Growing betel leaves for miang kham

[Stravaig]

I loved miang kham when we lived in Thailand. It's a one-bite wrap usually made with betel leaves. You can buy a small quantity of the leaves on Amazon for a fortune but I thought it might be better to grow my own plant. You can buy plants on eBay and Etsy but these don't strike me as very good places to buy plants.

What do you think about it?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miang_kham

I suppose I could use spinach leaves or similar but I'd much rather have the betel.

[Breq]

I am not familiar with it, but it looks like a lovely plant. Tell us if you manage this!
https://gardenerknowhow.com/how-to-grow ... leaf-plant

I am looking for a pandan plant myself, but no luck yet

[Stravaig]

Thanks for the encouragement, Breq. I think I will give it a try.
Funnily enough a lot of people in the UK think it's an illegal drug. It's not! Perfectly legal.

Pandan? Yeah. I usually just buy jars of the flavouring at my favourite Asian supermarket. (Wing Yip, Croydon - several hours drive away.)

[Stravaig]

Another thing I'd like to grow is "oyster leaf".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mertensia_maritima

I'd never even heard of this until very recently. It's been used on cheffy TV progs and I've also just come across recipes using it in a couple of my cookbooks. Maybe it's in fashion these days.

Does anyone here grow it? Might it be worth the effort for me to try?

Another thing I've been hankering after is curry leaf.
Murraya koenigii
But the plants are very difficult to get hold of in the UK and I've never seen the seeds on sale anywhere. In any case I think they take three or four years to produce anything worthwhile.

A cooking tip I got... if you end up having to use dried curry leaves, put them in early to whatever you're making. You'll get much more flavour than if you just spinkle them in at the end of cooking like you do with most seasoning herbs.

[Breq]

Hi!

I have not tried it but I saw that Chiltern Seeds has Oyster Leaf on their list. Sounds like it might ne worth a go!

I thought I knew a supplier for the Curry Leaf but, sadly no. I did see that Plants4Presents often carries them, but there a waiting list (!)
https://plants4presents.co.uk/grow-your ... rry-leaves

Good luck!!

[Stravaig]

Thanks, Breq. Yeah, the curry leaf plant is not easy to get in the UK. And even if you manage to get one going from seed it could take several years to be of any culinary use. (The seeds are only available at some times of the year and, again, a waiting list.)

There's another plant called a "curry plant" because it smells a bit like curry but it's no relation of the curry leaf plant and I don't even think it's edible.

Maybe, once we're a bit more settled (however temporarily) Mr S and I should have a holiday to Thailand and India (both places we've lived before) to get what's wanted. Or maybe we should just be satisfied with the foodstuffs we can easily get here.

When I'm overseas I really miss smoked haddock, neeps (swede), and knowing what variety of potatoes I'm buying. I miss British newsagents, bookshops that sell books in the English language... I sure as heck don't miss the high prices, the govt, and the state of the housing market.

[Breq]

I understand: I have been "overseas" in the UK for over 30 years! Some stuff still trips me up but I am coping, ha-ha.

[Stravaig]

Hey, Breq!

Where are you from if you don't think that's a rude question and don't mind saying?

I've spent most of my adult life outside the UK and have found it to be an amazing opportunity to learn about other cultures (and their food LOL!). Seriously, it's been a great experience. Even when we are in the UK, it's in the south or south east of England and I'm from the NE of Scotland so I'm a 'foreigner' here too.

Edit - also curious to know what kind of stuff you miss.

[Breq]

Not rude at all: I am from the US but I used to work on projects all over Europe. The bizarre question is (after learning I have been living here for 30 years) "do you like it here"

The US main office for one company I worked for was in California and they did not believe I was not English (which had my workmates on the floor laughing hysterically - I do NOT sound like a Brit- well to Brits anyway). One teleconference comes to mind, where they tried to explain the concept Thanksgiving to me...I am from Boston (we kind of invented it there). Co-workers finally understood my protests that So. Cal. & Boston are pretty far apart and not just geographically.

Travel has certainly brought lots of good food experieces! And I always try to find a market to visit everywhere - always great fun to do.

[Stravaig]

Thanks, Breq.

When I worked in what was then the NWFP of Pakistan (it's since changed its name), the only place within a 120 mile radius where you could get a beer and a bacon sarnie was the American Club. I was there every night! (Not always for bacon sarnies.) Interesting that you're from Boston - my boyfriend (well, one of them) at that time was from Boston.

"Do you like it here?" For heaven's sake. Going back about 30 years now, I was evac'd from a funny country, went to visit my now late mother (she's been dead nearly 30 years). She bumped into someone she knew in the local High Sreet, was proud to tell them what has just happened to me, and the moron replied, "Ooh, did you like it?"

Eh?

[Breq]

I have to say my replies over the last 30 years have got more and more (deadpan) sarcastic

My family thinks I sound English and posh, my friends here make raspberry noises when I tell them: “you’re not posh, you’re foreign!”. Polite people ask if I am Canadian

Hubby says the more annoyed or angry I am, the more “Boston” I sound. Early warning system