is to start a worldwide dialogue between participants to operationalise UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

For more information and to sign up, email jacqueline@cheeseplantbooks.com