A Theoretical Integrated Approach to Farming

I've read many methods, permaculture, square foot gardening, composting, hugelkultur, raised beds and so on. So, I've come out with a theoretical integration of these systems into a cohesive whole. I shall call this Fun Farming.

The above diagram is a theoretical 50 ft by 50 ft (2500 sqft) area.

In this area, we can keep chickens, for eggs and meat, as well as have them roam freely in the white-box area to spread their manure. This will allow for additional composting material to seep into the soil for the plants.

Apart from that, the weeds, snails, slugs and worms taken from around the farm can be thrown into the white-box area to feed the chickens.

Then, we have the green area for planting. We can use square foot planting method to maximise planting area, as well as reduce pest risk, as we plant different varieties in each square foot. In this diagram, I've counted about 900 sqft of planting space. By changing the design, you may get more planting space.

We will also have a bit of space for both worm compost and conventional compost, to create more nutrition for our plants. Dried leaves, weeds, spent coffee, spent tea leaves, kitchen waste and so on can be collected to be used here. The output of these composts, will be spread on the planting area to increase fertility of the land.

From the side view, you can see that we can actually apply hugelkultur by putting in woody material in the soil. When these woods rot, they become sponge to retain nutrient and water, allowing the plants to get the best out of the soil.

Apart from that, we can do raised bed for the planting area, keeping weed out of the main planting area.

Depending on design, we can have slope area as shown in the diagram to increase planting area. I am not sure if this will help make the planting more efficient or less, since some plants may not do well on slopes.

Lastly, as you will have noticed, we have raised ground and water will definitely flow in excess when we have rain. If we use a little bit of creativity, we can create a simple drain system to direct all the water into a pond nearby, to be reused to water the plants. Also, this pond can be used for fish rearing and planting of aquatic plants.

I shall be trying out this model soon but given the limitation of funding, manpower, machinery and time, it will be quite a few months before I can give any feedback on using the system.

Hope this might inspire something. Happy farming!

An Idea to Reuse & Recycle

Previously, I introduced the use of herbs & tisanes as natural car air freshener. After doing a bit of thinking, I've come out with a reuse & recycle idea for herbs & tisanes. If you drink tea/tisane or use any herbs, you can actually reuse the same materials before recycling them!

Tea bags & herbs can be reused and then recycled!

First Use
This is when you use your tea bags or herbs in making tisanes.

Reuse
After you've enjoyed your glass of tisane, you can open up the tea bag and collect your herbs. Spread them on the floor of your car as of my previous post to use as car air freshener.

Note that tea leaves are very useful for absorbing odours. So, by leaving tea leaves in your car, you can ensure that your car doesn't smell funny.

Other herbs like roses, jasmines, rosemary and so on, on the other hand, will provide pleasant fragrances for your car.

Recycle
After the fragrance has faded from your herbs, you can collect the herbs from your car and throw them into your compost bin. They will then disintegrate into fertiliser for your plants and you can grow more herbs to enjoy!

Hope you enjoy my simple idea. Remember, recycle, reuse & reduce. We can make the world greener.

Fragrant Flowers & Herbs as Car Air Freshener

I've never loved commercial car air freshener as they give a sharp sting on my nose. So, in order to keep my car smelling fresh and pleasant, I've come out with a very simple solution!

All you need to do is just pick some flowers or herbs, fresh or dried, that you love and then scatter them on the floor of your car. As you drive, stepping back and forth between gas and brake, as well as clutch if you are driving manual, you will be stirring the herbs to release their aroma into the car.

They will provide fragrance for about 1-2 weeks and you can either change the herbs or add in more. It might make your car look a bit messy but the natural & pleasant fragrance will be well worth it.

These are some of the flowers & herbs that you can consider.

• Chempaka (Michelia alba [pic] & Michelia champaca)
• Gardenia
• Murraya paniculata

• Patchouli (said to be a great deodorant)

• Roses
• Jasmine
• Lavender
• Mints
• Basil
• Sage
• Thyme
• And many more!

If you are a gardener like myself, then you can get your plants fresh or dried from your own garden! Else, you can easily buy them from the market.

Have a fragrant car & drive safe!

