Ambuyat - Sabah MFF #1

This month's MFF is featuring Sabah, the Land Beneath the Wind.
The only state in Malaysia that I have never set foot in, not even for a minute.
I'm quite vague about it's cuisine as there aren't much recipes available on the internet. Some of which that you will see me posting this month, is recreated from descriptions of taste and pictures found on the internet. I do hope that it is close to how it should be.

And I'll be featuring the traditional dishes before I move to the modern day yums of the state next week. Probably 8 recipes in total.

The usual accompanying dishes

Back to Ambuyat. I first got to know of this dish via Disney Junior channel. It was rather intriguing... how does bland starch taste like.

Ambuyat is a dish of the Bisaya people that reside in Brunei as well as both Sarawak and Sabah. Other tribes do consume ambuyat too, and it may be called with other names like 'linut' or 'jalit' in Miri.
It is eaten like a staple, like how one would eat rice, or bread or noodles.

It is made from sago starch, derived from the trunk of the sago palm. The starch is soaked and cooked by scalding it with boiling water. Ambuyat tastes bland, and is always served with dishes, like how rice is served, and the dishes usually comes with a hot and sour tone. And to eat ambuyat, one uses sticks, not hands nor other cutleries. Some will use chopstick to twirl the starch.

I couldn't twirl the starch that well, as they aren't as sticky as seem on TV. Maybe it's because mine aren't the ones harvested from Borneo. It is said that the sago starch we have here is not the same as the ones there. But after dipping in the sour gravy.... it becomes one lump of slithery goodness...that I find it quite similar to eating jelly. I don't know how I should eat the vegetable condiment and so I lifted some up to be chewed along.

Eating ambuyat is pleasurable and fun!

Ambuyat
Reference: Nutriweb 

Ambuyat (single person portion)

60gm sago starch
40ml drinking water
300ml-350ml  boiling water

Bring 400 ml water to a boil (the water will evaporate as you boil). Mix sago starch with drinking water. Stir it well, the starch might be a bit hard to mix around. Pour boiling water, going slow and stir all the time for the earlier moments, then continue to pour the boiling water until you can notice some parts are turning translucent. Stop pouring and stir vigorously to form a soft sticky translucent lump of cooked starch.

*Zap in microwave if your ambuyat fails to cook even if you have added all of the boiling water.

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Sour Fish Broth

400gm fish (I used mackerel)
3 bird's eye chilli, halved
2 lemongrass, bashed
2-3 pcs of dried tamarind (asam gelugor), rinsed
1 tsp salt or as needed
2 cups water
Coarsely grind/pound
4 shallots
2 garlic clove
1 inch ginger (thumb sized)
1 small piece turmeric (pinkie sized)

Put everything into the wok/pot except the fish and salt and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer for 10 minutes, then put in the fish. Let it simmer until the fish is cooked. Add salt, and make it slightly oversalted.
*Add some sugar if it's too sour

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Kangkung Belacan

400gm kangkung
2 shallots
2 garlic cloves
1 red chilli
small piece of belacan (around 2x1x1cm)
3 Tbsp oil

Trim kangkung and rinse them well to get rid of sand. Slice shallot, garlic and chilli. Chop belacan finely.
Heat wok and put in oil. Saute shallot and garlic until fragrant, add in chilli and saute until the shallots look slightly golden. Put in chopped belacan and cook until very fragrant. Put in kangkung. Gently toss them around. Cook until just wilted. Dish up.

ingredients for the sour fish broth

Here is a video that I found on Youtube on how ambuyat is made the original way

I am submitting this to Malaysian Food Fest Sabah Month hosted by Mary Of a Pepper's Love

Sweet Sour Pork, Koo Lou Yoke 咕嚕肉 - Jolly Belly #3

Seriously.... I don't know how the Cantonese pronunciation should be.... is it, koo loo yoke, or koo lou yoke.
I even hear some calling it, gou lou yoke, as in tall guy meat. Whatever the name is... it's Lydia's favourite dish. The first dish she learnt to call by name, and order at the restaurant.

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Pan Fried "Roast" Pork 煎烧肉- Jolly Belly #2

First of all, I would like to thank my reader Ng Shao Wei for giving me this idea. She told me, she tried my roast pork recipe, but pan fried it instead. And so, I'd like to try it out myself too!

