I guess we have all kinds of ferns growing wild and free all over the country but not all ferns are edible…
The most common one to land on our dinner table would be the paku…
*recycled pic*
…and if I’m not mistaken, over in the peninsula, most people would use it to make kerabu or some kind of sourish raw local salad but on our part, most of the time, we would fry it with belacan (dried prawn paste) and hay bee (dried prawns and chili…
*recycled pic*
…the same way we would cook midin…
*recycled pic*
However, while paku grows in the wet and damp primary forest, midin may be found in the belukar (secondary undergrowth) among the lallang (tall grass) and what not that sprout out where an area of land has been cleared…
…and it is up to anybody to go and pluck them to cook and eat.
I took these photographs at a vacant piece of land near my parents’ house that has been left idle for sometime. I guess anybody living in the vicinity can just go and help themselves to the midin but these are the red or green leafy ones which are not as popular as those curly ones served at restaurants. If you buy these at the native produce market in town, they are much cheaper – maybe by half.
These slightly hairy and curly ferns are edible too…
…and cooked in the same manner but they are a bit bitter and are thus, not as popular and very much cheaper.
Of course we have several other ways of cooking these ferns…and for one thing, as they grow wild and free, they are pesticide-free and healthier unlike many of the cultivated vegetables, be they local or imported.
Comments on: "Wild and free…" (38)
Midin ! I am going to eat you today . Hahahhaah
I like my midin cook with foo chow red wine . Yum yum !
I remember when I am young I will follow my older friend from neighbour to go and pluck paku , very interesting .
Yes, I used to do that too… I really wonder why nobody goes to pluck at this empty piece of land near my parents’ house. As they say, the best things in life are free. I guess most people today would just fork out RM2 to buy at the market – they don’t know what they’re missing…
Ya…must remember that youdo not take belacan. LOL!!!
I am first today ? Hahahahahahahaha!!
You are… Still online? Not otw to the airport or in the air yet? C u later…in Sibu.
Waaaaaaaaaa she gonna eat kampua and kompiahhhhhh… I oso wan.
1st stop upon arrival at Sibu airport…kampua!!!! Drool! Drool! LOL!!!
Chamz….*looks around for Shereen* habisla… she sure gonna drool like me.
Hehehehehehe!!!!! *evil grin!!!
I’m here…don’t like where this post is heading since he got dates with Annie to go makan. Habislar we both, Cleffairy these few days.Beware!!
No lah! I would take her to all the places with the nice things to eat…but since I’ve posted about all of them, I would not be doing it again. You’re all safe – no worries!
Yalo… these few days, habislah we both… he sure go makan spree with Annie. Chamz… come here must makan kenyang kenyang, or else, sure will be tempted punya.
No worries…no food posts. Will be bringing Annie to all the places that I’ve featured before.
Gorgeous pics again. I swear your little Nikon is better than any fancy SLR I’ve seen. As they say, it’s not the equipment but the person behind it. BTW, started a new blog, a personal one. Would appreciate a link. And Annie, have a good time in Sibu and enjoy Lian Yew’s kampua!
Luck, just luck lah…and good lighting. I do get not so nice shots too sometimes. LOL!!! Hah!!! Don’t you envy Annie…and wish the months would pass by faster? Hehehehehe!!!! Ok…will check out your new blog and add it in my blogroll.
A, thanks for the link and the comment. Well, I’ve had my fun, time to get back to work and July 2012 will be here in no time! Tell Annie if she goes to Choon Seng to try the kopi-peng. I’ve never had their plain kopi but their kopi-peng is their specialty, to me anyway.
We’re going for breakfast this morning…
@ Philip , yes , I have yet to go to Lian Yew, it’s in my list ! Today I have already try Choon Seng coffee kau kau ! Nice ! Give me the morning kick .
LOL!!! So many places to go to, so little time…
I don’t know much about this stuff, but i do know i can wallop that paku with sambal on raw, it is to me heavenly…………..
See! There’s a difference, it seems. We do not eat these for ulam…and definitely not raw. Maybe that’s why you people over there have a problem with cangkuk manis which we’ve been eating all these years, torn to little shreds to aid digestion and cooked, and we are not aware of any problem related to it.