On the Use of Herbs as Tisanes

Tea, is a drink made from steeping tea leaves (Camillia sinensis) in hot water. When tea leaves are missing, it just isn't so apt to call them tea anymore. Some people call these herbal teas but I personally insist that we should call them tisanes to make a distinction of the presence of tea (hence caffeine).

The steps to make fine tisanes are fairly easy:

1. Grow the herbs
2. Use scissors or appropriate tools to snip off healthy leaves or plant top with healthy leaves
3. Wash the leaves [optional]
4. You can steep your tisane if you prefer using fresh leaves (please wash leaves if you skipped step #3)
5. Air dry the excess/leftover leaves for 1-3 weeks away from sunlight(sun drying might destroy or evaporate some nice compounds) 
6. Keep dried leaves properly in a sealed container
7. Pick some dried leaves to steep when required (please wash leaves if you skipped step #3)

These are some of the common herbs that can be grown in Malaysia with some of their benefits. I'm writing this from memory and impression, so there will be a lot more benefits that I may not remember.

Basil

Be it Thai, Indian, sweet or lemon basil, as long as it is basil (Ocimum) genus, you can get tasty tisane out of it. These herbs are generally warming to the body.

Benefits: respiratory & digestive problems such as cough, sorethroat, indigestion, strengthens the spirit

Bitter gourd leaves

This one, I've researched and tested once, it seems bitter gourd leaves are edible. They are just as bitter as the gourd. It is a cooling herb.

Benefits: similar to bitter gourd, it is good for digestive problems as well as diabetes

Guava Leaves

Not just guava fruits are edible, their leaves can make tasty tisanes too.

Benefits: good for curbing diarrhea, said to be beneficial for blood cholesterol and diabetes

Jasmine flowers

Make sure you get the actual Jasminum genus. Orange jasmine or citrus jasmine is NOT of Jasminum genus. Jasmine flowers are best picked early in the morning when they are about to bloom. The fragrance of jasmine is pleasant & relaxing.

Benefits: Relaxing, calming, anti-stress, aphrodisiac

Lemon balm

This plant has a very strong lemony fragrance to it. It can be used as substitute for lemongrass in cooking.

Benefits: Very calming, suitable for insomnia, also useful for strengthening the mind

Lemongrass

Lemongrass is trickier than other herbs, you need to cut off the young leaves and use only the main stem. Those who cook should know about this. Preferably, use lemongrass fresh. Smash the stem and cook for 5 min. Lemongrass goes well with pandan leaves. Lemongrass is warming.

Benefits: respiratory & digestive problems such as cough, sorethroat, indigestion, strengthens the mind

Mint

Peppermint, spearmint, pudina, applemint, pineapple mint and many other varieties are available. Personally, I love peppermint because of the peppery and cooling taste to it. Mints are fairly easy to grow so it is a very good choice. Mints are cooling when warm, warming when cool.

Benefits: respiratory & digestive problems such as cough, sorethroat, indigestion, calming to the body & mind

Misai Kucing

Cat's whisker is a local plant that can be grown very easily.

Benefits: Said to be good for cholesterol issues & diabetes

Pegaga

Personally, I have yet used this herb before, neither have I researched deeply in it. However, given all the popularity in this website, it is a herb worthy of note.

Benefits: Mood regulation (this is the only one I know... LOL)

Rose flowers

Rose flowers should be picked either before they bloom (to avoid having bugs in the buds) or after they have bloomed (and pluck off the petals). Roses are actually quite nutritious and can be used as a good tisane supplement. Roses are warming.

Benefits: tonic to the heart & liver, promotes intestinal flora health, calming, aphrodisiac

Rosemary

Rosemary is often used in cooking and can also be enjoyed as tisanes. The sharp fragrance is a good wake up call to the body. This herb has a very warming effect.

Benefits: has quite a lot of antioxidants, promotes blood circulation, has been claimed to improve memory (via better blood circulation and oxygenation of the brain)

Sage

This plant can be quite productive if you can manage to establish the plant. My sage plant is producing much more than enough for my own consumption. Sage can smell awful to some people, so mixing sage with tulasi (Indian basil) can make the taste much more palatable.

Benefits: causes sweating to break fever, antiseptic, good for mouth ulcer

Stevia

This plant is a great natural sweetener to substitute for sugar.

Benefits: useful for diabetic patients

Thyme

Although the leaves are small, this plant has fragrance that can give you a punch. This herb is warming.

