JustKay

Indeed! I even tried to look for the SRT textbook. The recipes all turn out so well didn't they? Remember sardine roll, jam bun ... but what I want most is a savoury rice dish I can't remember it's name (maybe nasi berperisa?) but I remember it has chicken liver in it. LOL! TP - is that Aroma Nyonya halal? And where do they sell their kuehs? I've never had pulut tai-tai (I've heard it being called Pulut Tatal). Shiewie - it's been years since I made any Kuih Bom. I'll have to ask my Mom for the recipe. But I remember it was such an easy kuih. The inti is the same as for Kuih Dadar/Ketayap. Perhaps, I will try to make them again. Definitely Malaysia is such a rojak. I think the Nasi Kunyit or Pulut Kuning part comes from the Malays and the curry from the Indians? The Malays would always have these 2 dishes at any important celebrations, especially at weddings. What about dodol? Or even wajik? There is only one commercial dodol that to me, is almost as good as homemade - Dodol Mayang from Johor. My grandma's recipe for dodol is lost forever. My Mom didn't jot it down. And Kuih Tepung Gomak? Isn't that Indonesian?

jeen dui - would this have coconut center or bean paste center? And it would be nice too if we could post recipes for the kuihs. That would help others not familiar with them to better imagine what they taste like and perhaps even try to make them.

Yes, the sesame covered kueh is what we Johorians call Onde Onde only that it usually contain grated coconut cooked with palm sugar. I think Johor has much Indonesian influence - even my grandfather (they're Bugis people) were originally from Indonesia. Johor has many Javanese people .... hence Tempe, Nasi Ambeng, Pecal, Sambal Goreng .... & Kuih Nagasari, Puteri Dua Sebilik, etc ... That kue - top left, green & white rounds - we have that here too but I don't know what they're called. Some kind of Apam. The red ones looks like Angkoo. What is the kue in the middle? Is the bottom left Kue Lapis?

Okay ... so this one neighbor can't help. She said she only visits Iran for short times and the husband isn't a cook. But yesterday I was at a mall and there was an 'Iranian stall' and I asked the lady if she knew what these are. She can't speak much English, and I could only remember 2 things off hand which was the camel thorn water and musk willow water. It was like 'a chicken trying to explain to a duck' LOL! I think perhaps she knows them in their own language? But she did say to come back and give her the list and she'll try to help. So .... maybe I'm going there again ... but not soon.... I'm curious too. I will keep you posted.

Onde-onde - in Johor this is called 'Kuih Bom' - which is a ball of dough of glutinous flour, slightly bigger than the size of a golf ball with a cooked sweet coconut center and rolled in sesame seed and fried. However, Onde-onde you are refering to is what is called Kuih Buah Melaka in Johor and Malacca. Betty Yew in her book 'Rasa Malaysia' also calls this Kuih Buah Melaka. (NOT arguing what it should be called - just noting the difference in regional name) The way I make this Kuih Buah Melaka - and always comes out nice and soft even after it isn't hot anymore - is that you don't mix the glutionous rice flour with just water. You mix it with santan (coconut milk) - not the thick one but just regular coconut milk. So, if all you can get is the condensed version, dilute it first (therefore no need extra water) and just heat it till warm - do not boil. Add the pandan juice, and add enough warmed coconut milk to the flour along with a pinch of salt, until it forms a soft manageable dough. That's it. Then take a pinch of dough, flatten it, add the bit of palm sugar (gula melaka hence the name kuih buah melaka) and form the ball. Immediately put the ball in hot boiling water (but not rolling boil) and when it floats, scoop it out with a strainer, let drain for a while and then roll in slightly salted grated coconut. Don't crowd the balls in the pot. This is my Grandma's 'secret tip' and you can use it whenever glutinous flour is used in making kuih. You'll find the kuih not only more flavorful but also not rubbery at all, even after it's gone cold.

LOL! Okay .... I see what you mean. Yes, then ...like the grounded roasted peanut 'giving' out some oil, so would the roasted coconut meat.

