To get into the spirit of merdeka we decided to cook from this book that tells stories of four of our Prime Ministers alongside recipes of their favourite dishes and some of the dishes that were served at their banquets an events.
” Every recipe has you drooling ”
This book inspires you to cook traditional Malay style dishes with the large beautiful glossy photos of simple and delicious food. Every recipe has you drooling, and we even had a bit of trouble narrowing it down to four to attempt at the FC kitchen.
The first part of the book shares a bit of history on the past four Prime Ministers. We then get a glimpse of some of their favourite foods, complete with recipes and even stories from some of their close family members.
While the recipes may seem simple enough, beginners may have a bit of trouble cooking from this book, as it requires some knowledge of cooking. Some instructions are unclear or don’t give exact timings which can be tough to gauge. The beef dendeng, for example, calls for beef to be cut into chunks lengthwise and boiled till half done. What cut of beef should one get? How do we know what half-done is? This is precisely why some experience in the kitchen is necessary.
Don’t worry though, for these recipes we tested them out and we added in timings that are easier to follow. These dishes are worth the preparation time and you will be able to impress family and friends.
Bitter Gourd Juice
We decided to start off with Tunku Abdul Rahman’s favourite drink the Bitter Gourd Juice. This is a blend of bitter gourd with apples and celery. This is a very green and healthy drink, a bit hard to get down if you’re not a fan of the bitter fruit, but certainly an interesting concoction. Add a bit of honey or sugar to make it a bit more palatable.
2 bitter gourds
1 green apple
1 stick celery
1 cup water
Pinch of salt
Ice cubes
Blitz the bitter gourd, apple, and celery in a juicer or blender. Dilute with the water and add a bit of salt. Serve over ice.
Ayam Percik
While this tastes best cooked over charcoal for that added smoky flavour, the oven grilling method works out quite well and delivers a tasty dish. It is not too difficult to prepare and it’s a surefire crowd pleaser. While the recipe suggests marinating for 1hour I’m sure it would be full of flavour if marinated a bit longer.
Blend:
5 dried chillies, soaked
2 stalks lemongrass
3cm galangal
2 garlic cloves
8 shallots
1cm fresh turmeric
1cm belacan
2 candlenuts
1kg chicken, quartered
2 cups coconut cream
1 tsp tamarind juice
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
Marinate chicken with the blended ingredients for 1hour. Preheat oven to 180C on the grill setting. Heat wok over medium flame without oil. Put chicken in for 3mins to tighten up the skin. Turn off the heat, take out the chicken and place on a grill or an oven pan. Pour the coconut cream, tamarind juice, sugar and salt in the wok to mix with the marinade left in the wok. Coat the chicken with some of this mixture and put it in the oven. Cook for 40mins. Keep cooking down the remainder of the sauce in the wok as the chicken cooks in the oven. Pour the remaining sauce over the chicken once it’s done.
Beef Dendeng
Blend:
25g dried chillies
250g large onions
6 garlic cloves
1 stalk lemongrass
500g beef – cut into chunks lengthwise and boiled for 20mins
1 cup beef stock
1 ½ Tbs sugar
4 Tbs sweet soy sauce
½ cup oil
Salt to taste
Thinly slice the partially cooked beef and pound lightly with a pestle to make it tender. Heat the oil in a wok and fry the beef but don’t allow it to become too crispy. Remove beef from the wok. Saute the blended lemongrass, garlic, chillis, and onions. Cook till the oil separates. Add beef stock, sugar, salt, and soy sauce. Bring to a boil. Add beef and reduce the heat. Allow to simmer and thicken.
Nasi Ulam
It’s fragrant, it’s bold, and it’s packed with herby goodness. This rice is the perfect accompaniment to the two meat dishes. It is a stand-alone dish as well that is great as is. We added in some additional herbs fresh from the market to give it an extra kick. Ask the seller in the market what herbs are good for this dish and you’ll come away with more than the recipe calls for. Mix and match them to your liking.
Slice Finely:
6 shallots
2 stalks lemongrass
4cm ginger
1cm galangal
1cm turmeric
3 young kaffir lime leaves
4 cekur leaves
1 turmeric leaf, deveined
4 kaduk leaves
10 basil leaves
8 polygonum leaves
8 sekentut leaves
500g cooked rice
¼ cup salted fish, fried and pounded
¼ cup dried shrimp, dry fried and pounded
¼ cup grated coconut, dry fried till brown
¼ Tbs belacan, crumbled and fried to resemble powder
½ tsp white pepper
Salt to taste
Fluff up cooked rice and leave to cool. Add salted fish, dried shrimp, belacan, lemongrass, galangal, and onion. Mix well. Add sliced leaves, salt, and pepper. Top with grated coconut.