Ulog #135: Kangkung Belacan - Greens with Sambal

Kangkung is a local green that is cooked among a lot of difference local cuisines. You can find this is Malay cooking and Chinese cooking commonly.

Apparently it is a type of kale but it seems more like in the watercress family to me. It looks kindda similar to watercress more than kale.

The taste however is very unique and not at all like kale. A little similar to watercress but it has it's own distinctive and unique taste on it's own.

One of the 2 common ways to cook kangkung is a light sauce version which is basically just onions, garlic and some chili slices.

Another common one, which is in the picture above that I had last week, is belacan style. Belacan is a spicy shrimp paste that's pungent, salty and spicy. It's used in a lot other cooking of greens such as spinach, sweet potato leaf, basically any leafy green.

Kangkung though has got to be one of those greens that pairs perfectly with belacan. It's a very common order among the locals and it's super delicious.

This one I had was at a Malay restaurant. It slightly differs from the Chinese cooking of this same dish. Malay style is a little more watery and has a gravy. The Chinese style of this dish is less watery and the paste is a lot more concentrated throughout each leaf.

Both has it's own uniqueness and is absolutely delicious.

If you're ever in Malaysia or South East Asia, get some kangkung and you'll definitely be eating one of those authentically local dishes of the region.