Bright eyes…

I  don’t know what they are called…

…but this was not the first time that my missus had bought them from the market. I did ask her but she did not know either. All she could tell me was that they are reputed to be good for one’s eyes.

I tried googling but found nothing; I wonder if they are what they call malunggay in the Philippines. There seems to be some resemblance to the daun bumi hempedu that I take every day but these are in not in any way bitter at all.

For one thing, they are very cheap. For RM1.00, you can buy a whole lot but do not be too happy as it is really tedious to prepare considering that the leaves have to be plucked one by one and just because you will end up with a basketful of them, it does not mean you are going to have a whole lot to eat.

I’ve cooked them with garlic and egg before – the same way that I would cook cangkuk manis…and I’ve also cooked them with belacan (dried prawn paste) and on both occasions, we found the end results very palatable and we wouldn’t mind having them again.

This time around, I stir-fried them with a bit of finely-chopped garlic, some prawns, sliced chillies and half a teaspoon of ikan bilis (anchovies) stock…

I did not wait till the leaves were very well-cooked in which case they would look like cangkuk manis, so there was still quite a substantial amount left to be served. That is the problem with these leaves. You may start off with a whole lot of them but after cooking, there will only be a little bit left…

I wonder if anybody knows what these are called and whether anybody has cooked them before. Come, let’s share what you have with everybody…