Category: Edible Landscape

Our ancestors are clever: Coconuts beyond coconut milk

I remember when I was very small – and we won’t say how many years ago, hahaha – in the kampong, my grandmother and aunty would gather very matured coconuts where the outer husk was brown, peel them, grate them and squeeze the coconut milk from them and start the process of cooking the
oil over wood fire.  It would take hours to cook the coconut milk until what was left was the oil and the brownish black solid clumps.  My parents would tell me stories of how when they were kids, the highlight of this process was getting to eat these coconut clumps with rice and how tasty it was.
Coconut oil was the staple oil and without them knowing the science behind this, this is virgin coconut oil which is good for them and now being touted for all the benefits.

Used to be that almost everyone in the villages would grow coconut trees and many produced their own oil.  Over the decades, some researchers and Big Businesses made coconut oil into the villain saying how it was bad for you because of the high fat content.  Bg Businesses were out to promote their own oils from corn and soya bean as examples.  Then GMO came into play and more corn and soya bean could be produced  albeit with chemical content and this made it cheaper (although you pay extra because it was imported and so-called branded) so our markets were flooded with it.  It was touted as being healthy for you and easily available.  Coconut oil began to die.

Fortunately, there were good researchers who did further research when they saw that people who relied on coconut oil didn’t get heart attacks, lower brain diseases and were healthy.  This lead to the differentiation of fats and the discovery that coconut fats were medium-chain triglycerides or fatty acids (MCFA) and does not contain any trans fats.  Some medical researchers also found that coconut oil is not glucose-based but it converts to ketones which is easily used by the brain to rebuild or repair brain cells.  It was found that it could prevent or even cure, in some cases, Alzheimer’s and reverse some effects of other brain nerve diseases.  No wonder my great grandmother had a good memory with no major diseases and we think she was at least over 90 (hard to say as those days there were no birth certificates).  Being the energy source is non-glucose base, it also doesn’t provide food for cancer cells.  This makes it a good oil for some cancer patients as not only does it not promote cancer cells, it also provides immunity building benefits which is especially good for those undergoing chemotherapy.

The coconut water from young coconuts is a traditional way of cooling fevers as well as used for detoxification of the body system.  With our hot and humid climate, drinking fresh coconut water is a
healthy option and it tastes good.  The flesh from the coconut has a high fiber content as well as vitamin C, E. B1, B3, B5 and B6 as well as iron, selenium, sodium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorous.  So guess what, those curry dishes that grandma used to make with coconut oil for sautéing the spices and condiments and then adding the coconut milk and then fish, chicken or beef was good for you.  So for guilt-free healthy curries, go back to the way that our ancestors made them.  Of course, be sure the protein you add is also good or as good as you can get them.  So when you think of it, most of our traditional dishes are healthy if we revert to how it was done then and going local is the best option.

In the old days, they didn’t have freezers so producing coconut oil using cold-pressed permaculture method wasn’t an option.  Nowadays, this is possible so you no longer have to stand over a fire for hours to make your own coconut oil.  The trade-off is it now takes days as you have to freeze, defrost, freeze and defrost before you can get to the straining part to produce the oil.  Needless to say, the uses of the oil produced is not only for cooking tasty dishes but also used in healthcare, skin care and hair care and makes a good oil base for for herbal infusions as well as in natural soap making.

From producing coconut milk, you get the so-called coconut flesh “waste”.  To me, this is just another product.  In the olden days, you use this to feed the chickens and
without them knowing the science behind it, this is actually a super food for chickens as it contains antiviral, antibacterial, as well as other properties which keeps the chickens healthy without the need for all those antibiotic shots that are used nowadays.  It also promotes egg production.  See, our ancestors are clever.  In the autoimmune protocol diet as well as gluten-free diet, this grated flesh can also be processed into flour making coconut flour.  Just dry it and mill it and you get an alternative flour.

So do as our ancestors do, plant coconut trees 🙂
A related article to this is >> http://suria-helang-lui.blogspot.my/2017/05/evco-extra-virgin-coconut-oil-my-wonder.html

Our ancestors are clever: Beyond raw tapioca to Starch and flour

We plant 2 varieties of tapioca or cassava (ubi kayu) at the farm: Ubi kayu pulut and Ubi kayu merah.  This articles focusses on ubi kayu pulut.  I have heard stories of how this particular variety was planted during the Japanese occupation of the then Malaya and was the replacement for rice as all the rice was confiscated by the Japanese for their consumption.  This particular variety is soft and melts in your mouth.  It doesn’t take long to cook it and cooks in less then 15 minutes when steamed and I find that it is best steamed as it has that fluffy texture.  Sometimes when we harvest I get tubers that are big wishing at 5-6 kg thus not popular among our customers as it is too big.  Some are scared to buy it thinking that it is probably hard like the root.  So we often end up with consuming it ourselves and since it is so big, we also share with the chickens and dogs.

Now I have found a solution for these big tubers as well as excess tubers: to turn them into tapioca starch and flour.  After researching and experimenting, I found that it is not difficult to make them.  I choose this variety because you end up with pristine white starch and flour – no bleaching, refining,  etc. needs to be done to make it white.  It would be a shame to contaminate organically grown tubers with chemicals to produce starch and flour.  What I end-up with is organic, gluten-free starch and flour that can be used in many ways.  Growing up, I remember my grandmother, great-grandmother and mother producing traditional dishes with tapioca both savoury and sweet.  In doing my research, I find it interesting in how it has been maligned as a prohibited food for diabetics in favour of the other Big Business commercial crops but it turns out that studies done in people with a high content of their diet being tapioca has negligible to low occurrence of diabetes.  It is now classified as a low glycemic index food.

