Kacip Fatimah

Kacip fatimah or Labisia pumila in Latin, is a herb mostly associated with women's health issues in traditional Malay herbalogy. It's a small woody plant that is quite leafy and flowers with tiny off-white or pinkish blossoms, which grows in clusters. The leaves are hairy on the undersides and can be used to propagate the plant. It also has rhizomes and seeds which can be used for the same purpose.

Its Malay name means "Fatimah's betel nut cutters." Traditionally, it is used to induce labour in pregnant women, as well as for the treatment of venereal disease and of all things, flatulence! A study in Singapore also showed that its extracts also improved mental well-being and cardiovascular health in pre- and post-menopausal women 

Although it is available as a sweetened canned drink in Malaysia now, it was traditionally drunk as a tea. First mentioned for its properties 400 years ago, it has actually been in use in Malay herbalogy far longer than that. Its other names include bunga belangkas and tadah matahari. Nowadays, however, Kacip fatimah is being researched for use in pharmacological cosmetic products. 

But be warned. Kacip fatimah's herbal properties are so powerful that pregnant, lactating or menstruating women are advised to take it with extreme caution. While a controlled dose helps to induce labour, it is said that a large dose of its extract could cause the foetus to abort!

Pegaga

The beautiful Pegaga or Asian Pennywort enjoys the graceful Latin name of Centella asiatica. It is a creeping plant that loves wet, swampy conditions and has round edible leaves. Also called gotu kola in Tamil, it is actually a perennial herb. The Pegaga is native to many parts of Asia and North Australia.

Did you know that there are many myths and legends associated with this delicate plant due to its many herbal benefits? 

In China, it is said that the Tai-chi master, Li Ching-yun, lived to more than 200 years of age because he consumed a daily dose of herbs whic included Pegaga while in India, King Aruna was said to have kept his 50 wives and concubines happy with his superhuman stamina which he attributed to regular consumption of the herb?

Apart from having Vitamins B1,B2, B3, and B6 calcium, magnesium, sodium, manganese and zinc, it also has anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-viral properties. 

In Asia,  it is mainly consumed as a tea though in Penang, it is sweetened with sugar and taken as a cold, refreshing drink. Research has shown that it is good for many conditions like swelling, joint pain as well as anxiety and fatigue but it is mostly known to Penang Chinese for its ability to improve the memory.

But really, the Asian pennywort is also good for other things like senility, strokes, nervous disorders and some types of nervous disorders. Herbalists also use it for high blood pressure and urinary tract infections. It has antibiotic properties, too, but regular consumption of Pegaga without medical advice is not recommended. It's powerful properties can lead to liver damage as well as skin and cancerous growths.

Leeks, Chives and Garlic

Did you know that these plants used in Malaysian cookery are also members of the same flowering family as onions? Here are some interesting facts about some of our most common culinary lilies.

Leek

Usually cut into short pieces and stir-fried with tofu or towkua and prawns, our local leek is actually a little slimmer and less fibrous than the ones found in European markets. Both are members of the Allium family and the French have elevated leek dishes to an art from soups to stews, au gratin and stuffed as well as braised leeks while in the former Czech Republic, they are not cut but served whole, bulbs and all.

This common vegetable actually contains essential sulphuric oils as well as the enzyme, alliin.

Chives

We usually think of chives as garnishes (during Chinese festival prayers or with Chicken Rice) or when actually cooked, as a mild flavouring complement. But even though we seldom see their pale purple flowers in full bloom (because we eat them before they can open), Chives have a lot of Vitamin B and C, as well as carotene, essential oils and trace minerals like potassium, phosphorus and iron. 

Chives are said to be good for digestion as well as reducing high blood pressure, too.

Garlic

Some varieties of garlic actually have flowers that bloom in small bunches. The wild varieties are usually more pungent but also have a higher content of essential oils. In some parts of the world, the leaves are also used in cookery.  But even though garlic is mainly used to complement meat, fish and vegetable dishes, it has a lot of herbal properties.

Garlic has allitin, which combats bacteria when transformed by enzymes into allicin. And it also has Vitamins B and C as well as sulphur.

Have you ever seen flowering onions and other Alliums before?

Secrets of the Soya Bean

In Malaysia, when we think of the soya bean, we instantly think of soya bean milk, tauhwa and tofu, in that order. But the soya bean is actually the main ingredient in more things than just those three. The soya bean we consume in all its processed forms is actually a hybrid and not a recent one, either. 

The Chinese and Japanese developed it many hundreds of years ago, probably because they found it so useful. Did you know that soya beans are made into cooking oil, sauces, pastes, and condiments? They are also ground into flour and made into fine white noodles called “tau chiam” which are usually served in clear soup made with either fis, prok or chicken.

We usually eat only the dried beans, but the young pods are also quite delicious when stirfired with prawns or sliced meat. In some parts of the world, however, soya beans are considered to be food for cattle only, however.

The wonderful properties of the humble bean are many. Each bean contains up to as much as 60 percent proteins and 20% oil. In fact, its protein and fat content are so high that just 300g of soya beans give you the caloric value of 27 eggs!

 That’s why soya beans and soya bean products feature so heavily in Asian vegetarian cuisine. The cytelin in it is also said to have a healing effect on arterioscleriosis. And if you have ever wondered what a soya bean plant looks like, here is a picture of some young soya bean plants.

And for more information, here are some YouTube videos about soya beans. Just click on the links -

Soyabean Household products

How To Make Your Own Tofu

Making Tofu Delicious!

