Kacang Ma

Kacang ma is very famous in Sarawak. Kacang ma is a type of herb which is also called Chinese motherwort (botanical name is Leonurus Sibiricus). It is thought to have originated from China and brought to Sarawak by the Hakka. It's a common dish among the Hakka people, but today it is consumed by other races too. It's one of my favourite dish now. My sister sent me some packages from Sarawak.

It has unique flavour and aroma, is known for its special medical properties. It is effective in improving blood circulation, cardiovascular system, inducing diuresis. It is usually cook with chicken but you can substitute pork for chicken.  Actually, it's especially good for women on confinement or best taking after menses.

Depends on how much you put kacang ma herbs and Chinese wine put, it would taste bitter for first timers. Normally I put salt because I didn't like the bitter taste of it. The longer you cook it, the tender and tastier your chicken would be.

To cook kacang ma, it is recommended to dry fry the kacang ma herbs first before add in other ingredients i.e chicken, ginger, Chinese white wine. This is to extract out the fragrance of the herbs and expedite the cooking process. Please see below the steps how to cook kacang ma.


Fry the kacang ma on the skillet without oil till lightly brown (as seen above picture).  Then, crush it in the pedestal till it is fine (as seen below). You can use strand to take out the bigger. Normally I don't.

Grind ginger and squeeze the liquid out.

Cut chickens to your liking and wash.

White cooking wine, which I bought from Hong Kong Mall.

First, heat the skillet or pan with 2 tablespoon of oil, add in the onions and garlic. Thereafter add the chicken.

Add the Kacang Ma

Stir till properly mix.. 

.Add the white wine.

Add the ginger. Some people either add ginger first then add the wine.

Cook till simmer. The longer you cook it, the tender it is and the better it taste.  However, don't over cook it.  I add a little bit of water because I like to eat more soup.

Walaaah... look yummy.  Happy Eating!!!!

Sarawak Native Mustard Vegetables

You might be wondering what is Sarawak Native Mustard Vegetables???? In Sarawak the Iban people called it Ensabi, the Kenyah called it Ambek. It's a type of mustard which is slightly smaller than the normal mustard plant and a bit bitter when you cooked it. Nevertheless, the natives i.e. Iban, bidayuh, kayan, kenyah, kelabit people like it very much. It's easily grown anywhere in the world, as long as you have hot and wet climate like in my home country, Sarawak, East Malaysia. In Sarawak it's commercially marketed by the native people of Sarawak at the market (tamu). I like to eat it very much. When I worked in Kuala Lumpur, I used to bring some back with me whenever I went back to Miri (my hometown). I would buy like 2 to 3 packets to bring to KL. Now that I am in Houston, TX, USA. I asked my sister to me some of the seeds which I I grow it in my garden at the backyard during this summer. It does grow very well during the summer time. Below are the picture of it.

These are the mustard seeds which I got after it grew old.

These seeds are kept and can be used to grow some more in future.

This is how it looks like. These are the first one I grew.





A closer look at it.


These are the second one I grew.


Don't they look nice and green?


I scattered the unevenly that's why it looks so crowded when they grow bigger.

Ready to be picked.


After it being picked and washed. It is ready to cook.. (yummy)...


Cooking Time. I stir fry it with some onions and chicken cubes.

Cooked and ready to eat with rice of course. Yummy.

Recipe for this simple dish but delicious.

1 cup of chicken meat (cut into 2" size).

2 handful of mustard leaves.

1/4 cup of slice onions

pinch of salt and black pepper

2 tablespoon of oil

1 tablespoon of oyster sauce (optional)

1. Heat up the oil in the skillet and add the onions. Stir fry till it's soft and then add the chicken cubes about 5 minutes.

2. Add some salt to your taste and some black pepper. Lastly add the mustard leaves.. and cook for 3-4 minutes till soft.

If you want to add red pepper chillies with it, that's depends on your taste. Happy viewing.