Saturday, August 30, 2008

Tadaaah!



Heeeeere's kangkong.

It's right on my patio in this big clay pot. It's so lush and healthy. This plant was from a stalk I trimmed of its leaves for my sinigang. I dug a small hole and pushed the stalk in this pot. There used to be a ficus benjamina plant here, apparently I over watered it and it went kaput. The ficus trunk is still intact right there, but it's now dry, lifeless. I have used this pot since, to put all my veggie trimmings, kind of a compost bin. It is now my kangkong pot. I'll see how much it will grow, if I will have enough for another sinigang. Har har har.

One thing good about this plant, it loves water. In fact, it thrives well on swamps, ponds, and any watery place. So, there is no fear of having it over watered. Perfect for me who kills my plants with love by over watering them.

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Note:

Kangkong per Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:


Ipomoea aquatica

Ipomoea aquatica is a semi-aquatic tropical plant grown as a leaf vegetable. Its precise natural distribution is unknown due to extensive cultivation, with the species found throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world.

Common names include water spinach, swamp cabbage, water convolvulus, water morning-glory, kangkung (Indonesian, Malay), kangkong (Tagalog), eng chai (Hokkian), tangkong (Cebuano), kang kung (Sinhalese), trawkoon ( Khmer: ត្រកូន), pak boong (in Thai: ผักบุ้ง) (Thai), rau muống (Vietnamese), kongxincai (Chinese: 空心菜; pinyin: kōngxīncài; literally "hollow heart vegetable"), home sum choy ( Hakka), and ong choy or tung choi (Cantonese, ngônkcôi; pinyin: wéngcài)., " ကန္စြန္း " (Ken-Zun) in Burmese.

Read more here.


28 comments:

CONNIE said...

Love kangkong. Is it "swamp cabbage" in English? Great for sinigang!

Have a lovely weekend, Mari!

Nance said...

I haven't eaten kangkong since I don't know when. yes, delish in sinigang or adobong kangkong!

sounds like they are easy to grow then. wonder if they sell kangkong seeds ... now that I know the English name (per Connie)I'll try to locate them in seed's catalog.

Mari said...

connie,
Yes, it is called swamp cabbage.

Thanks for the visit.

Mari said...

nance,
I've seen packets of seeds at some oriental stores.

Check out my addendum for other names for this plant.

Have a great long weekend.

Nance said...

oh, now I see it! lol
boy, a veggie with a lot of names! :)

Anonymous said...

Kakaiba yan ha. Kangkong sa paso. Just noticed something, mahahaba yung leaves nya.

Mari said...

ann,
Oo, kangkong sa paso. Ha ha Iba nga siya mahahaba ang dahon. Yung sa atin medyo malapad, di ba?

Nung araw, meron akong nakasamahan sa opis na Amerikanong puti at mahilig magluto. Minsan nakabili siya ng Pinoy cookbook at ipinakita sa akin, at tanong niya, "Where can I buy kengkang?" Yan ang bigkas niya sa kangkong. ha ha

Anonymous said...

wow, kangkong. luv that green thing in sinigang, as atsara salad, or adobo. see, you have that green thumb after all, my dear friend.

nin

Mari said...

nini,
Hey there! Glad you got the time to peek in here.

You know? Kangkong doesn't need any green thumb to get it growing. Any thumb will do. LOL

Thanks for the visit. And take it easy.

Anonymous said...

tamang-tama! my next gardening project is a kangkong plant. i planned to start it from seed but your post gave me an idea to start from a stalk.

about ann's comment, that kangkong variety is also available here, kala ko nga nung una that's the expensive kangkong, while the one with wide leaves is murang kangkong :D anyway, my research says (been planning to plant it kaya medyo may konting kaalaman na, hehehe!) the kangkong you have is the variety that grows best in soil. the ones with wide leaves grows best in water.

Photo Cache said...

Hi Mari, I did the same thing when I cooked pancit and used kinchay instead of celery. I planted the roots and now I have four or five pots of kinchay.

Kangkong is my fave sahog for sinigang.

Anonymous said...