Benefits: useful for mouth ulcer, respiratory issue such as cough & cold

That's all for now... I will add more information when I have time. Happy gardening & happy being healthy. ;) 

On General Cultivation of Herbs

Definitions of Herb

1. any non-woody flowering plant, regardless of its flavor, scent or other properties, and thus includes only grass-like plants and forbs.
2. any plants with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume or parts of such a plant as used in cooking.
3. a plant used for adding flavor to food or as a medicine.

These are very general definitions and I will speak briefly, in general sense, on the cultivation and care of general herbs. Some herbs may have special/specific needs, so do study them well if you intend to make them thrive like rabbits on steroid.

Sourcing of herb plants

1. buy from nursery.
2. exchange with/buy from/get free from MG members.
3. buy fresh herb from market/supermarket, strip off the leaves to cook/eat and just stick the stems into soil. Keep in shade and water sparingly (make sure the soil is moist) for 2-3 weeks. Those that survived should have roots and can be transplanted at this stage.
4. snatch from road side, if you are so lucky to find them around unowned.

Encouraging growth

1. Make sure the conditions are right. Factors to consider: light exposure, temperature, air humidity, water requirement, soil requirement, soil space requirement (Big/small pot? Deep/shallow pot?).
2. Fertilisation done at appropriate interval with appropriate amount definitely helps.
3. Snipping off the tip of the plant to encourage branching. Refer to these two links to see how:https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151534364834616&set=o.264226477027092&type=1&theaterhttps://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151293017701348&set=a.497514111347.303280.557876347&type=3&permPage=1
4. Propagate more plants to get more harvest.

Propagation method

1. Just stick your cuttings into the soil. Cuttings should be around 2-5 inches. To increase success rate, it is recommended to snip off some leaves to reduce water loss during this period. If you want your plant to grow upright, snip off the older big leaves and keep the tiny tender leaves. If you want your plant to grow into a bush, snip off the young top and leave 2-4 larger leaves. This will force the plant to save up energy for branching.
2. Some herbs will flower & seed, such as Thai basil, Indian basil (tulasi). So, you can just use the seeds to grow more.

Tips on herbs

1. If you intend to keep your herbs, air dry them instead of sun drying. This will help retain fragrance & nutrient better
2. Some herbs grow "old" while others will wither (annuals, biannuals and so on), so you should harvest them and propagate them as needed so that they remain in prime health. One of the most common plant I have problem with is mint. Mints will start to become unhealthy once they reach a certain age/size. But I am not sure if it is my problem of not providing them with enough nutrient or what. So, I make do with harvesting them once they reach prime condition.

I think this is all I can think of for the moment. I hope this simple compilation is useful for everyone. :D Gimme feedback if there is anything I can add. Or if anyone has anything better or useful to put in. Thanks.

Easy Fruit Juice

This is a quick and simple recipe.

Green apple x 1
Orange x 1
Banana x 1

Peel and cut out accordingly, put into a blender with a bit of water and salt. BLEND!

Simple and yummy juice!

A Quick Cure for Hiccups

A quick search in the internet will tell you all sorts of methods to get rid of hiccups. Some of the more popular ways proposed online are:

• Hold your breath
• Drink water
• Get tickled
• Get scared

Different methods work for different people, so I am going to propose a method of my own in addition to the myriad of online methods - Acupressure.

You don't need to be an acupressure expert to pull this one. When you are suffering from hiccups, all you have to do is to locate the solar plexus point and give it a long firm press.

There are many points corresponding to the solar plexus. I am going to give you the one that is most accessible. It is on your palm, below your middle finger and slightly below the balls of your palm. You can press on either left or right palm. It doesn't matter as long as you are pressing the right area.

Basically, by pressing the solar plexus point, you are sending in signal to centre yourself. This will help your body cope with changes as it relaxes and balances itself.

Hopefully this simple method can be useful for you all.

