5 Easy to Grow Perennials in Southeast Asia

Why grow perennial plants for food?

Perennial leafy greens are edibles that remain present in your garden for more than one season. For many years. For as long as you care for them. As a Permaculture Designer I’m always looking for ways to grow food with less resources, energy input, time and effort.

While I truly believe there is no one way to grow food. Over the years, I’ve found myself focusing on perennial plants to provide nourishment, bountiful harvests and productivity to the spaces I cultivate.

There is nothing wrong growing annuals. However, many forget to mention that while annuals grow fast, annuals need more care, effort, energy, fertilising and skill. Also, annuals die after one growing season.

As I reflect while writing this note to you, I realise it has been about 3 years since I’ve had to buy salad lettuces/leaves, bak choy, kai lan, cai xin, rocket, spinach or mustard leaves. With very little effort, I’ve received harvests week after week from these five easy to grow tropical perennial edibles.

If you’re like me and you want fresh nutrient dense greens without much work and care then these leafy edible perennials will make a great addition to your tropical food patch. One caveat, you have to be patient at the start as your perennials take root and establish. But once these plants take off, you will enjoy an abundance of produce. These plants present you with versatile ingredients. I share ideas for dishes in my list below.

Just to emphasise again – these are easy to grow edibles. For more botanical information on each plant, I’ve linked each plant to my absolute go to Flora and Fauna guide online. This guide created by NParks Singapore is truly generous and informative. I think it is a remarkable resource for gardeners in the tropics.

My 5 Favourite Perennials!

1. Sayur Manis / Katuk /Star Gooseberry

You’ve probably seen this plant before but never knew its name! I call them Sayur Manis as it is what I called it growing up in Malaysia. It is a perennial that thrives in the tropics. Popular in Southeast Asia, ‘manis’ in Malay means sweet while ‘sayur’ means vegetable. I’ve grown this perennial by stem cuttings. Literally just cut a green stem, remove the thin leave stems and stick the stem into soil.

Cooking sayur manis: Stir fired with turmeric, shallots, garlic, grated coconut and dried prawns/ikan bilis, a dish my mum taught me. Also lovely in Ikan Bilis soup with pan mee. I also include it in my omelettes.

2. Brazilian Spinach

Did you know that this plant is also called ‘Poor Man’s Spinach’? Some say that it is named Brazilian Spinach because you can commonly find it in Brazil. Brazilian spinach is easily grown by stem cuttings.

Cooking Brazilian Spinach: Pluck and use the leaves. The stems can be a little fibrous. Brazillan Spinach leaves are sturdy making it a great substitute for regular spinach in quiches. I've also plonked it in Asian inspired brothy soups. When I cook Yong Tau Foo at home, this is commonly served as the vegetable in my soup. A stir fry with garlic is yummy too.

3. Moringa Leaves

Oh wow, I think there is so much to say about the Moringa Tree. Is it edible? Yes, most of it. Is it nutritious? Extremely, all parts too flowers, seeds and leaves. Is it easy to grow? Absolutely!

The Moringa tree lives up to its many monikers “The Miracle Tree”, “The Tree of Life,” or "Never Die Tree" because of its amazing benefits and resilience. This perennial tree has offered my family great amount of nutrition. Being close to this tree keeps dishes I grew up with present in my home. It keeps me connected to my Sri Lankan heritage.
Apparently, there is a Moringa related saying in India "Don't push me up the Moringa tree". This tree has brittle branches, the phrase is used to talk about pushing one to his limits. In fact, many forget that the Moringa tree can flourish quick and fast as it grows with super low-maintenance. So, prune those brittle branches. Keep the tree short, manageable and bushy. More branches will keep growing upon pruning and harvesting. Keep it in check so that it does not overwhelm the space you planted it in. To grow, simply soak the seeds and plant them or plant by stem propagation.

Moringa leaves are nutritionally superior to other greens, so you do not need a lot. I've not made a habit of buying expensive imported moringa powder because the leaves are extremely versatile ingredient.

Cooking with Moringa: When my dad visits me, he makes a filling and nutritious frozen banana and moringa leave smoothie. We've included the leaves in our broths and Asian style soups, even in Rasam (a peppery, tamarind based Indian soup). And I love stir fried Moringa with turmeric, pepper and grated coconut (yes, I fry my vegetables a lot with turmeric, pepper and grated coconut). Recently, I learnt to include it in a Filipino soup Tinola with young papaya and chicken.

4. Sweet Potato Leaves

Its underground roots are incredibly sweet and starchy! But apart from that, the leaves are observed to grow close to the ground. I'm now learning to grow sweet potatoes for both its starchy tubers and as a main stay in the garden as a perennial leafy green. The later in the garden is a perfect ground cover at our urban farm in the tropics.

Cooking Sweet Potato Leaves: We blanch it and have it as an Ulam with Sambal Belacan or a fiery fish sauce, lime, shallots and chili vinaigrette. Stir fried with Sambal Belacan and dried prawns, or simple stir fried with garlic.

5. Garlic Chives

Where do I begin? Garlic Chives are great perennials to have as a cut and come again plant. This plant survives in a not too sunny spot and does not need much space. Perfect for your container garden. I’ve moved my Garlic Chives to different locations and they’ve all survived well without much fuss. Sometimes I forget to harvest and a beautiful white cluster of flower shoots up, those are edible too. You can grow them from seed or a seedling from the nursery and propagate by division as your plant flourishes. I do feed it with some vermicast a handful of times a year to give it a boost.

Cooking with Garlic Chives: Herb butters! Need I say more? I love making a batch of handy garlic chive butter. I also include it in fried rice, as a garnish for my soups. I’ve been subscribing to seafood from an On Hand Agrarian and innovative local fish farm striving to farm sustainably. My garlic chives add a depth of flavour to my butter garlic sauce with mussels and clams received from him. So good, my 6 year old has started slurping up this dish along with the clams.

So, over to you now. Try growing, harvesting and eating these and tell us what you think.

Nova Nelson

I’m a Social Entrepreneur, Permaculture Designer, a gardening coach, content creator and educator. I started Cultivate Central as a solo enterprise. It started as a blog about my journey in Permaculture Design. It then evolved and grew into a small social enterprise. Today, I focus on creating regenerative food gardens, developing and delivering educational experiences, championing vermicomposting and building collaborative community programmes with organisations, corporates, developers and schools, with a small but talented team. I’m passionate about helping them embark on a journey of earth care centred on building regenerative food systems and cultures.

How did I find myself doing what I do? Read my story here.