Aiguisez vos papilles et suivez moi au cours de cuisine de Nazlina. Au menu, trois plats traditionnels malais :

Nyonya Spring roll

Otak’Otak et

Penang Laksa!

Les recettes sont ci dessous.

Le soucis principal outre la traduction des recettes en français sera de trouver un bourgeon de fleur de nénuphar…ou la crêpe de riz achetée chez Monsieur Lee qui les fait à la main depuis 65 ans au marché de Penang…

Je suis accompagnée de 3 anglais et de la très sympathique canadienne Tori qui m’accompagnera par la suite…mais suspens je ne vous dit pas où 😉

Après un petit déjeuner copieux de rôti banane (non non ce n’est pas le délicieux rôti de boeuf saignant de papa et maman) c’est une sorte de crêpe indienne croustillante c’est très bon, il manquait juste une pointe de nutella 😉 notre guide hollandais, associé de Nazlina la chef malaisienne, nous fait découvrir le marché de Penang en toute intimité. Gueule de barracuda, crustacé millénaire, fruit exotiques aux propriétés médicinales, je vous laisse découvrir…

Je complète ce cours par une petit galerie de délices malais, impossible de retenir les noms par contre je vous garantie que j’ai des saveurs plein les papilles!

Il n’y a pas à dire en Malaisie les cultures se rencontrent, dans les lieux de cultes comme dans nos assiettes!

Otak-otak (Steamed seafood mousse)

Otak-otak is a special Malay and Nyonya dish. As usual, there are many variations to this delicacy. All of them have seafood in it. The version that I am making here is common to the West Coast of Peninsula  Malaysia and uses prawns. While on the East Coast of the Peninsula, otak-otak is ground fish with spices, mixed with shredded coconut, and grilled, instead of steamed. On the East Coast too, otak-otak is wrapped with coconut leaves, instead of banana leaves like what I make here.

You may have a hard time finding the fresh herbs in the recipes; I suggest you try substituting wild pepper leaves with a spinach. Turmeric leave is almost irreplaceable, so just make do with kaffir lime leaves instead.

As for the banana leaves used to wrap it, you can use aluminium foil or ramekin bowls as substitutes. This dish ideally should be served immediately but it can also be served cold within a day.

Ingredients to be processed finely using pestle and mortar or a blender (using pulse function):

• ½ inch fresh turmeric
• 1 small onion
• 2 dried chilies (cut to remove seeds and then soaked in hot water to soften the skin); or 2 large fresh chilies.
• 4 candlenuts
• 1 inch ginger
• 1 inch lemon grass root

Fresh herbs:

• 10 wild pepper leaves
• 3 young kaffir lime leaves
• 1 young turmeric leaf (optional)
• A little chopped ginger flower (optional)

Other ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 400g prawns (peeled and deveined) or fish such as mackerel, sea bass or snapper.
• 1 cup of thick coconut milk (quantity may vary to make a runny mix)
• 2 tbs thick tamarind juice (made of soaking 1 tsp of tamarind paste and ¼ cup of water).
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. Grind all spices, set aside.
2. Whisk eggs with tamarind juice, peeled prawns, ground spices and also fresh leaves and salt.
3. Make little boats out of banana leaves or use ramekin dishes.
4. Line the boats with 1 piece of wild pepper leaf.
5. Pour the mix into a few of these boats/ramekin.
6. Steam over high heat for 10 minutes.
7. Serve hot or cold with rice.

 

Nyonya Spring Rolls

 

If you are brave, try to make the skin yourself (or use thin dough for crepe as the skin or thawed filo pastry).

 

Pastry  for the skin:

• 80g wheat flour
• 1 tsp tapioca / arrowroot
• 1 large egg (whisked)
• 200 ml water
• 1/2 tbs cooking oil
• Salt

 

1. Mix all ingredients till there are no more lumps.

 

2. Make thin pancakes about 9 inch in diameter.

 

You can use a normal crepe recipe to make the skin also.

 

Sauce:

• 200 g wheat flour
• 200 g molasses
• 330 ml water
• Salt
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp thick soy sauce

 

1. Dry fry flour till the color is light brown.
2. Sieve into a large bowl and let cool.
3. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a saucepan

and cook till everything dissolves.

4. Slowly pour the syrup into the  flour and keep on whisking until there is no lump.

 

(or use ready made plum sauce or a mix of hoi sin sauce and chili sauce)

 

Filling to be cooked:

 

30 ml cooking oil

1/2 head of garlic

300g minced fresh prawn/chicken/pork/crab meat

1 tsp of fermented bean curd in chili and sesame oil (Szechuan style)

2 hard tofu

Salt to taste

1 tbs freshly ground black pepper

6 french beans (sliced thinly)

 

Cook  the filling:

1. Heat oil
2. Sauté garlic and when it is brown, add in the minced prawns
3. Add in fermented tauchu and hard tofu pieces for 1 minute.
4. When cooked, put in French beans, till half cooked and then add in sliced hard tofu pieces
5. Season with salt and pepper

 

Other filling to prepare:

 

Salad leaves (enough for the popiah skin you have)

1 red chili (de-seed and cut into matchsticks)

1/2 cucumber, remove seeds and cut into matchsticks

1 cup of fresh bean sprouts

Coriander leaves – remove roots and break up into halves

30 g roasted peanuts, remove skin and then process in chunks

1 tbs fried shallots

1 hard tofu (sliced and deep fried till crispy)

 

Assemble the popia:

 

1. Get a piece of the popia skin
2. Spread the sauce you like all over the skin thinly
3. Put on a piece of salad leave on half the skin
4. Put in a teaspoon of cooked filling, followed by bean sprout, chili sticks,

cucumber, jicama (yam beans) coriander leave, tofu, fried shallots and roasted peanuts.

5. Roll tightly.
6. Serve immediately.

LAKSA

Ingredients to be processed finely using pestle and mortar or a blender (using pulse function):

• 5 large fresh chilies
• 5 dried chilies (cut to remove seeds and soaked in hot water to soften the skin)
• 1 square inch toasted belachan (prawn paste block)
• ½ inch fresh turmeric
• 4 thin slices of galangal (lengkuas or pink ginger)
• ½ inch ginger
• 1 big onion or 5 shallots
• 4 pips of garlic
• 1 lemongrass (use up to 1.5” from the base)

 

Fresh herbs:

• 1 handful of mint
• 1 handful of Vietnamese mint (daun kesum or laksa leaves)
• 1 torch ginger – bunga kantan (sliced thinly or chopped finely, use the flower only, remove the  stalk)

 

Other ingredients:

• 500g ikan kembung (fusiliers)

 

• 2 pieces tamarind apples (“asam keping” in Malay)

• 1 tbs tamarind paste to get tamarind juice (soaked in 200ml of water for at least 15 minutes, squeeze out the juice and remove seeds and pulp).

 

• Salt and sugar to taste