First, you rinse off all the soil from the outer skin.  The tubers are coated with 2 levels of skin: (1) the brown grainy texture layer that you see and (2) the pink on the outside and white on the inside layer.  Both layers need to be removed to reveal the white-fleshed tuber.  I cut them into big chunks so that I can handle them easier when I grate them.  I just use a hand grater and grate them using the same size that I use for parmesan cheese.  Being a “soft” tuber, it is easy to grate them as they slide easily over the grater.

Once you have the grated tapioca in a bowl – you can use plastic, metal or
glass bowls – I will add enough water to cover the grated tapioca.  Be sure you use a large enough bowl to allow room for swishing the tapioca in the water without spilling.  I let it sit in water for about 10 minutes and then I swish the mixture or using a spoon stir them rapidly for a couple of minutes.  You will find that the water has turned chalky white.  Place the mixture in a cloth strainer and strain the liquid.  Be sure to squeeze the mixture well to get as much of the liquid out of it.  I tend to use a piece of muslin cloth which I will wring to squeeze all the liquid out of the mixture.

The end result is a chalky liquid and grainy, semi-dry lumpy solids solids.  The chalky liquid will produce the tapioca starch or in Malay tepung kanji ubi kayu  and the grainy solid will produce the tapioca flour or cassava flour or in Malay, tepung ubi kayu.  Place the grainy solids in a cool, dry area overnight covered with a cloth to prevent unwanted “visitors” or contaminants from entering.

Leave the chalky liquid in a container for a couple of hours and you will see that it has separated into two: a yellowish liquid on top and a white sludge at the bottom.  Pour away the liquid and retain the sludge which is actually the tapioca starch.  Let the starch dry overnight by leaving it in the container in a cool, dry area covered with a cloth.  The next day, you will find that whatever liquid was left in the starch will be at the top – remove this and you will find that the starch has hardened.  It is now ready for use.
You can break it up by raking with a fork and place in a container for storage.  I tend to keep it in the refrigerator as it does not have any preservative or additives.  I am not sure how long it lasts as I tend to use it all up within a short period of time.  The starch produced is a great binding agent so I use it when I make fish balls, prawn balls, squid cakes and meatballs and I do not have to worry when I serve it that anyone with allergies to gluten or nuts or grains cannot eat them.  Another great use for it is as a thickening agent to thicken sauces and gravy.  Unlike corn starch which is most probably made from GMO-corn, I do not have to worry about chemical contaminants using tapioca starch.

Using ubi kayu pulut, the solids that you obtained after straining is almost ready-to-use flour.  You can just run it through a grinder or food processor and you will get a fine flour.  For most of our local sweet dishes, you do not have to further process it.  As this variety is not fibrous, it really works well when just using it as is to make bingka ubi kayu (tapioca pie), lepat ubi kayu, and many other dishes. For people who have to be on gluten-free, nut-free or grain-free diets due to health and/or allergy reasons, this flour  and the starch flour is the flour of choice as it contains no gluten, not from grain nor it it from nuts or seeds.  It is also for people on autoimmune protocol diet.  The flour is high in carbohydrates, good dietary fiber and vitamin C, low in fat, sugar and micronutrients so is a good replacement flour for people who are diabetic and with high blood pressure.

Another of our locally-grown plant that serves as food in multiple ways which is easy to grow and can be added to you ground-based garden (it doesn’t do so well in pots).

Jambu Madu: What I didn’t know

Our beautiful Malaysian weather enables us to grow and produce lots of fruits and vegetables. Another of the fruits that is rich with benefits is the Jambu Madu.  I always felt that there was more to jambu madu (scientific name:  Syzygium samarangense) or the English name : Rose Apple, which is indigenous to the Malay Peninsula so I decided to research this fruit.  Lo and behold, it has many benefits.  At the farm, we have 2 trees which produces fruit in abundance about 3 times a year.  Hence I also wanted to know what to do with them and also how to get the most out of it.  Being a fruit with high water content, growing it organically is important to ensure it is not contaminated internally.

I most often consumed it raw, sometimes with a dip, and especially on hot days as I find that it has a cooling effect for me.  It has a water content ratio similar to the watermelon.
Based on various research studies, this fruit is found to have several benefits such as :

1. the ability to detoxify the liver
2. lower cholesterol
3. protect against diabetes
4. improve immune system
5. prevent certain types of cancer ( early research indicates it helps prevents prostate and breast cancer)
6. eliminate fungal and bacterial infections
7. improves digestive system.

It is rich in vitamin C and dietary fiber.  I guess as more studies are done, there are bound to be more benefits.

The best time to pick them is when they have turned red and feels very firm.  At this point, the fruit is sweet and crispy such that when you bite into it, it is almost like biting into a juicy apple.  As with many tropical fruits, it doesn’t have a long shelf life.  When purchasing them, check to see if they have been sprayed with preservatives.  An easy way is to ask when the fruit was delivered to the stand.  If it has been more than 2 days, chances are it has been sprayed with chemical preservatives and best to clean the fruit properly to remove the preservatives.

Having a high water content makes it a great option for people who juice, delivering lots of vitamin A and C.  Most often, it is consumed raw, with or without a dip.  With the short shelf life, I had to figure out what else I can do with them.  Apart from consuming them raw, I turned them into “ice cream”, mixing it with Roselle or Bunga Telang for taste as well as adding other nutrients to a tasty, hot day, snack.