Ulam


Ulam is analogous to the Western practice of eating raw vegetables and fruits - whatever is in hand - in salads. The condiments differ, instead of salad dressings, various types of sambal, typically sambal belacan is consumed. Legumes eaten in ulam not only include the petai but also include the more pungent and more delicious jering and kerdas. Other, less exotic, fruits include pineapple, green unripe mangos and banana hearts.

Vegetables are not limited to the run-of-the-mill variety, herbs such as daun selasih (basil), pegaga (Centella asiatica) and even various ferns are also consumed with much gusto and delight. The other herbal ulam which I had for lunch today together with the others already mentioned is ulam raja which is the shoots and leaves of the common garden flower Cosmos caudatus Kunth. Don't laugh until you've tried it--yummy! The Ministry of Agriculture describes it in some detail in Bahasa Melayu but fails to give its scientific name:

http://agrolink.moa.my/jph/kelantan/ulamraja.htm

See also:

http://agrolink.moa.my/jph/kelantan/INDEX01.HTML

A UKM page gives descriptions in Bahasa Melayu of a number of ulam, including petai and a whole bunch I had missed out:

http://pkukmweb.ukm.my/~ahmad/tugasan/s2_99/a56496.htm

Other ulam I had for lunch today are the shoots of penyambung nyawa and cewek muda which we grow in our herbal garden at home. Hey, don't ask me for their Latin names, I'm no ethnobotanist, just a gourmet!

Western fruits and vegetables also lend themselves to be eaten as ulam. I'm sure most of you have tried cabbage, cucumber, tomato and perhaps even carrots and brussel sprouts. Others I have tried include sour or not-so-sweet strawberries mashed in the sambal belacan, Bramleys (sour cooking apples) and asparagus.