I changed a bit of the marinade and removed ingredients that might burn like red fermented beancurd and fresh garlic

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Braised Chicken with Pork Belly - Jolly Belly #1

This is a dish from Terengganu MFF.
Introduced to us by Phong Hong and further elaborated by Daphne Chua, both whose ancestors stayed in Kampung Tiong Kuala Terengganu.

I was very curious about the taste of having chicken and pork belly together in one dish and the use of soooo much shallots. Few other bloggers tried out the recipe and everybody raved about it. So, I didn't want to lose out, hehehe, and so I tried it too!

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Pure Pumpkin Cheesecake - Baked Cheesecake #3

This cake was a request from my brother in law. He wanted a pumpkin cheesecake and so, I took this opportunity to try out Rose's recipe.

Largely based on Rose Levy Berenbaum's recipe with quite a lot of adapations. And some regrets too.

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Coffee Marble Cheesecake - Baked Cheesecakes #2

I created this cheesecake for a wedding reception of 150 guests.

My husband's cousin got married last November. The groom's mother, our aunt, requested that I bake some desserts for the reception because the only dessert the caterer offered was fresh fruits.

I made quite a number of things and 2 cheesecakes. One of the cheesecakes is this. The other is a light tasting slightly fluffy orange cheesecake. I planned it in such a way that the guests will have some taste and textural contrast, and everything is bite sized. The rest of the dessert was Designer Chocolate Baby Grands, Kumquat Almond Tea Cakes, Vanilla Cream Puffs and Rainbow Jelly. I wanted to make more, but time  and manpower was a constraint. I was the only person doing almost everything until the final 12 hours. Baking is easy, cleaning up is not.

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White Wine Cheesecake - Baked Cheesecakes #1

I heard about this cheesecake from Reese and she told me how delicious it was. When I finally had a bottle of opened white wine I decided to try it out for myself.

It was still a boozy even after baking for 1 hour, so the kids were forbidden to eat.

I liked it but my hubby was only ok because he wanted it to be more cheesy. My MIL found it too boozy. So, it's pretty much up to the individual. But I'd say the texture is absolutely beautiful. Smooth and creamy but light at the same time.

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Fish Satar, Kelantan Style- MFF Kelantan #8

I had Satar many times before.
Flaky fish parcels that bursts with sweetness from the coconut and onions.
It's origins are from Terengganu. But they are sold almost everywhere nowadays.

When I went to Pantai Bachok in Kota Bahru, I saw this satar stall and as usual, I will buy some. To my surprise, there was a crunch factor in it, and it was green! I asked the lady what was the green crunch and was told it was water convolvulus or locally known as kangkung. Being the inquisitive me, I asked whether this was Kelantan's style and she happily said YES.

I find it hard to forget... crunchy, juicy and fragrant. I love it

I tried to replicate it and I'm glad mine tasted alright, but sadly without the smoky fragrance as mine were oven grilled. The texture was soft and flaky, unlike fishballs were we expect them to be  bouncy and very smooth. And they were juicy. Not spicy. But I think I should use more shallots.
I also chose to use aquatic kangkung as these grow on water and are known to have crunchier stems.

Kelantan Fish Satar
by WendyinKK

100gm fish flesh (from 250gm fresh sardines)
2 shallots
1 small piece of ginger (7gm)
1/2 red chilli
60gm freshly grated coconut
1 tsp asam pulp mixed with 50gm water, rubbed to dissolve.
1/2 tsp salt and some black pepper
1/2 tsp sugar
4 sprigs of aquatic kangkung

6 pcs of banana leaf (6X6inches)

1. Pound shallots and ginger until pasty, then add in chilli and coarsely pound it. Remove all these and set aside
2. Put in coconut together with fish. Add in salt, sugar, pepper and asam water and mix until combined.
3. Thinly slice kangkung and mix it in. It's is now ready for wrapping.
4. Wilt banana leaf over open flame or blanch it in boiling water.
5. Fold banana leaf into quarters and open up a pocket. Fill in one heaped Tbsp of fish mixture. Press the mixture to fill the corner on the bottom. Fold the top to close up.
6. Grill at 220(fan forced) or 240C for 15 minutes until the parcels release juices and the leaves start to  char.

