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Edible Landscape – Kemangi (Lemon Basil)

Kemangi leaves and flowers

Bed of Kemangi

On hot humid days, I love strolling through the beds of Kemangi ( Malay name) , enjoying the lemony fragrance exuded from the leaves of this plant.  I regard this plant as a Super Ulam as it has many health benefits including treatment for stress, asthma and diabetes.  Maybe, that is why I feel so relaxed after the stroll.  Both the leaves and the flowers are edible and has a slight citrus taste to them.
In Malay, some people call it Selasih but as there are various types of Selasih, the more precise name is Kemangi.  The English name is Lemon Basil and the botanical name is Ocimum x Citriodorum. 
Whenever I do my version of the nasi kerabu, I chop some of these leaves and flowers along with bunga kantan, serai, daun salam and ulam raja (all freshly picked at the farm) and the resulting taste is a pleasure to the taste buds and definitely healthy.
This herb also is a great addition to any spicy dish and it lends a citrus-like flavour to the dish.  It can also be added to any seafood that will be steamed such as bawal putih and siakap.

Bundles ready for market

This plant can be propagated from the stem cuttings or seeds.  At the farm, we use the seeds as I feel it results in a better quality shrub.  It grows to about 1m in height and best in bright sunlight with regular watering in rich, organic soil.  Weekly pruning encourages the plant to produce new shoots and flowers whilst providing for sufficient supply for my weekly Sunday morning market.  It takes approximately 2 months from planting before it is ready for harvesting.
The leaves and flowers can also be chopped and dried, preferably in hot, dry area without direct sunlight, to produce a flavourful herbal tea with as much of its health benefits preserved. This tea is brewed in a similar manner to other herbal teas, steeping the tea for about 5 minutes in very hot water.  With its rich taste, I prefer it without adding any sweeteners.
In view of how this herb is consumed, as with all my other produce, no toxic chemical pesticides are used.  Only organic fertilizer is used.
Kemangi is rich in magnesium and beta-carotene as well as flavonoids.  There are many other key minerals and elements that are beneficial to the human body including the heart.  So next time that you are at the markets and encounter this herb, try it and enjoy.

Edible Landscape – Banana Plants

Inflorescence on a 1m high Banana Plant

Living in a tropical country, in my opinion, Malaysia has ideal conditions for growing bananas (known as pisang in Malay) and the varieties are endless.  The  banana plants also provide a nice, cool shade and is a great water absorber, especially with all the rain that we get here.  At the farm, there are over 400 plants and I especially like to have some around the perimeter of the house as it keeps the house cool.

Pisang Lemak Manis

I am still learning to differentiate the various types of plants before the fruits come out but still have a long way to go.  Among the types planted are Pisang Raja, Embun, Udang, Lemak Manis, Rastali, Berangan, Berangan Kampung, Awak, Abu, Abu Bunga, Telor, Kapas, Nangka and Emas.  I am still trying to locate Pisang Tanduk starter plant.  I am sure that there are other varieties in Malaysia and I am constantly on the lookout for those that I do not have.  My interest is only in local banana plants so Cavendish and those like it are not on my interest list neither are GMO varieties.  For my taste, “original” types are best in taste and flavour especially when you let them “ripen” on the plant itself.  As with my other trees and plants, natural-source fertlizers are what I use and chemical pesticides are a no-no.

There are two types of Pisang Awak, one with seeds and one without.  My personal preference is for those without seeds and I love banana fritters (pisang goreng) for this type of banana and it definitely cuts the enjoyment of this dish when you bite into a seed.  So, only seedless varieties are planted on the farm.  After all, if it is not good enough for me, then it is not good enough for my customers.

Pisang Awak Ripening nicely

The banana plant is really one of the plants whereby the whole plant serves one purpose or another.  Of course the fruit – bananas – have a high nutrition value.  The inflorescense (jantung) also known as the banana heart, can be eaten raw (as an ulam) or cooked in savoury dishes.  The leaves serves as a highly organic, recyclable food wrapper and this is where I can do my bit in preserving the environment – I use it to wrap my produce when I take it to market.  The pseudostem (batang pisang) can be cooked in curries, chopped and fed to my fishes, and as a soil improver by adding more organic content to my soil.  The base root serves as a propagation mechanism.  All in all, a remarkable plant.

Bananas as a food source can be eaten in so many ways:

1. uncooked, it can be a “dessert”, a great breakfast item on its own or added to cereal, or blended into a banana milk shake and of course, an important component in Banana Split sundae.
2. in sweet dishes such as pancakes, desserts, breads and cakes
3. in savoury dishes such as curries
4. smoked and eaten as a snack
5. sliced and dried and made into banana chips

Not all inflorescence (jantung pisang) taste good, in fact some are bitter.  I find that the tastiest ones are from Pisang Abu and we sell only these at the market.

Jantung Pisang Abu

Bananas are one of the popular produce at my Sunday morning market stall with Pisang Raja leading the pack.  I am never sure what variety I will have for sale from week to week as it really depends on which is ripe.  I find that letting the bananas ripen on the plant really produces a tasty banana and since I sell what I produce, I can wait till the best time before harvesting and taking to market.  This allows me to compete better against the other vendors.  Most Sundays, I am sold-out and on those that I am not, I am left with enough for my own consumption.  I do not take orders for bananas but sell on a first come first serve basis.  My adventure with bananas continues……

Edible Landscape – Bayam (Spinach)

Lovely vivid green leaves

One of my favourite leafy vegetable, the Bayam ( Spinach), provides for a nice backdrop of a green, leafy bush.  I avoid chemical pesticides like the plague for all my vegetables so the leaves tend to be less than perfect but I wouldn’t trade it for the quality and taste that is produced by being as natural as possible, using organic fertilizer such as from my compost or “burnt” weeds.

Edible Landscape – Serai (Lemon Grass)

This aromatic plant (English Name : Lemon Grass; Botanical Name : Cymbopogen Citratus) is easily grown and serves as a nice border plant and produces a pleasant lemony fragrance.  As such, every time I prepare the lemon grass for market, I will burn the discarded excess leaves and roots, and enjoy the aroma as well as keeping the bugs like mosquitoes, away.  With its thin, long leaves, and sharp edges, use care in handling them.  
It is often used as a cooking condiment in savoury dishes.  The leaves can also be dried to create tea which is prepared in similar manner to other herbal teas.  Sweeteners such as honey can also be added to the tea concoction and can be served hot, warm or cold.  It is tasty cold on hot, sunny days.
It is purported to have cleansing effect on the body, helping to remove toxins from our system and also has anti-cancer properties by inducing apoptosis (programmed cell death) of cancer cells by citrol, a molecule found in the stalks and leaves.  So, you can enjoy this drink but at the same time have some great health benefits.
Sliced, young Serai stalks makes a great addition to nasi kerabu and shrimp or calamari salad (kerabu).  This kerabu is very easy to make – lightly cooked shrimp, sliced young serai stalks, juice from limau nipis (key lime) or lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper – all tossed together.  For those of you who live a little “heat”, add your choice of fresh chilies to this.
As the plant matures, new stalks grow from the initial stalk planted to create a bush of stalks of serai.  It is easily propagated from the whole stalk. As the stalk matures, the old leaves will dry out and should be removed to maintain a nice green “bush”.  I find that this plant should be re-planted every six months in order to have nice, fat stalks otherwise it will tend to “rot of old age”.
The serai is an easy plant to grow in direct sunlight and easy to propagate via its stalks.  It requires regular watering to ensure good quality serai stalks.  As the leave matures, it will turn brown and dry out.  To keep the plant healthy and good-looking, regular removal of the dead leaves should be done.