Stir Fry Mani Cai with Egg
My mother in law likes to cook this vegetable for weekend dinners with the family and it seems the entire family loves it. My wife swears by it and cited many childhood memories of eating it when she was still in primary school.
Of course I have never eaten this Mani Cai until I started dating my wife. Pardon my skepticism. If it was so fantastic, it would be very popular wouldn’t it? It seems it is only available at the wet market vegetable seller and no where else. Plus the way to say it properly is always a point of contention. So not many people know what it really is. Some call it Ma Lee while others call is Ba Lee.
So just what is this vegetable that everyone seems to be raving about? Everyone here refers to my wife’s family. Not much is known about it except that it came from the vegetable seller at the market. So the only way was to do some research online and while doing so, I discovered that while it is nutritious and nice, it was also deadly if consumed uncooked. Wah lau so dangerous.
If you think I am joking, please Read this. It seems the uncooked version can cause respiratory problems, leading to lung failure. Wah, sound so serious. So better to cook it and make sure it is cooked well.
Maybe you are now having second thoughts about cooking this dish. I would too if I knew it would be a life and death situation.
Recipe
Ingredients
1 packet of Mani Cai (aka sayur manis or 马尼菜)
10 cloves of Garlic
2 ladle of Chicken Stocksofteniled the chicken stock from chicken feet)
3 whole Eggs
2 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tbsp Light Soya Sauce
Method
1. Wash the sayur manis (lit. Sweet Leaves) before plucking the leaves and discarding the stems.
2. After that crush the leaves with your bare hands (and laugh like a tyrant while doing it). Then with the side of a cleaver smash the garlic and then stir fry them in a heated pan/wok in Olive oil. Fry till fragrant. After that add the mani cai into the wok and stir fry with the garlic.
3. The vegetable will almost immediately reduce in volume. Continue to fry till it is a hue of dark green. Add a ladle of Chicken stock and continue frying. Then add the eggs (already beaten together with the light soya sauce) and continue to stir fry.
4. Close the lid and continue cooking in medium heat. After the eggs are cooked, give it a good mix and continue to stir fry. If the vegetable is too dry, add more chicken stock. Continue cooking until vegetable is softened. Serve hot with steamed rice.
If you like Nai Bai Vegetable, you might want to check out this simple recipe as well.
1. Stir Fry Nai Bai
Bon Appetit!
