Cangkok Manis

I had the opportunity to take a photo of this beautiful cangkok manis plant with its maroon flowers.

The cangkok manis is a favourite vegetable in Sarawak. It is also good enough to be on the menu of restaurants. From the humble jungle of Sarawak, this native plant has become a star vegetable, fit for the king and queen of Malaysia.

Its scientific name is Sauropus androgynus. It is also known as katuk, star gooseberry or sweet leaf. In Chinese it is called mani cai and in Japan it is called amame shbia. In the PHilippines it is called Chinese Malunggay. It can be easily grown in soft alluvial soils and can tolerate even floods. Some cangkok manis plants can continue to provide leaves for the family even after 15 years of growth. They seem to be fairly perennial.

In Indonesia, the cangkok manis is eaten by new mothers to help them  improve the flow of breast milk.

Generally in the towns of Sarawak, the cangkok manis is a must order dish when folks eat out. It can be stir fried with eggs, ikan bilis, oyster sauce or dried prawns. By itself the vegetable is great!