Many times in life, we tend to take many things for granted. However there are times when suddenly something that is so common is no longer sighted despite we searching high and low for it! My sister was back from overseas a couple of months back. One morning while at the wet market she asked me to buy the sawtooth coriander as she missed it very much. So we went through the whole wet market but could not find any. So sad... so I decided I might as well plant it, but how to find the stock? This article( http://www.greenculturesg.com/articles/sep07/sep07_sawtoothcoriander.pdf ) mentioned that I can propagate from seeds, but I looked through the packets of vegetable seeds sold commercially abut can't find any. Always a last resort, I peered into other people's garden, hopefully can ask for stock.....no luck !!
During our childhood days this sawtooth coriander always existed in our garden. My mother liked to use this herb when she cooked meat dishes, pork or chicken and in soups. As a child, I thought the smell of the herb was a bit too strong, but I loved it anyway. Then once at a friends place, she served this sawtooth coriander all chopped up with the chilli padi in light soya sauce.....as a dip for some chicken ---- ooo.... heavenly ! Until recently I never realised how much I missed this herb!
So can anyone imagine how delighted I was to find this herb right under my nose ? I decided to clear a pandan bush two mornings ago as the bushes had been growing too rapidly these days . I counted four clumps of pandan bushes in different locations! I will have to remove two more clumps to allow the space for the other plants to grow. Clearing the pandan is easy as the roots do not go too deep in. After clearing the pandan....I spied this herb sitting innocently there just waiting for me to find it ! It was so totally unbelievable....! Believe it or not here it is ...the Sawtooth Coriander, the search is over ! What a great start to 2011....! 
2 comments:
from Kiang-some things are just priceless. Moments like this we when we look every where and what we want is just on our doorstep. What i wonder is just right beneath my nose which I failed to find? Must start looking. Ha! HA!
I remember my disappointment that this once so common and fragrant herb is now so elusive. Once I had seen it in Footscray market many years but not now. I shall look forward to my next trip to visit you and T Siew.
All for the more for me to keep my eyes open whenever I weed ! Now there are more birds, lizards, butterflies, strange 'crawlies', etc ....coming to visit ....hope they continue to bring interesting seeds to my garden!
One plant that I am looking for is the small round fragrant dark green guava that we used to have in the old house...do you remember that plant? I used to love the fruits......
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