Just realise Midin can cause gout.I had an attack the day after consuming a plate of it. This is the second time I got gout after taking it.
Oh? It’s “cold”. Then you must avoid kangkong, paku, bamboo shoots…all the cold veg. Also bad for rheumatism and arthritis. I had a gout attack after feasting on bean sprouts (taugeh). I guess it must be the high protein content – bad for gout sufferers and people with high uric acid. You have to watch your diet now, still so very young. Drink lots of water and and exercise.
oh, i didn’t know those fern can be eaten!! i thot they are just wild and not edible at all..
That’s why my parents’ Indon maid said, “Kamu orang semua barang makan.” She said they have all the things over there but they never eat them.
I love the vegetables above.. paku pakis and midin.. I guess both also from the “same family.” Over here in the market, the pakupakis are selling at 1rm per bunch.. normally need 2 bunches then only got the “kick”…
actually they are good for constipation too…
Like Ho says…you may end up getting gout. I don’t know that – it could also be the hay bee (dried prawns) and belacan but I know it is cold – like kangkong, bamboo shoots so should not be eaten too much and too frequently.
Here, they sell at RM2.00 a bundle but often, they wrap the spoilt, lousy ones inside – these would be thrown away, no longer edible…but as a whole, there would be enough for one dish of the fern.
Paku Pakis, last time mum used to cook as well, normally is with belacan.
i noticed got advertisement on your site, what ads are those oh?
Yes, so nice with belacan…but for people like Annie-Q who do not like belacan, they fry with garlic…or with ginger and red wine.
How come I do not see any? I’ve seen them before though when I browse on my mobile. Definitely not my ads…maybe WordPress adds them automatically plus some so-called “related links” to other blogs (sometimes not related at all).
ehh, im back here but no ads now, weird wor.
Don’t ask me. I thought the hungry ghosts have all gone back? Muahahahahaha!!!!
Aijor…make me think of the pakis I had together with Cleff, CY and Kat at LYJ Restaurant at Sg Buloh…is a cold dish.
Cold dish? That would be kerabu. I used to see that in hotel buffets also – kerabu paku. I think it is a lot nicer fried with belacan and udang kering – same way as you people fry kangkong or sweet potato leaves.
Ahem… Ling ah… my bday in a few wiks worr… got excuse to go baham! LOL!!!
I don’t want to see the post…
my late grandma used to cook that. Yummy…
You don’t? We eat these all the time…but not the last type – the hairy ones.
Its not free we barter trade with the leeches. We used to pluck them those days for ma Mama to cook with curry. Bananaz no problem eating lots of paku but not kangkong may sometimes get leg cramps at night.
Kangkong may cause pain in the joints lah – angin! Old people with rheumatism… Nocturnal leg cramps? I hear they’re caused by low potassium… Muahahahaha!!!! The irony of it all! Bananaz suffering from potassium deficiency.
Use YokoYoko…instant relief! 
There is no free lunch hahaha
Got lah! And they say the best things in life are free! Drop by and see tomorrow’s post and you’ll get what I mean. Hehehehehehe!!!!
What I mean one drop of blood for one bunch of paku it’s not free not the HLT opening lah. Wow you have added pixz? Nice clear pixs you’ve captured so clear.
Huh? All the pics were there right from the start. How come you did not see them the first time around? I did not add anymore… No lah…the restaurant is owned by an ex-student of mine or his family, I think and I was just trying to help promote the opening of his new branch at Jinjang, after the 2nd one at Jalan Imbi. Dunno where the 1st one is.
Maybe pix 2 & 4 were took longer time to upload hehe..that could be missing then.
That happens sometimes when connection is very poor…or they take a long long time. Your connection no good yesterday?
I’ve tried the paku vege but never like the taste. Both my parents loves them!
Fried with sambal dried prawns and belacan or masak lemak. I’ve bought before from the chap fan place here – just fried with garlic…also not nice and I did not like the kerabu paku I had at a Malays tall not long ago either. Depends on how you cook but midin is nicer actually.