*Traditional recipes call for pounding, but I used my chopper to do all the pounding work, with the same sequence.

Pulut Lepa Kelantan - MFF Kelantan #7

A lot of us are used to Pulut Panggang.
Those that I ate before are either filled with  a spicy coconut sambal or a dried shrimp sambal.

But on the east coast.... this is not the usual case.

In Terengganu,  the rice is infused with fenugreek and filled with a moist coconutty fish filling, whereas in Kelantan, the rice is just with the usual coconut milk and salt, BUT, sweet. Yes, it has a heavy tinge of sweetness, but not sweet like dessert. And the filling is no other than the famous beef serunding.

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Kelantan Beef Floss ~ Serunding Daging - Kelantan MFF #6

Beef serunding or beef floss is a Kelantan specialty. Some also call it as beef sambal or sambal daging in the Malay language. It is said that a properly made serunding can be kept for a year without referigeration.

I was itching to try making this, but was hesitating and hesitating and hesitating.
Finally I did, just last week! LOL.
I can't stop thinking about all these Kelantanese delights because they all reminded me of my lovely holiday there many years ago.

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Akok Kedut Kelantan- MFF Kelantan #5

My favourite Kelantanese kuih!
Akok kedut is translated as Wrinkly Akok. Because on the east coast, Terengganu's akoks are smooth : )
And there are many types of akok too.

When I told my Kelantanese colleagues from Selancar that I loved Jala Mas, they recommended that I try eating akok and it's even better. Hmmmm....

One day, during Ramadan  Bazaar in Serdang, Selangor, I saw some  akoks being sold. So I bought some.
URRGHHHHH! It was disgusting! It tasted like a soggy cake, almost a syrup soaked bahulu that reeked of imitation essence. Eeewww!

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Telur Kesum, a kelantan Peranakan dish- MFF Kelantan #4

This is a dish of the Peranakans in Kelantan.

Yes, peranakans are not only found in Penang, Melaka and Singapore, but in Kelantan as well. They are so assimilated that even their names are Malay names, except that they retained their Chinese family name. There aren’t many and they aren’t as well known as their fellow counterparts.

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Cek Mek Molek (with video)~ Beautiful Lady - MFF Kelantan #3

It's true. My Malay friends told me, Kelantanese girls are known for their beauty.

Some said, it's because they eat a lot of 'pulut' (sticky rice) instead of the usual rice, that's why their skin is fair and smooth. Is this statement true or myth... I don't know. But what I really do know is, Kelantanese Malay ladies do look fairer comparatively.

And so, could this be the reason for this snack to be named as 'beautiful lady'? Actually I prefer to translate these as "My Fair Lady". This kuih is found all over Malaysia but it very popular in both Kelantan and Terengganu. Some just fondly call it as cek mek, but anyway... it's the same thing.

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Tahi Itik~ Duck Poop- MFF Kelantan #2

2nd attempt

Kelantanese kuihs have very cute names.

It's not made of poop. It's made from the remnants, that is duck egg whites from the eggs made into jala mas. Tahi can also mean remnants instead of poop. But is usually understood as the latter.

My Kelantanese friends never introduced this to me. Instead I got to know of its existence through Raykinzoku's site. After thoroughly reading the site, I found out that he is the brother of my colleague in Selancar. I noticed the relation because of one post.. the one regarding the earthquake and so I called up Sofia. The funny thing is that Sofia doesn't know her brother has a blog until I told her The world is kind of small. It's been years since I last heard from this dear friend.

Ok ok, It was through this site that I found a family who made very delicious Kelantanese fare, so good that they supply to the palace for royal occasions. Raykinzoku knew because he is one  :) I was so glad that the royal kuih maker resided not far from town, quite near the hotel where I stayed when I visited Kota Bahru. But I did need to ask around to make sure I got the right house. Even my fluent Malay can't get me around town much as I can't understand them, but they can surely understand me.
The Kelantanese speak in a special dialect that is indigenous only to the Kelantanese that outsiders may barely understand.

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