Basil Flower

Just a few months, my basil plant is now flowering. I read that we shouldn't let basil flower so that the taste will be better. However, I only pinched off the flower for one of my two bigger basil plants. I would like to let one flower and make some comparison. In addition to that, propagating basil proves to be very easy. Now, I am assured of constant supply of basil for myself.
Basil Flower
In addition to that, my butterfly peas in pot are finally flowering after many failures in flowering. It seems like I have given them too small a pot that whenever the weather heats up a bit, they will begin to dry up and wilt. So, they will drop off all the flowers in favour of survival. This flowering resulted after I moved the pot further into the house, reducing amount of direct sunlight. However, they are still occasionally suffering from dryness. Hopefully, I can care for them well enough to bear me some seeds to propagate more of the plant.
Butterfly Pea Flower

Curious Cases of Iridology

Iridology often gets the bashing from scientific community that it is pseudo-scientific. They argue that the irides rarely, almost never, change throughout a person's life time.

As a practicing iridology, I beg to differ. This argument is invalid simply because, if a person never made any major changes in his/her lifestyle and diet (as would be recommended by an iridologist), how can we expect the person's irides to change? What he/she had been doing all the while gave this patterns in the irides. And as long as this same lifestyle/diet persisted, the patterns will remain!

Although I am still quite new in my practice, I have already witnessed a case of changes in the irides. The subject was a young girl in her early 20s. Her irides display rosary pattern, signifying poor lymphatic movements and toxin accumulation. I advised her to go for more vegetables in her diet, do some exercises and use my aromatherapy oil to enhance the effect. A few months after that, I came back to observe her irides and the rosary pattern was no longer there. Though there was still signs of toxin accumulation and poor bowel movement, the improvement was definitely significant and observable.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In addition to the above, I have observed a few very interesting cases in iridology. There were several individuals who displayed signs of weakness or stress in their adrenal glands and upon further interview, I found out that they suffer somewhat of a similar symptom. They are somewhat easily stressed up or go into panic mode. Nervousness and general sense of fear is common.

There is another case of consuming large amount of coffee. This man also demonstrated weakness in the adrenal glands. It is very likely that the coffee overstimulated his adrenal glands, hence they are constantly working in hyper drive.

Medically, this may not be seen as a symptom or an issue with the adrenal glands or health. However, this makes perfect sense in a holistic viewpoint. There is still much to share between conventional medicine and holistic therapies to achieve the perfect synergy for the best interest of the general public.

Who Can Identify This Plant?

I wonder if anyone could identify this plant for me? Both the flower and leaves are from the same plant. Thank you.

Blooms & Growths

It is very satisfying to see the little plants germinate, grow and flower. Here are some of the beautiful blooms I got thus far.

The first one is the bitter gourd bud and blossom. However, sadly, today one of the bloom dropped off. I hope some of them will survive to give me some bitter gourd as I do love the taste of bitter gourd.
Bitter Gourd Flower Bud
Bitter Gourd Flower Bloom
In addition to the bitter gourd flower, I saw that my butterfly pea is blooming pretty well. The flower is commonly used as dye in food. It gives a beautiful blue to tang yuan (rice balls).
Butterfly Pea Bloom

Blue Tang Yuan
Impatiens balsamina or rose balsam is said to be used as dye for finger nail colouring. There are a wide variety of colours for this species, including purple, white, yellow, red.
Rose Balsam Flower
Other than the above blooms, I've also have a few plants growing very healthily. I am very glad to see my peppermint growing so healthily. I am waiting to see if it will flower too.
Peppermint
This parsley came from the bunch of parsley I bought from the market. It grows quite well and sprouts of younger parsley are coming out from time to time.
Parsley

More Plants Again!

A few days into budding, the flowers of my choy sum is fully bloomed. Amazingly, it does have a very sweet fragrance.
Choy Sum Flower
Impatiens balsamina, common name rose balsam or garden balsam, is a very beautiful plant with very showy flowers. It is also known as Touch Me Not, as the matured seed pods will explode when touched, spreading the seeds. This cultivar has a very nice blend of colours.
Touch Me Not
Since I can't eat this potato anymore after it germinated in my kitchen, I decided to plant it so that I can get some potato leaves to fight the invading ants. It seems to be growing quite well. Who knows if one day, war erupts and I have my own supply of food during emergency. :P
Potato
This is no lemon tree but it is lemon grass. Lemongrass is a very popular herb used in cooking in south east Asia. It took me quite some time to learn how to grow one. Hopefully this one will grow up and mature healthily.
Lemongrass
Having a neighbour who gardens as well, I get to snap his plants too. This is the flowers of star fruit.
Star Fruit Flower
Roses have a subtle but sweet fragrance that can make one feels very much in love.
Rose Shoot
Rose Shoot with Flower Bud
Rose Shoot with Flower Bud - Focused

Baby Plants for Sales

My little garden is yielding more plants than I needed. So, here are some of them for sales.

