Katuk
Sauropus androgynus
A tropical leafy perennial sometimes called sweet leaf. Popular as a cooked green in parts of Southeast Asia. Raw-juice megadoses have a documented safety problem; food use is cooked leaves in ordinary amounts.
GROW → HARVEST → EAT → DRY → POWDER → CAPSULE → GUMMY — forms are not equivalent. Food first.
Identity
Also called: sweet leaf, star gooseberry leaf
What it is
A tropical leafy perennial sometimes called sweet leaf. Popular as a cooked green in parts of Southeast Asia. Raw-juice megadoses have a documented safety problem; food use is cooked leaves in ordinary amounts.
From the existing encyclopedia
Home cooks and herbal tea drinkers know Katuk for its signature scent and the way it layers with citrus, honey, or allium. Rehydrate dried forms in warm water before adding to long braises for even texture. Complements lemon, lime, or vinegar acidity in dressings and marinades. When substituting dried Katuk for fresh, use about one-third the volume and bloom in fat or hot water before adding acid or dairy.
Edible portions
- cooked young leaves and shoots
Absence of a portion from this list means it is not treated as food here — not that every other part is toxic.
Growing
- Climate. 10–12
- Light. Part shade, humid
- Soil. Moist, rich
- Planting. Cuttings in frost-free climates.
Preparation and culinary uses
- Stir-fried shoots, like a tropical pea shoot
Safety
- Cooked vegetable amounts are the traditional food. Uncooked juice in large amounts has been associated with serious lung injury in published case series — do not juice it as a ‘health drink.’
Next steps
Sources
- USDA PLANTS Database — taxonomy and range (verify current entries)
- No USDA FoodData Central nutrient profile is attached here. That is not a claim that the plant contains no nutrients.
- State cooperative extension growing guides — verify for your region
- Integrated from the existing aaaLifetime / quantum-biohack encyclopedia corpus (unique text preserved where it was not boilerplate).
Honest incompleteness is preferred to fabricated completeness. If a section is missing, no record for it is attached here — not a claim that the plant lacks that characteristic, and not that it was omitted as a secret.
Internal quality class A. Strong page: distinctive plant facts plus practical growing or kitchen use.