Katuk

Overview

Katuk is a slender perennial shrub grown for its small, tender leaves and shoot tips, which taste mildly nutty, a bit like fresh peas. It tolerates shade better than most vegetables, making it ideal for the understory of a food forest.

History

Katuk is native to Southeast Asia, where it is a common vegetable in Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and elsewhere, and is known in English as “sweet leaf.” It is widely grown in Hawaiʻi’s home gardens.

Growing on Kauaʻi

• Thrives in moist, partly shaded spots on the wet and moderate sides.
• Tolerates full sun with good mulch and water, but leaves are more tender in some shade.

Planting and propagation

• Take 8–12 inch stem cuttings from firm, slightly woody growth.
• Plant them in moist soil or a pot, with a couple of nodes buried.
• Keep moist and shaded until new leaves appear.

Care and maintenance

• Cut it back regularly to keep it bushy and within reach; unpruned plants get tall and thin.
• Drop prunings around the base as mulch.

Role in the guild

Katuk fills the partly shaded shrub layer of the starter guild, near the bananas. Over time, as the breadfruit shades the bed, katuk keeps producing where sun-loving plants fade.

Harvest

Snap off the top 6–8 inches of shoots; the tender tips and leaves are the best parts. Regular harvesting encourages new growth.

Uses

• Food: lightly cooked in stir-fries, soups, eggs, and rice dishes; tips are sometimes eaten raw in small amounts.
• Soil: prunings make good mulch.

Important caution

Eat katuk as a cooked vegetable in normal food amounts. In the 1990s, people in Taiwan who drank large amounts of raw katuk juice for weight loss developed serious, lasting lung damage. Eating ordinary portions of cooked katuk as part of a varied diet is the traditional and sensible way to enjoy it. Don’t juice it or eat it in large raw quantities.

Problems to watch

• Few serious pests. Slugs may chew young cuttings.
• Wash greens well; slugs and snails in Hawaiʻi can carry rat lungworm.

General guidance for Kauaʻi; conditions vary by site. Check any new plant at plantpono.org before planting.