I like kangkong, esp "Kangkong belacan" (Malayisian cuisine)belacan is a mix of shrimp and red chili. Wow, super hot!Uusok ang tenga mo lol!
It's a versatile vege, pwedeng crispy kangkong, adobo, stir fry with garlic katerno ng inihaw or pritong isda. Waa...nagugutom ako!
Palaguin mo Mari, hehe...may kangkong ka na sa sarili mong bakuran. :)

Pepe said...

Dami palang tawag sa kangkong ano....? Pik-pak-bum, sis-bum-ba ha-ha....! I also have kangkong growing at my balcony in a very large pot....! And you know what are in that pot as well....? You wont believe this Mari, i have a mini-banana plantation going on in that pot ha-ha....! My aunty gaved me this bunch of dwarf bananas shoots about two years ago, and now there's around seven to ten miniature just a meter high banana trees filling that pot with the kangkong underneath its shade....! =D

Mari said...

lady cess,
Oo stalk na lang, madaling tumubo naman eh.

Ah, meron din palang ganyang dahon sa atin. I never noticed that before. You're right about soil and water kind, but I never knew mine thrives on soil.

Thanks for the info, and good luck on your plant.

Mari said...

photo cache,
I'll try the kinchay.

Thanks for the tip.

Mari said...

nona,
Kangkong belacan sounds good. Itatanong ko nga sa Malay na kaibigan ko kung alam niya ito. di niya raw masyadong gusto yung laksa (kita ko 'to sa tv)

Oo palalaguin ko. Malayo ang Pinoy at Oriental market dito - 20 miles away - at duon lang nabibili. Minsan lang sa isang buwan kami pumupunta ruon.

Mari said...

pepe,
Wow, meron ka pang garden sa paso! Nakakatuwa siguro sila. Yun nga palang aloe vera mo, kinunan mo ba ng litrato yung bulaklak? Di pa ako nakakita ng bulaklak nun.

Gina said...

Hello Kangkong farmer! =)

I love them, and I miss them. The closest thing to it ,that I could have are the chiccoria or dandelion leaves. I like the kangkong more. Adobong kangkong, yummmmm!

Mari said...

gina,
LOL I love my new name.

I've had dandelions for my salad, they are good. I've just been to the Pinoy market today, and checked out the kangkong and they cost $1.99 a pound!!! Yikes. LOL

GingGoy said...

may kangkungan ka na. i remeber i will post a beautiful pic of its flower later :P

Mari said...

tutubi,
Oh, good! I would love to see that - flower of kangkong. I assume it resembles the morning glory flower.

Thanks for the visit.

Vk-mahalkaayo said...

kongxincai.........ito pala ang right word....
kasi sabi ng parents ko, kong chai...ewan ko ano ang kong.. chai is vege.....lol

alam mo, makain pala ito, fresh, wash only then eat directly, like salad....

the other tuesday, i am invited to a thailander friend, for lunch,..loto niya POK_POK...called it pok-pok, cause all the ingrs. pinok-pok lang sa morser....ano ba yon sa tagalog, bisaya lusong....

tingnan ko nga sa google ano sa english ito....lol

moment ha,.---

Vk-mahalkaayo said...

Mortar, sabi ni mr. google...
german is moerser.....
basta yon i-pok-pok or making small, mostly made of stone...

or yon noon, wla pang grinder-mill, ito ang gamit sa family, to grind their rice?

masarap ang loto ni mrs. thai...naku ang anghangggg, lalabas talaga ang sip-on, tear, and sweat mo kung kakain ka....lol
pero ang sarapppppp, hay naku.

tapos meron cyang mga fresh vege, na first time kong kumain yon...

meron din tayo ng ganoon, kaya lang hindi ko pa nakain ng fresh....

like string beans, at itong tangkong....naku, sabi ko, daritso kainin ito?
baka blanchieren muna.....

hay naku, moment tanong naman ako ni mr. google nitong word na ito.....