Peppermint is easy to plant and they are quite hard to kill. The fragrance of peppermint is refreshing and it is good as carminative and expectorant.

Peppermint
Mandarin can grow into quite a tree. The fruit is tasty to eat and the leaves are fragrant if crushed. The scent is relaxing and can ease sleep.

Mandarin
Basil is often used in Italian cuisine. Some of the southeast and east countries like Thailand use basil too, in their cooking as well. Basil leaves are fragrant and it is good for the mind, clearing headache and allowing for clear thoughts.

Baby Basil
It is quite a hardy plant, so with little care, it can grow quite beautifully.

Basil
Drop me a message if you are in Klang Valley and would like to buy one of these plants.

More Plants

Today, I bought a small pot of Rosemary for a friend because she wished to start planting some cute herbs around her office. Lucky for me, she allowed me to take two cuttings out of the main plant. Hopefully these cuttings will survive and grow.
Rosemary
On the other hand, my choy sum's flowers are beginning to bloom. I'm keeping this one to see if I can get any seed out of it.
Choy Sum
Finally, a surprise for me today when I discovered that my sweet potato plant growing out with a sweet potato. I wonder if I should harvest the whole pot or just try to take the sweet potato.
Sweet Potato

Home Made Rose Toner

Having been troubled by acne throughout my teenage years, a simple and effective solution was much wanted. After some searching, I found this cheap yet effective solution - home made rose toner.

To make this simple rose toner, all you need are a small container, filtered/distilled water and some dried/fresh roses. The ratio of rose to water is quite dependent on how strong you like it to be. Around 3-5 flowers to 50ml would be quite a good ratio. To cut on cost, you can even plant your own roses. I have my own rose plants, so I can dry my own roses and prepare them for making my own toner. If you don't have a rose plant, you can get those dried rose buds or petals from herb shops. Commercial fresh rose flowers are not recommended because they are laden with pesticides, which aren't the least bit good for your face.
Dried Rose
First step is to measure your water using the container. Fill the container to the brim with water. Then pour the water into a pot and bring to boil. When the water is boiling, put your roses into the water and boil for another 30 seconds. Then remove the pot from heat and allow it to cool, covered (you won't want the sweet fragrance of the rose to escape). Once cooled, pour into your container and you have your very own rose toner!
Rose Toner
Store the toner in the fridge and it can last 1 week. If you wish to extend the shelf life of the toner, you can consider adding a few drops of essential oil (recommended 2-4 drops per 50ml of toner) after the toner is cooled. If you add essential oil, make sure you shake well after adding the essential oil and also every time before you use.

Essential oils that you can consider adding are tea tree, lemongrass, niaouli, lavender, palma rosa, ylang ylang, pine, petitgrain, rosemary, frankincense, carrot seed and eucalyptus. These oils are generally considered antiseptic, good for acne, scar healing or regeneration of skin cells.

In addition to that, peppermint and spearmint can give your face the cooling effect of menthol. They are also antiseptic. However, only a small amount should be used as these 2 oils may be sensitising.

Rose oil can be added into the toner for even more pleasing fragrance but rose essential oil is very costly. And I won't use cheap fragrance oil for they may have no therapeutic effect and may cause more health complications if applied onto skin.

Although essential oils are fun and effective to use, there are situations where they may be contra indicated, such as pregnancy, epileptic and so on. There may also be risk of allergic reaction or sensitivity. It is important to find out more from a qualified aromatherapy practitioner before you use any of these oils.

With essential oils, the shelf life of the toner in the fridge can go up to 1 month. Oh, have I mentioned that by keeping the toner in the fridge, the cool temperature of the toner can give you extra toning effect? So, this is a fun, natural, green yet cheap way to make your own toner.

I've been using this toner and am very pleased with the result it delivers. I hope you all will find pleasure in this simple remedy too.

Assorted Plants

Having found pleasure in gardening, I've planted an assortment of plants. Here are some of the pictures of them.

