Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Daun Kaduk (Wild Betel Leaf)

Daun Kaduk

Daun Kaduk
aka piper sarmentosum scientifically, is usually used in local cuisine to make ulam (traditional Malay salad) and otak-otak (fish cake).

It looks like a betel leaf, but is smaller in size and has a peppery taste.

It can be eaten raw or cooked - steamed, fried, souped, what-have-you. I have seen it used as a vegetable wrap on several occasions.

It doesn't keep long. Best to buy it closest to the day you intend to use it.

Earlier in the year, my sister-in-law asked me to help her out with an otak-otak dish. That's when I first noticed this leaf. I've probably eaten it before but only made a mental note of it now that I've taken an interest in cooking. You should have seen how engrossed I was with the leaf, scrutinising it as though it were a science project!

Anyway, here's an idea how to use it in cooking:

Otak-otak (Fish and prawns in coconut gravy - to be steamed into a cake)
with Daun Kaduk lined at the bottom


The discovery of a new dish confers more happiness on humanity than the discovery of a new star 
~ Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

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2 comments:

  1. They look like a thicker, chewier version of spinach! Can't say that I've ever heard of them, though. You are educating me, one food stuff at a time, Sharon ;-)

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