Cangkok Manis or Sweet Vegetable

The Foochows call the leafy vegetable which comes from a wild tree in Sibu, Lakian Chai, meaning the vegetable of the Wild People.

This was a story told by my grandfather when I asked him (at a very young age) why the huge patch of vegetable grown by him was called La Kian Chye. Why was it named such. Was this vegetable not found in Minqing?

My grandfather Tiong Kung Ping elaborated that when he first came to Sibu with Wong Nai Siong and other Foochow pioneers, he was very dismayed because they were not able to recognise vegetables in the wild when he and his friends went foraging for food. They had brought with them seeds and cuttings in Minqing and were waiting to harvest their cultivation in the new land.

The original mani chai, or Kerutum, found in Ulu Limbang.

So they observed the Ibans in Sg Merah to see what they cooked. Most importantly besides learning from them how to hunt they learned to collect two wild vegetables from the nearby jungle: the paku and the cangkuk manis. Both of these wild vegetables were given names : Lakian kuok (ferns of the wild people) and lakian chai (vegetable of the wild people) The names stuck to this day. The Ibans call the original jungle cangkok manis as Kerutum. 

In actual fact, cangkok manis aka cekor manis is a sweet shrub. Its botanical name is Sauropus androgynus. It has been eaten by the Malays, the Orang Asli, the indigenous natives of Sarawak and now the Chinese and Indians.

In Chinese it is called Shu Cai (树菜,树仔菜) which is more politically correct. In English it is called star gooseberry and in India it is known as Madura Cheera.

In some Chinese farms in Sibu, the cangkok manis plant can live for as long as 15 years. They grow up to 2 m tall with green stems and dark green leaves. The more it is cut, the more leaves the plant will produce. 

The Foochows love to cook cangkok manis leaves in soup and stir fry (with eggs) dishes. The Hakkas use it as part of their pan mee.

Before cooking, the leaves must be squeezed and crushed by hands to reduce some of the bitterness.

The indigenous Sarawakians also boil cangkok manis in soups, or mix with young corn,  and pumpkin.

Cangkok Manis grown by Cikgu REgina since 2009.

Cangkuk manis plant grows to 1.5 m tall with dark green stems and light or dark green leaves. The shoots and young leaves taste great in soup and stir-fry dishes. Before cooking, leaves must be squeezed and crushed by hands .

p/s a young man, educated in TAiwan has now successfully grown Mani Chai in Minqing, in his giant green house. 120  years later, the  favourite vegetable from Sarawak would soon be served in the restaurants of Fujian.