Peppermint is among the easiest to plant. All you need to do is to buy a bundle of them from the market. Strip all the leaves to cook or brew tea. Finally, simply plant the stems on the soil and water twice daily. I got myself a few potful of peppermint through this method. I am also using this method to keep my peppermint supply constant.
Peppermint
I got myself a bunch of choy sum through the seeds I bought from a local store. It was a lot easier than I thought. Simply sprinkle them and water daily. And now, they are almost ready for harvest. Hopefully, some of the flowers will turn into seeds for me to keep the cycle going.
Choy Sum with budding flower
Chilli was quite easy to plant as well. All you need is to get some fresh chilli from the market and extract the seeds. Sprinkle them on the soil and water daily. This particular tree was with me for a few months already. It may still take some time to flower and fruit.
Chilli Plant
These bitter gourd vines were a surprise to me. The first batch didn't germinate and went spoil. I threw in the second batch deep into the soil with other organic material as compost, then added soil and planted some choy sum on the top. They just took me by surprise when they germinated. I shall be adding some structures for them to climb on soon.
Bitter Gourd
When your sweet potatoes started growing vines, you can simply cut out the small portion of the sweet potato with the vines and plant them. You still get to eat the rest of it! They grow quite easily, however, you need to have a bit of land area for them as they seem to take quite a lot of nutrients from the soil. The land area is also for the sweet potatoes to grow. However, this batch, I am planting only for the vines, so I planted them in a pot. I am considering propagating some of them onto the ground for more growth.
Sweet Potato Vine
Sweet Potato Vine
Planting can be fun and rewarding. I have more plants coming up soon in the future and also some tips on how to take care of them.

Rose Blooms

These are my latest rose blooms.
Red Rose Bloom
Pink Rose Bloom
I don't know if I have a green thumb or what, my roses seem to love to give me beautiful and fragrant blooms. They make my days happier. :D

Bitter Gourd Sauce & Soup

Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia), also known as bitter melon, is a very special fruit. As the name suggest, it is bitter and the taste is quite unique. The taste may not be palatable to the populations in the west but has found favour among a lot in the east. It is said that the ripe fruit is more bitter, so it would be wiser to pick a hard, green fruit. Besides that, soaking the cut pieces in salt water will wash off some of the bitterness.

This fruit is said to possess a few medicinal properties. Given it's bitter taste, it is known as a cooling fruit, suitable to reduce heat and other hot conditions. In addition to that, bitters are generally known to be good digestive aids. So, bitter gourd is also believed to be a good digestive stimulant for sluggish digestion or bowel movement. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), bitter gourd was used in the treatment of diabetes. Given all these benefits, it should be noted that bitter gourd is considered contraindicated for pregnant women as it may have emmenagogue effect.

Now that we have a general idea of the fruit, let us go into the recipe of making bitter gourd sauce & soup.

Items to prepare:

• Bitter gourd, sliced or diced, amount depending on how bitter you like it
• Chicken meat, sliced or diced as preferred
• Cooking oil
• Salt
• White Pepper
• Soya sauce
• Water

Steps for bitter gourd sauce:

1. Marinate the chicken meat in a bit of salt, white pepper, oil and soya sauce for 10 to 30 minutes.
2. Heat the sauce pan/pot/wok and pour in some oil.
3. Put in the chicken meat and bitter gourd at the same time.
4. Stir around for a minute then add some water to cover the meat and gourd.
5. Close the lid and let it cook.
6. When meat is cooked, test the taste and add salt or soya sauce if desired.
7. Ready to serve once the desired taste is achieved.

Steps for bitter gourd soup:

1. Marinate the chicken meat in a bit of salt, white pepper, oil and soya sauce for 10 to 30 minutes.
2. Boil a pot of water.
3. Put in the bitter gourd.
4. Close lid and let it cook for a few minutes first, as bitter gourd needs a longer time to cook.
5. Put in meat and close lid again.
6. When meat is cooked, test the taste and add salt or soya sauce if desired.
7. Ready to serve once the desired taste is achieved.

Personally, I love to the sauce better as the oil will draw out a stronger aroma and taste. To serve it, I will pour it onto a bowl of noodle or rice vermicelli. It can also be served with rice. I would rate this recipe 9 out of 10 as it is easy to prepare, aromatic, tasty and healthy.