The Black-faced General

A humble plant with a grand, if somewhat curious name, the Black-faced General or Strobilanthes crispus (L.) is somewhat nondescript in appearance and often regarded as a bit of a weed though it is actually a woody shrub. It is also called Pecah beling in Malaysia and Keji beling in Indonesia. The fact that the General is a very robust plant, generally easy though slow to grow, probably gave rise to the misconception. 

The General's name probably comes from its dark green leaves and the very dark tea which you can get by infusing its leaves. Misconceptions aside, however, it is a very useful plant with many powerful herbal properties. Pregnant women are advised to exercise caution when using it!

In Chinese medicine, it is regarded as an anti-cancer wonder. It is also used as a diuretic and a laxative. It has been scientifically researched and hailed for its antioxidant as well as antimicrobial properties. Clinical studies have also found that it has phenolic compounds which are helpful when treating kidney stones and diseases as well as fibroids. In Indonesia, they even use it to treat snake bites.

The Black-faced General seldom produces flowers, but when they do bloom, the sweet yellow blooms are trumpet-shaped. The buds have leafy green sheathes while the flowers can reach up to 2cm in diameter in full bloom.

The herb is generally consumed as a tea, either by itself or with a bit of Siraitia grosvenorii or  Lo han guo in Chinese (also called monk fruit because its round smooth fruits look like monks' shaven heads) or dried red dates as natural sweeteners. Its leaves can also be blended into a smoothie. Used in combination with other local herbs like Sabah Snake Grass or Clinacanthus nutans (Belalai gajah in Malay) and Frog fruit or Turkey tangle (Phyla nodiflora), it is regarded as a herbal tea for the prevention of breast and uterine cancer by the Chinese.

A Beauty Seldom Seen

The vegetable hummingbird (Sesbania grandiflora) or agati (in India) is called pokok turi merah in Malay and it grows from Malaysia to North Australia as well as various parts in between the two countries. It's beautiful flowers resemble tiny hummingbirds or bright parrots' beaks (hence its other name - parrots beak flower). 

Although its flowers, leaves and fruit (which grows in long thin pods) are edible, it is seldom seen in Malaysia nowadays, especially in urban areas. In the villages and Malaysian countryside, its flowers are still eaten, sometimes raw, as a vegetable, and in Sri Lanka, its leaves are added to a white curry because it is believed to be a cure for cankers. 

There are two varieties of pokok turi - a scarlet one and a white one. Both have beautiful, vibrantly coloured flowers. And its wood is used in India as well as Sri Lanka as a substitute for bamboo for making furniture because it is strong and quite flexible.

The flowers are rich in iron and have a fragrance and flavour reminiscent of mushrooms, though only the petals are eaten. The centre part of the flower does have a very bitter taste. The seeds can also be fermented into tempeh (a kind of fermented bean fritter) while the seedpods are eaten like long beans. The young leaf fronds have a very high Vitamin C content, while the flowers are rich in Vitamin B.

  

The dried leaves can also be made into a tea, said to have antibiotic and anti-tumour properties. Just 20g of sesbania grandiflora provides 14.6 mg of Vitamin C, 0.17 mg of iron, Vitamin B and a host of  other trace minerals and amino acids. It lowers blood pressure and keeps your arteries flexible. So it is quite an important dietary supplement in the poorer areas of South East Asia. Perhaps it is time to make this lovely plant more accessible and more easily available in the big cities!

The King Salad

A great favourite of authentic Malaysian traditional salads, the Ulam raja or King Salad plant is actually planted for its pretty pink, white or purple flowers in various other parts of the world. The flower is better know by its Latin name "Cosmos" which is derived from its scientific name Cosmos caudatus. Here in Malaysia, we don't eat the flowers but we do devour the young leaves with great gusto either simply dipped in various spicy sauces and condiments or else stirfried with prawns and other ingredients.

 

When it is eaten raw with chilli paste or other condiments and sauces, it is referred to as "ulam" which can mean salad or even herbal mix for beauty or medicinal purposes.

But it is most popular by itself, its fresh scent being reminiscent of mango leaves and the crunchy texture of its young leaves being much appreciated with plain white rice. In Indonesia, it is also eaten with cooked grated coconut or a spicy peanut sauce.

One reason for its popularity is the simple fact that for all its powerful herbal properties, unlike many other similarly effective herbs, it can be eaten with no side effects. 

So what do we eat it for (other than the delicious taste)?

1. It helps with control of diabetes. After eight weeks of regular consumption, it lowers blood insulin levels significantly.

2. It helps people with cholesterol problems by increasing good cholesterol and lowering bad cholesterol. 

3. It reduces blood pressure.

4. It reduces bone loss.

5. It has antibacterial and anti-fungal effects.

6. It is a strong antioxidant and it reduced inflammation.

So, eating ulam raja with your daily rice is actually a great idea. And if you fancy a bit of variety with it, here are a couple of ideas from Malaysian food bloggers.

Kak Jee's Food Blog 

(click the link for recipe)

Ulam Raja Stir-fried with Ikan Bilis.

A simple but mildly spicy and very deliciously fresh-tasting dish that pairs well with the dried anchovies which give it its mouthwatering umami flavour.

Dapur Tanpa Sempadan 

(click the link for recipe)

Ulam Raja with Grated Coconut

A tempting treat made with grated coconut, dried prawns and galangal or resurrection lily. It goes really great with freshly cooked white rice and can be used as a vegetarian dish if you leave out the dried prawns.