I used to follow my brother to the back of our house to pluck wild plants (don’t know what leaves are those) to feed our pet rabbit. But I got bitten by red ants (accidentally step on their nest) ! and got myself sent to the hospital for injection due to allergic to it. Whole body itch and swell. Frighten my mum and that was also our last time seeing our pet rabbit. Mum sent them away
Red ants. Black ants. I had my share of those in my younger days. LOL!!! Maybe you were allergic…or perhaps you got bitten at the “wrong” place and the poison went into the blood stream. It happened to me once – stung by the red-coloured bee in the house and my whole body was swollen. Had to go to a doctor for an injection – that was he told us what had happened.
I dunno Midin but I know ferns.. and i love ferns
You orang putih panggil paku-pakis ferns lah? LOL!!
Oh!…both paku & midin are my favourite….but I would much pefer midin. That plate of midin looks heavenly. Just fry it with belacan and hay bee and it just taste great. In Kuching, midin & paku would cost a bomb.
Never know that midin can cause gout. Maybe have to cut down on this. But so far I am ok with it. Thanks for the info, Ho.
I don’t know if it causes gout which is due to high uric acid. Must not eat too much meat, liver and all the insides, seafood, eggs…and taugeh! All the things with high protein content. Midin is “cold” and bad for people with hing-sip (rheumatism) – pain in the bones/joints…same as kangkong and bamboo shoots.
I like both paku and midin but when cooking, I prefer midin. Paku…have to use a knife to split the stalks into halves – tedious and can be a hassle.
I love paku dish! oh i havent tried any kerabu dish of this. is it as nice as cooked one??
I’m more used to having these cooked our own way…so I’m not really crazy about the kerabu. For one thing, it’s cold…
We call it pako here and we make pako salad that’s really delicious. We eat it raw.
That would be the same as our kerabu paku then. They make kerabu (raw salad, slightly sourish) with other things too like mango and other types of fruits. In this part of the country, however, we usually cook it and eat.
Yes, organic vegetables/ferns are certainly better. Oh boy, I don’t think I’d know how to differentiate the edible ferns from the non-edible ones – probably go and pluck the wrong one and poison myself.
LOL!!! Play safe…eat at restaurants.
Love these plants with lots of chilly, belachan and dried prawns….really delicious!
Hear! Hear! Hear it from The Master!!!
I love them all…whatever paku they are….:p stir fry them with belacan…I can have just that one plate of veggie with 2 plates of rice…believe me ?
Aha!!! A testimony from another MasterChef! These are the ones who know best, I’m sure everyone will agree.
Arthur,
My mom dulu pun beli although we can pluck for free kat my Grandpa’s ladang. Reason being snakes..especially ular hitam like to hide/sleep at these ferns bushes. But bila beli, some of these sellers not honest…luar cantik but inside all either the ferns dah tua or tak cantik. I’m going to have lots of these yummies soon!!!! Cleffairy, jangan jealous…hahaha.
These days, if you ask me to go and pluck, I will also think twice. Dunno why but when young dulu, never scared of anything – everything I dared to do. Now tua already, baru takut mati…
Not sure which one can be eaten and which one not. But the pasar here selling a big bunch for rm1. Not bad la. No need to run the risk of getting snake bites at the bushes
So cheap there!!! Maybe because not many people there eat it. Here, RM2…and wrapped inside, all the buruk ones. Tipu people…
If midin, even worse – RM4 a kg…because the Chinese love eating those. They pronounce it as “mi lian” and that sounds like million so they eat a lot, hoping to become millionaires. When I was young, it was so cheap (as they did not know how to eat it then)…and we could even go and pluck our own – not many houses, lots of empty belukar-covered land around.
I LOVE paku! I think it’s the same vege they use in Sotong with sambal right? So good!
Dunno? Do they have veg in sotong with sambal? All I know is in sambal prawns, they may add buah petai…
so lucky that you guys can get the midin quite easily over there. It’s quite expensive here and not many restaurants serve it here.
That means you do have it there…and you have paku too except that it’s cheap there as not many people eat it. Here, both quite expensive unlike in the good old days…/strong>
Aiyo uncle, long time no kacau u.
Yalor, so longtime, no see u… I thought you pelajar luar negara so very sombong now, dun wan to come visit old uncle. Muahahahaha!!!!!
Midin, oh how I long for thy flavor!
Not coming back despite all the cheap or zero airfares? Come…I can treat you to all you can eat!
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