Mugwort or Motherwort

When I was a young girl living in a shop house

in a small town, my mom had a mugwort patch

the way people had a pumpkin patch.

My earliest memory was when Mom will say "May, 

go to the garden to get me a bunch of Ngei!"

And she will make soup with it.

Or fry mussels with it.

I hated it. We kids hated it! It tasted pungent,

and it was from our garden, it grew like weeds!!

We turned up our  noses at ngei!!!

When the waiter brought this omelette dish, Loo

(my friend, same name) said:

"I don't know what it is in English 

but in Hakka it is NGEI!!"

OMG, NGEI!!!

I have not heard of this word for 30 years

and I have not tasted Ngei for as many years!

 Ngei in Hakka means Ants!
In Hokkien it is called "Hia"

you can see the chinese name
and the English name is mugwort
or motherwort
http://www.google.com.my/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=0&oq=motherw&hl=en-GB&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGNI_en-GBMY452MY453&q=motherwort

this is what ngei looks like,
It is a wonder herb.

the owner produced this article when
Teo asked him what the name of
the veg is in Chinese and English

it can be pounded and used as a poultice for all ills

There are several references to the Chinese using mugwort in cuisine. The famous Chinese poet Sū Shì (蘇軾) in the 11th century mentioned it in one of his poems. There are even older poems and songs that can be tracked back to 3 BC. Mainly it was called lóuhāo (蒌蒿) or Ai Tsao (艾草 zh:艾草) in Mandarin. Mugwort can be prepared as a cold dish or can be stir-fried with fresh or smoked meat. The Hakka Taiwanese also use it to make chhú-khak-ké (鼠麹粿, 草仔粿).
Mugwort is used in the practice of traditional Chinese medicine in a pulverized and aged form called moxa.

I wished I had a picture of my mother's mugwort patch, it grew like weeds, luxuriant and happy after the rain!

Mugwort Omelet

Serves 2

Ingredients:

a handful of mugwort leaves, chopped
3 organic eggs, beaten
100ml water
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp of light soy sauce

Steps:

1. Mix the chopped mugwort leaves with beaten egg. Season it with a tbsp of light soy sauce.

2. Heat up oil in a wok, fry the omelet till cooked. Over-turn to fry the other side.

3. When the omelet is cooked, divide it into portions. Add water and bring to a boil. Dish up and serve hot.

(from "eating pleasure, little inbox recipe")