We did heavy pruning recently. All branches gone. Out of the many tapioca plants, we keep only 2 plants, the rest were pulled out. .... We managed to get quite a good harvest of the roots (ubi kayu), enough for afternoon snacks. If the roots turn out to be fluffy, we call them "empuk". That's awfully nice.., and has rural feel in it and definitely very nostalgic..... When roots are too matured, they become so hard and woody
But new shoots appeared within days.... With such zest, I wonder if plants ever get caught up with obesity.... hmmm...
~BANGCHIK AND KAKDAH
putrajaya, malaysia
It is so nice to look at plants from Malaysia -to think a Tapioca plant!
ReplyDeleteSo neat to look at and to think about eating it.
vickie
Its name reminded me of a popular snack!
ReplyDeleteHow does one eat the root as a snack? Peeled and raw? Cooked? Most interesting!
ReplyDeleteClearly not the tapioca we used to eat in puddings as a child then if it is the root you eat.
ReplyDeleteOur tapioca can definitely make you obese. Te he.
Tapioca loves our climate. The tapioca food treasures are hidden inside the soil in the ground. Maybe human beings learn from the tapioca how to hide treasures/loots/jewellery/cash inside the soil! lol.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen tapioca growing. So many exotics in your land. Just lovely to see.
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that tapioca came from the root of a plant. Thank you for sharing the different types of plants where you live.
I had no idea Tapioca was a plant. I've only heard of tapioca pudding.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite 'kacang putih' is 'goreng ubi kayu'. Or should I say I never take the others. I can 'habiskan' the whole packet by myself :-D But must be from my favourite kacang putih stall la he he...
ReplyDeleteHow do you prepare the roots to eat them? I have only heard of tapioca pudding but have never actually eaten it.
ReplyDeleteI've grown a similar ornamental plant in my garden (Manihot grahamii) but unfortunately lost it one winter. The leaves add a striking texture to the garden.
Once again, an edible I've eaten many times but never seen growing! Yes, you have to tell us how you eat the roots, Bangchik?
ReplyDeleteWe used to get tapioca as a pudding at school and it was disgusting! We called it 'frogspawn'. I don't know what the cooks did to it to make it taste so bad?!
ReplyDeleteYour plant is much more attractive :)
i love those tapiocas...my mum cooks it on coconut milk or we caramelized them...yummy!
ReplyDeletei used to play with tapioca leaves when i was young, we can make a pretend necklace out of it...ha!ha!ha!
eng
My grandfather always told me stories of his "ubi kayu" days.
ReplyDeleteVICKIE, TATYANA, JANET, JOANNE, BELLE, MARY, PLANTLADY, CATHERINE, STEPHANIE, SWEET BAY, JGH, NUTTY GNOME, SALITYPE, OCEAN GIRL.
ReplyDeleteTapioca or locally known as "ubi kayu" is an exiting plant. We grow tapioca through cuttings. Within days, the cuttings are able to fulfill duty bestowed upon them. They love sandy soil for roots to push through and swell up.
Shoots can be boiled and eaten with sambal belacan. It can also be cut into pieces and cooked as masak lemak pucuk ubi.
The photo is showing "broad leaves" specie. The better type is the "long leaves" specie which taste better when cooked. Both species are growing in our garden.
Tapioca roots may grow and swell to a couple of kilos and are longer than sweet potatoes or ordinary potatoes. We can boil them until they become fluffy and starchy. We can cut them into thin slices and fry like crisp or chips. The locals call tapioca chips as kerepek ubikayu.
Grandfathers will relate stories of ubikayu days.... That was the hardest episode for the older generation during the world war. Our staple food then was scarce and expensive. Any grandfather can tell stories about how a buyer would have to carry a gunny sack of dollars to buy a few kilos of rice. Then people converted into tapioca as staple food, and thus changed the way they handled lunches, dinners and breakfasts. Those were tough days, only victims of cruel wars may appreciate and understand.
I suppose we really have to work for peace and not for war!!
~bangchik
Putrajaya Malaysia