"Coconut butter is the same as coconut oil. Its melting point is 78 degrees Fahrenheit. When it is solid, it is referred to as coconut butter and when it is melted it is referred to as coconut oil. " No, kerisik is not coconut butter. You make coconut oil from coconut milk. Simmer long enough, coconut milk will separate into two things - oil and 'oil-waste' which looks not unlike curds. Kerisik is essentially the coconut meat with contains coconut milk within. When coconut meat is toasted and grounded, some oil (milk) will come out of it. Both the grounded toasted coconut meat as well as the oil makes up what is called kerisik. I hope that explains kerisik further. (Sorry about your not being well. Wishing you a speedy recovery.) edited to add: how to make coconut oil Interesting .... the 'oil-waste' I mentioned above is a direct translation from the Malay language but in this site it is referred to as 'coconut sugar'. It doesn't taste sweet though, but rather creamy. It is usually left to brown in the coconut oil itself and used as a topping on Malay 'cakes'.

I use the dry spice mill that comes with my blender. Not sure if the blenders in the US comes with this addition. You can store the toasted coconut but cooled toasted coconut is harder (chewier) to pound. While hot, it's crunchier and therefore easier to pound. Also, you will be able to get the oil out and make a nice paste-y kerisik. Just re-toast the coconut in a wok over very low heat until heated through. You may use a blender with the addition of some cooking oil to aid the process. But you will end up with a lot of oil in your dish (you'll have to adjust the measurement of your kerisik too). You will also need a still very sharp blender blades to effectively ground the coconut; otherwise you will get coarser kerisik and not a smooth paste which will result in too gritty a dish. You may skim the oils out after cooking if you do this method. However, of course, the grinding of toasted coconut alone makes the better kerisik. Another tip when using the mortar and pestle, every so often use a grinding motion in between the pounding. Using a granite mortar is a lot better than the white mortar as this one is too smooth and the pestle is not as heavy. I hope that helps.

They sell that bottled up here in Malaysia - Sparkling Ribena. We also have Ribena 'jellies'.

Durians are really in season now - and they're CHEAP! They are sold at 20 sen (US 5.3cents) per kilo wholesale. No wonder the ones at the night markets are selling at RM10 per basket for the kampung durians!

And the Thai's have "Muslim Pan-Fried Bread" which is the Malaysian Roti Canai.

I hear you tryska. Nothing beats fresh. Just a note though since I realize there are sweetened dessicated coconuts in the US - pls use the unsweetened one. Haha! Maybe your Mom will buy and ship you the electric coconut grater.

Indeed. You have best describe Malaysian cuisine. I've had sambal belacan in Indonesian Restaurants and theirs taste better, I think. My (former) Indonesian maid boiled all the ingredients first. While yet another maid, fried the sambal for a short time after being made. My Mom never put anything else besides roasted belacan and chillies (and calamansi juice, and salt of course) in her sambal belacan while my MIL always add some small red onions. The Beryani Gam Johor is derived from Handi Beryani, which has fruits and nuts in the rice and the seasoned meat is buried within the rice and the whole thing is then steamed in huge clay pots which is sealed with dough. The rice is cooked when the dough is cooked. Shiewie - do any Chinese restaurants offer Nasi Beryani? What about Nasi Lemak? Is that truly Malaysian? I think there is a dish in the Pihilippines where the rice is cooked in coconut milk? But not the sambal and the fried anchovies and other condiments that go with Malaysian Nasi Lemak though.

Vikram doesn't agree. Here's part of what she wrote in a review of Madhur Jaffrey's The Ultimate Curry Bible: Tom Yam Soup is definitely Thai in origin, but at what point does something qualify as Malaysian? If almost every Malaysian restaurant in and outside of Malaysia serves something, isn't it Malaysian? Well then .... interesting. We do have Roti Pratha here too. I have never been to Kerala nor tasted Kerala flaky parottha, so I can't compare. But even my Indian neighbor (an expatriate living here) said there's no Roti Canai in India, but then he's from Kalkoota. Perhaps, our Roti Canai has evolved somewhat (which explains the difference), but is in fact a derivative of the Kerala flaky Parottha (which accounts for the similarity). Canai is also a Malay word meaning 'to flatten'. I have no idea as to what single dish is truly a bona-fide Malaysian dish.

