Hummingbird Tree: The Flower Thais Eat at Dawn

Hummingbird Tree Blossoms — ดอกแค (dok-khae) — Sesbania grandiflora.

Farmers pick its pale, sickle-shaped blossoms at dawn for sour curry. In cell-culture studies, Sesbania grandiflora flower extracts showed antibacterial activity. The flowers provide vitamin C and folate. Kaeng Som Dok Khae simmers them with prawns in tamarind broth, while Dok Khae Yad Sai Thod stuffs them with minced pork and shrimp before frying. Pick the flowers early in the morning before they fully open.

Gaeng Som Dok Kae — แกงส้มดอกแค (gaeng-som-dok-kae)
Dok Kae Yat Sai Tod — ดอกแคยัดไส้ทอด (dok-kae-yat-sai-tod)

Food and nutrients

Rich in: vitamin C, folate

Research context

Sesbania grandiflora flower extracts showed antibacterial activity in lab studies — Vegetos, 2022

Sources

Source: Phytochemical screening & antimicrobial activity of Sesbania grandiflora extracts. Vegetos (2022). DOI:10.1007/s42535-022-00448-6

Narration transcript

Opening

On this quick-growing tree the crop is the flowers: big, pale, sickle-shaped blossoms that Thais gather by the handful at dawn, before they fully open. Hummingbird tree — ดอกแค, dok-kae. You eat those blossoms, simmered into sour tamarind curry or stuffed with pork and fried.

แกงส้มดอกแค

Gaeng som dok kae is a sour tamarind curry of hummingbird tree blossoms and prawns, served hot with jasmine rice and a crispy omelet.

ดอกแคยัดไส้ทอด

Dok kae yat sai tod stuffs the blossoms with minced pork and shrimp, then fries them crisp to dip in sweet roasted chili sauce with warm jasmine rice.

Nutrition summary

These delicate white blossoms bring vitamin C and folate together — an unusual pairing for an edible flower.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is used to build collagen and helps protect cells from oxidative stress.

Folate

Folate supports normal cell division and blood formation, and plays an especially important role before and during pregnancy.

Closing

Hummingbird tree shoots up within a couple of years and blooms while it is still young. Pull the bitter green stamen out of each blossom before it goes in the pot, or the whole dish turns harsh. Follow Longevity Biome, and LIKE this video for regular updates.

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