Kale in Coconut Gravy/Kale Masak Lemak Recipes

Kale is a leafy vegetable that is usually grouped into the “Cooking Greens” category with collards, mustard and Swiss chard. The leaves can be curly and quite ornamental, but become too tough to eat fresh, as they mature. Kale is a member of the cabbage family and is considered to be a highly nutritious vegetable with powerful antioxidant properties; kale is considered to be anti-inflammatory. The beautiful leaves of the kale plant provide an earthy flavor and more nutritional value for fewer calories than almost any other food around. Although it can be found in markets throughout the year, it is in season from the middle of winter through the beginning of spring when it has a sweeter taste and is more widely available.

My friend Zue introduced me to cooked kale this way. Back in Malaysia they usually cook masak lemak with cassava leaves or pucuk paku (fiddleheads/fern shoot) but we can’t get this type of vegetables here so we replace it with kale which tasted pretty similar to pucuk paku.


Ingredients:

One big bunch of kale
10 shrimps – peel and deveined
1 sweet potato – peels and cut into chunks
2 cloves of garlic
3 bird eyes chili
1 tbsp of turmeric powder
1 stalk lemon grass
1” ginger - sliced
1 cup of coconut milk
1 cup of water
Salt and sugar to taste

1. Wash the kale and remove the hard steams.
2. Bring the water and coconut milk to boil. Add in  sweet potato, garlic, turmeric, lemongrass and ginger. Stir until combined and add in the kale. Continue to cook until the kale and potato are soft.
3. Add in the shrimps, salt and sugar to taste. Cook for another 2 minutes. Dish out serve warm with rice.