Do ask her. Asyura does seem like it could be pronounced "sura" in Terengganu and Kelantan. I don't know what a talam is, but from what I remember, these are spooned with huge ladles from vats. They are about as solid as some Indian carrot halwas, if you're familiar with those. Sura was sweet, fragrant, and rich, truly one of the most memorable and unique things I've ever tasted. And during its season, there was loads of it. Ok, I'll ask. Bubur Asyura is like a rice porridge but cooked in coconut milk and has about a hundred things in it. And I forgot to mention that Bubur Asyura is usually only made during the Ramadhan. Cooked in humungous pots within the mosque compound and distributed to all. The exact ingredients and proprotions only known to the cook him/herself. I tried to find a recipe on the Net but nada.

It isn't? Is Tom Yam Soup a true Malaysian dish? There used to be a Restoran Biryani in Kuala Terengganu in the 70s, when Tom Yam Soup wasn't to be found in Malaysian restaurants. I daresay, Indian influence has been deeper and more widespread for a longer time in the Malay Peninsula than Thai influence, and I need only cite Roti Canai as an example. I would say that Biryani (however you spell it) is an Indian dish that is part of the amalgam that constitutes Malaysian food. But Pan .... there is no Roti Canai in India! From what I've heard and read, Roti Canai is truly a Malaysian concoction by the Indians here in Malaysia. Tom Yam is definitely Thai, I would say. Beryani is Indian, or is it Middle East since saffron rice and pilaf are also a Persian and Arabic dish? No? And Pan .... even the mamak restaurants have Tom Yam and other Thai dishes offered nowdays! Some also have all the Western dishes such as steak, chicken maryland and such on the menu. And there's this Tom Yam stall along the old trunk road to KLIA that makes great Nasi Daging Merah and Tom Yam and one of the side dishes is Fries.

That post reminds me of some delicious kuihs from the past. I think that's a great introduction to Malaysian kuihs. And that's just the tip of the iceberg! Just some additional info - Lempur Udang is Pulut Udang or Pulut Panggang, and Bugis is more commonly known as Kuih Koci in Malay. My favorite kuih would be Koleh Kacang (green bean flour cooked for ages in coconut milk and topped with 'taik minyak' which is the 'fried' coconut cream. You do this by boiling coconut milk on a very slow fire for hours until the oil and cream separates, and continue frying the cream granules in that coconut oil until fragrant and deep brown). Some of my family's favorites are : Kuih Gegendang Kasturi (cooked green beans, mixed with grated coconut and sugar and form into discs and dipped in batter and fried), Kuih Lapis (beras) just like the kuih lapis sagu featured in the article but uses rice flour instead, and Abuk-Abuk which is sago pearls mixed with coconut and put into cones made from banana leaves, and topped with gula merah (a kind of brown sugar) and then steamed. And my Mom's favorite is Talam Berlauk which is rice flour 'cakes' with savoury toppings. su-lin - I think you mean Kuih Kodok/Cekodok/Jemput Pisang? Sometimes, a little grated coconut is added in the batter too. I like these too - easy tea time kuih. pan - i don't know of anyone who sells the Kueh Bakar that still uses wood fire. They sure are good eh? They also put the burning wood on top of the mold cover and that makes the top nicely 'baked' too. I usually bake them in the oven and then switch the setting to grill towards the end to bake the top. Sura - could this be Bubur Asyura? I know in the East Coast, these are made very thick and you can even 'set' and cut them up (like a talam) and rather sweet, as opposed to the ones commonly found in KL which are more like a porridge and more savoury. I will have to ask my Terengganu friend when I next talk to her. And what about Putu Mayang/Putu Mayong? These are rather hard to find now.

