Ulam is a traditional salad produced from the leaves of Centella asiatica

Centella asiatica

Centella asiatica is a small herbaceous annual plant of the family Mackinlayaceae or subfamily Mackinlayoideae of family Apiaceae, and is native to India, Sri Lanka, northern Australia, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Melanesia, Papua New Guinea, and other parts of Asia...

. Ulam is typically eaten with anchovies

Anchovy

Anchovies are a family of small, common salt-water forage fish. There are 144 species in 17 genera, found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. Anchovies are usually classified as an oily fish.-Description:...

, cincalok

Cincalok

Cincalok is a Malaccan food made of fermented small shrimps or krill. It is usually served as a condiment together with chillis, shallots and lime juice. It is similar to Bagoong Alamang in the Philippines.In Melaka, the shrimp is called udang geragau...

 or shrimp paste

Shrimp paste

Shrimp paste or shrimp sauce, is a common ingredient used in Southeast Asian and Southern Chinese cuisine. It is known as terasi in Indonesian, ngapi in Burmese, kapi in Thai, Khmer and Lao language, belacan in Malay, mắm ruốc, mắm tép and mắm tôm in...

. It is recognised as a popular main dish in traditional Malay villages.

Vegetables can be assumed to be ulam when eaten simply as it is, including cucumber

Cucumber

The cucumber is a widely cultivated plant in the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, which includes squash, and in the same genus as the muskmelon. The plant is a creeping vine which bears cylindrical edible fruit when ripe. There are three main varieties of cucumber: "slicing", "pickling", and...

, cabbage

Cabbage

Cabbage is a popular cultivar of the species Brassica oleracea Linne of the Family Brassicaceae and is a leafy green vegetable...

 and eggplant. Another type of ulam is traditional ulam which is used more as a direct ingredient, such as in nasi ulam

Nasi ulam

Nasi ulam is a steamed rice dish mixed with various herbs, especially the leaves of pegagan or often replaced with kemangi , vegetables, spices and accompanied with various side dishes...

(ulam rice), nasi kerabu (a type of bluish-coloured rice) and cooking with other fatty vegetables. It also has its uses in traditional medicine

Traditional medicine

Traditional medicine comprises unscientific knowledge systems that developed over generations within various societies before the era of modern medicine...

, such as diabetes and high blood pressure.