Daun Kaduk

Daun kaduk (7 June 2013)


Daun kaduk, or wild pepper (Piper sarmentosum), is the glossy heart-shaped leaf of a creeper that is often featured in local cooking. In Hokkien, the name is pronounced as lun kaduk. The most popular local dish to feature daun kaduk is probably the otak-otak. Other dishes that make use of daun kaduk includes the perut ikan and nasi ulam. Certainly daun kaduk provides the texture and aroma that is so essential to these dishes, without it the taste will be vastly different.

Daun kaduk is fond of damp, shady places, and is often found growing near drains. In Singapore, I found that it is grown as a ground cover at Telok Ayer Green, the small park in Chinatown.

Daun kaduk (27 October 2008)