Saturday, March 5, 2011

Pumpkin shoots (Pucuk labu)

Feel like eating some greens from my vegetable garden today. But pak choys are not ready for eating yet, kangkungs (water spinachs) were harvested last week.
The only thriving healthy greens left are my pumpkin patch!

So lets have pumpkin shoots for lunch!


today's harvests besides the pumpkin shoots, are long beans, tomatoes, eggplants and okra

my small pumpkin patch...started with 6 seedlings excluding those in pots and those grown near the pergola



close-up of pumpkin shoots


Masak lemak pucuk labu or pumpkin shoots cooked in coconut milk is considered a kampung dish or sayur kampung. Nowadays, if you are looking for their shoots, you may try the local morning market (pasar tani) or the wet market..if you are lucky! That shows how rare those shoots are! Since my pumpkin patch has not given any fruits yet, I bought a small one to accompany the tender shoots which are then cut into big cubes. Traditionally, a small piece of tumeric leaf is added to the dish, but I prefer a handful of fragrance Thai basil. The coconut milk and the pumpkin gives the dish its sweet and creamy taste.


cut and washed pumpkin shoots ready for the pot


easy-to-cook pumpkin shoots in coconut milk...and of course the pumpkin too!



I can't wait for my pumpkin plants to bear many yellow fruits so that I can make lepat labu, pengat labu and bengka labu!.....all sweet delicacies made of pumpkins!



20 comments:

miruku said...

Huh! Pumpkin leaves can be eaten!? I didn't know that! You have more than enough to eat from your pumpkin patch. I only have one pumpkin plant, im too afraid to handle vines haha.

Journey of My Gardening said...

I excited just seeing all the harvested vegetables from your garden. Pumpkin shoots are a popular stirfried vegetables in Taiwan. That's what i heard.

takaeko said...

Pumpkins are popular and cooked in various way but I've never heard that its leaves and shoots can be eaten!
But cooking pumpkins with their leaves sounds very nutritious!

Masha said...

Thanks for an unusual (for me) recipe! It is always fun to learn something new.

Bangchik and Kakdah said...

masak lemak labu! how nice. I wonder when was the last we had masak lemak labu.... over here nasi kerabu is almost daily!

Rani acharyulu said...

Hi
Eastern part of India they use pumpkin flowers for making fritters.But pumpkin leaves using in recipes new to me.Those looks so fresh i think recipe also delicious.Thanks for sharing.
cheers
rani

Anonymous said...

I really love pak choy, but never had pumpkin shoots. It looks good though. I too heard of using the flowers in recipes.

p3chandan said...

Yes Milka they are sayur kampung before all the modern veggies we get from the supermarkets! You cant get pumpkin shoots in the supermarkets only in Pasar Tani..though not all the time they sell the shoots, cos not many people grow them commercially. Its a delicious lemak manis dish! Just like kangkung masak lemak with sweet potato.

Journey of My Gardening, I was excited too when harvesting them, since its the first time I have the vegetable garden! Stir-fry them? well that I havent heard before.

Takaeko, its delicious and nutritious because of the coconut milk is so creamy and the pumpkins are naturally sweet!

Masha, even locally not all ethnic group are familiar with this dish. Its only popular with the Malays as originally the pumpkins are grown in the kampungs in their backyard.

Bangchik masak lemak labu must have the pucuk labu or else not nice. Nowadays, pucuk labu are seldom sold even in the wet market. I love nasi kerabu but cant eat that everyday...my weight will go up!

Yes Rani Ive seen those pumpkin flower fritters shown on TV, they look crispy and delicious! The pumpkin shoots dish is delicious cos its creamy and sweet.

Donna, pumpkin flowers recipes are more widely known where they are stuffed with minced meat, seafood or veggies and steamed or fried. As far as I know, the shoots dish are only known here locally.

Egretta Wells blog said...

How very interesting to learn something I have never heard of--I didn't know one could eat pumpking shoots. It looks delicious. Thanks for sharing.

p3chandan said...

Egretta, its always a pleasure sharing something new and unique with other bloggers especially from other countries. Yes its delicious and nutritious too!

Autumn Belle said...

I didn't know that pumpkin shoots can be eaten. What a useful plant this is.

Lona said...

I did not know that you could eat pumpkin shoots. It looks yummy.
I just love the white hibiscus in your previous posting. It is just beautiful.
I have emailed the "No Right Click" Code to you I hope it works for you.
Have a wonderful week!

Donna said...

I did not know you could eat the shoots...what a great way to control the amount of pumpkins..i am growing some this year and will have to try this..

Malar said...

We can eat pucuk labu? Thanks for sharing! The last when i planted labu, i tear of the whole plant and throw away since it never flower and took most of the land for almost 6 months....

p3chandan said...

Autumn Belle, its quite popular with the Malays one of the many dishes of kampung folks.

Thank you very much Lona for the Code, will try it and let you know if its ok.Pumpkin shoots dish is an old recipe, its simple but delicious and nutritious. The hibiscus are blooming right now, I have a few colours besides the white ones.Its our National Flower. You too have a good week ahead!

Donna, besides the flowers, the tender shoots are edible in a simple but delicious old recipe.

p3chandan said...

Malar, so sayang you threw them away, you can cook masak lemak labu or sell those shoots at Pasar Tani, they are a rarity nowadays!

Andrea said...

It is one of my favorite vegies. In my case i remove the hairs off the older stems, so they come out clean and smooth. Only those in the very immature portion are left, anyway the hairs are not harsh yet. Oh i miss that, esp now that we are starting our dry season, we dont have squash anymore. You mean you also have the word "sayang", and meaning is like ours too! There is no exact one word in English, isn't it?

Malay-Kadazan girl said...

Pucuk timun pun boleh makan juga. Wah kak Shidah sekarang banyak pilihan sayur nak harvest from your veggie patch. Congratulation on achieving your wish this year and in such a short time. Rindu nak makan fresh veggie. Hari tu tapau nasi campur tak tertelan sayur pak choi.Dah manja sangat taste bud bertukar;-).

Sue Catmint said...

YUM! that is an appealing way to cook any greens. congrats - what a wonderful harvest.

p3chandan said...

Andrea, Im surprised that Filipinos also eat pumpkin shoots, and Ive heard about removing the hairs on the older stems too but I only cook the tender young ones. I guess a lot of our Malay language are the same as your Tagalog. Among Malaysians we sometimes use Manglish, a mixed of Malay and English in our conversations!:)

Ye ke Diana, I didnt know that about pucuk timun and pucuk kacang pun boleh makan as cikmanggis said.Thanks to your garden harvests which motivate me to grow more vegetables!

Thank you Catmint, its an old recipe using pumpkin shoots.