What about Nasi Beriyani? Although that's not technically a true Malaysian dish. I don't quite fancy the mamak kind. I prefer the Johor Nasi Beryani Gam but rather hard to find good ones in KL. There's one Aladin Cafe at the Souq (Putrajaya) but it's quality has declined some. There's a House of Beriyani at Diamond Square in Bangi. Verrry clean restaurant and they make 3 different types of Beryani - Arab, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The lauks are all very good too. It's open from 11am till about 3pm or so. Another restaurant in Bangi, Ghazal sells Nasi Beryani Johor, supposedly. But I find the lauks a tad too sweet. They also sell the 'sirap bandung' like the ones you get at Malay weddings. But for true Beryani, I 'd go for Bombay Palace's Handi Beryani anytime. Do you guys know of any good place for (non-mamak) Beryani in KL/Malaysia?

tryska - true on the slow cooker. About the coconut - you'll have to crack the coconut into 2, then pry the meat out. Adn then, use a hand-held grater if you have one but it's a tough job. Can't you get freshly grated coconuts? Otherwise, I'd just go with canned coconut milk for the rendang and dessicated coconuts to make kerisik.

tryska, the reason rendang is simmered for a longer period of time than other dishes is to allow the spices to 'mature'. I cook my rendang for about 4hrs at least. Reheat the next day, it taste just as good as I remember my Grandma used to make. As I've mentioned, in the old days, less choicer cuts of meats are used for rendang because they can't be used in other dishes. According to my Grandma (although she is no culinary scholar - she was a caterer, and taught cooking & baking classes and was the best 'chef' within the village ) that is also why rendang was concocted - so that these tougher meats won't go to waste. And also the reason rendang uses so many spices, and flavorful - to help enhance the dish that uses less favorable meat. Therefore, the rendang needs to be simmered for some time even if we now use better cuts - to allow for the spices to 'mature' and penetrate the meat. But, not as long as before though. Have you decided which recipe to try? Malaysian or Indonesian rendang? I have only tasted Indonesian rendang at the Indonesian restaurants here in Malaysia. We have 3 good restaurants that I know of - Sari Bunda and Tambuah Mas, and the one that our ex-PM likes (never been to this one though). I know the owner of Tambuah Mas and the cooks are specially brought in from Bukittingi. So, I guess the dishes are pretty authentic. They taste good. Sari Bunda serves great Padang dishes. Indonesian rendang, to me are similar to Malaysian rendang and like the many versions of Malaysian rendang, they are similar yet different. I think Indonesian rendang uses different leaves too. Malay cuisine and Indonesian cuisine are like siblings - while similar they can be quite different. I have quite a few more Malaysian rendang recipes if you're interested, becasue like I said, most of the states in Malaysia have their own version. And then again, each household makes it a little differently. But they're all still rendang though (and I do realize some people omit the kerisik and still call them rendang. LOL! But trust me, you want authentic rendang with kerisik. ) I suggest you try making the kerisik first and see how that goes. Once you have the kerisik, making rendang is easy. Just time consuming. I would think making rendang in a slow cooker would be a better bet than a pressure cooker. But I've never tried it. I think it's best you try make it in the conventional way first (in a big wok), and take it from there once you have made your own version of the perfect rendang - "tryska's beef rendang".

Bicycle Lee - I made Neil's marshmallow yesterday, using 30gm of pure agar-agar powder. I must have the marsmallow jinx or something coz it didn't turn out right! I don't know what went wrong. I heated the sugar mixture up to 240F. And then whisked it but it never turn fluffy. I beat for a total of 25 mins before giving up. It remained syrupy. After 18hrs, it still does not set. Does not even look like marsmallow creme this time. I am going to find HALAL gelatine and try to make it, and then if it turns out ok, I will try again using agar-agar powder as well as the Konyaku jelly powder. Sorry that wasn't of much help.

I vote for Pan and Shiewie, but then the forum owners might have some prerequisites to being elevated from a mere member to Forum Host.

markk - you've mangled my quote and PCL's! I had to read twice something I don't think I quite wrote. LOL! That's ok. I am glad that you're back to read all the replies. I hope we've given you a glimpse of Malaysian cuisine. There are a whole lot more to share, so don't stay away.

I go ... everytime I see the Maylasian too. I was hoping the person who started the thread would request the spelling correction after I pointed it out. But it seems s/he's not been back here, and we've hijacked the thread from her/him.

I bought those from Malacca yesterday - cost RM4 per kg and I thought that was cheap! But I prefer D24 best. Only sometimes, the D24 isn't really 'authentic' D24s. Sigh! Thanks for the heads-up anyways.