Blanch daw.....yon wash with hot water ba yon?......

sorry, nahirapan ako, kasi pag bisaya ko, i know hindi ka nakaintindi....lol

english?.....na ja, not used it, kaya nakalimutan na, pag narinig, maala-ala....heheheh

ok, direct to the point vk, ang haba naman ng comment mo uy....lol

yon kangkong, kinain, directly, sabi ko pwede ba?
yong sitaw?...baka magkabag tayo nito....heheheh

kasi alam ko yon....blanch muna.

sabi nya direct kainin daw, with showing how to eat our lunch menu....ibang bansa, ibang cultura...

naku sarap pala ang fresh tangkong.....

first ko yon nakain.....pero ewan pag hindi ko alam kung saan galing or hindi ko nakita, kagaya sa kangkong mo.....

ewan, takot ako kumain.....

pasa ko muna, long comentario.....

Vk-mahalkaayo said...

noong gr. school pa ako.
yon cmates namin, nagka sakit...first hindi alam kung why....

bakit ang hina nya at na-yellowish at so weak...

kaya dala cya ng dr....hay naku, meron linta sa stomach nya....ehhhh

kaya yon, hindi talaga ako kakain ng kangkong na fresh or hindi loto...

galing daw yon linta sa kangkong, sabi ng parents nya....
yon ang sabi ng familya nila.
meron kasi silang kangkong-swamp.
doon nakuha ang hanapbuhay nila...sa kangkongan nila.


kasi ang kangkong sa amin, alam ko, galing sa swamp or sa yon parang lake.....tapos maraming carabao sa pook nila, so where the carabao....magpahinga.......

sorry, pero totoo ito, kaya sa amin-familya, hindi kami kakain ng tangkong na hindi niloto....

masarap ang kangkong, to make salad---pero blanch...
gisadong kangkong...
sinigang, of course....

sorry ha?-...but this is a true story...

parang namatay yn bata, kasi hindi lang 1 ang linta sa stomach nya, sabi ng dr. baka daw...nagdami, sa stomach nya......natagalan sa loob....

sorry, sa story ko ha?...pero hindi ito story or guni-guni lang, totoo ito.

thanks for the visit, mari.....

happy sunday.........

uy, favorite ko ang tangkong....next summer, i try your idea, sa balkon ko.....

thanks for sharing the idea.....

regards

Vk-mahalkaayo said...

ay oo nga, itong tangkong mo,

paramg Imelda ang name nito, remember ko lang, sa high school time ko,....

on that time, Imelda, adviced to plants tangkong in the plastic bags even in the garden or balkon, daw...

kaput.....that is german word of sira.....kaputt, double tt lang....

sigi na uy, baka na bored ka na sa akin.....bye

Mari said...

vicki,
Yung kong chai sa Chinese siguro yun, no? Pok pok, parang Tagalog din yan. Pinukpok sa bayuhan. Mortar (English) yung bayuhan at pestle (English) yung pang bayu o pang pukpok.

Sa atin ang ginagawang salad ay i-blanch muna natin. Di ba? Tulad ng talbos ng kamote na salad...blanch muna natin yan. Ano? Di yata ginagawang salad sa atin yang kangkong. Ay, naku, kung galeng nga sa swamp yan di dapat gawing fresh salad, puwera na lang kung i-boil saglit o i-blanch. Kaya mabuti sa atin yung blanched na gulay bago gawing salad. At least we kill whatever bacteria is in the veggie.

Naniniwala ako sa istorya mo tungkol sa bata. We get those things from what we eat and the kid ate fresh kangkong and that's where he got it.

Yeah, kaput ginagamit yan sa English, pero spelling ay isang t lang. Nanggaleng sa German word na kaputt.

Sige subukan mong magtanim sa paso, para meron kang gulay na fresh. LOL

Salamat sa bisita mo....have a great weekend.

Anonymous said...

haha!what a great idea,you grow kangkong?i wonder how many years na ba akong di nakakakain ng kangkong,i have to go back home in the philippines muna..lol

Mari said...

ghee,
Nakakatuwa, kasi ang daling tumubo. Ngayon malago na siya. Matagal nga rin akong di nakatikim dahil wala dati niyan dito. Meron na ngayon, kay mahal naman halos $2 a pound (half a kilo).

Thanks for the visit.