It is fun spotting edible wild leaves, flowers and fruits in Singapore's concrete jungle. In this foraging dairy, I document the edible wilds that I stumble upon in public places, living in Singapore.
๐ด Note: Plucking leaves, flowers or fruits on state land is illegal. Not an issue as we just let our cameras eat and leave it for the next person's pleasure.
Let's go! ๐
Wild pepper (Piper Sarmentosum) is commonly used in Singapore street side landscaping. It is known as daun kaduk in Malay.
Wild pepper leaves are julienned and used in traditional Malay dishes like nasi ulam, nasi kerabu etc. Whole leaves are used to wrap otak otak.
These daun kaduk were spotted just outside Paya Lebar Quarter along Sims Avenue.
Dempsey Hill
Chef Isaac Henry showed me these wild cucumbers at Dempsey Hill.
These tiny cucumbers taste exactly like regular supermarket cucumbers but sweeter, harder, a bit more fibrous, almost crunchy and oh... so juicy.
These wild cucumbers were spotted at the large open field right beside St. George's Church (on its west side).
Admiralty Park
Attap seed pod on a nipa palm (Nypa Fruticans) - the seeds inside are used in desserts and the dried leaves used to make thatched roofs and exterior cladding for traditional attap houses.
An attap house in Indonesia (image credit: Wikipedia).
Green attap leaves are used to wrap otak otak which are cooked by grilling over charcoal. The charred attap leaf imparts a toasty taste and smell to the otak otak.
Attap seeds are used in traditional cold desserts. They are boiled in sugar syrup. The cooked seeds are hard and taste sweet.
These attap palm trees were spotted at Admiralty Park.
Pandan leaves (Pandanus Amaryllifolius) at Admiralty Park. Standing beside this stand of pandan leaves I can smell the characteristic sweet fragrance that make this grass so important in southeast Asian cuisine.
Together with ginger and lemongrass, pandan leaves give Singapore Hainanese chicken rice that alluring aroma. Pandan leaves are used in many dishes and desserts for their sweet perfume. They are essential for cendol, ondeh ondeh, etc.
These pandan leaves were spotted at Admiralty Park.
Come back regularly as I will update this Singapore foraging dairy with new finds. Please share your discoveries with us in the comments too.
Thank you ๐ ๐
First edition: 25 Sep 2020
Nice photos, Uncle Tony! and your face mask matches the theme of this post! Did you find any nutmeg trees?
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that attap trees look like that! Wow!
In Finland, anyone can go foraging and eat from the land. That's how many people go mushroom picking, and wild blueberry/strawberry picking. how different..