By Ong Jin Teong
The Business Times
Penang Nasi Ulam recipe

Serves 12

This is a meal in itself, involving rice mixed with salt fish, flaked fish or prawns, fried grated coconut (kerisik) and the ulam (edible leaves, shoots, flowers and roots) from garden plants.

Ingredients

900 g rice
300 g dried shrimp
300 g salt fish
600 g red snapper, seared (or 500 g small prawns)
2 tspb oil
salt to taste
Ulam (finely chopped or sliced):
100 g young ginger
5 x 1.5 cm piece kunyit (turmeric)
8 x 3 cm piece lengkuas (galangal)
3 bunga kantan (torch ginger buds)
20 daun limau purut (kaffir lime leaves)
3 sprigs daun kesom (Polygonum)
20 leaves daun kentut (Paederia scandens)
50 leaves daun kadok (Piper sarmentosum)
2 leaves daun cekur (Kaempferia galangal)
2 daun kunyit (turmeric leaves)
3 stalks serai (lemongrass)
120 g shallots
2 cloves garlic
Half grated coconut
10 fresh chillies (approx 120 g)
1 tbsp belacan (dried shrimp paste)

Method

1. Wash and drain the rice and cook with about 1 litre of water. The rice should be dry and grainy – leave it to stand for at least an hour after cooking to absorb excess water.

2. Wash the dried prawns and soak in water for about 10 minutes, then pound in a mortar (lesong) or grind in a food processor.

3. Cut the salt fish into slices of about 0.5 cm thickness and shallow fry in oil until crispy. Break into bits by hand. Alternatively, grill the pieces in an oven.

4. Fry the fish in 2 tbsps of oil. Remove the skin and flake the fish finely. If fresh prawns are used, wash, remove heads and devein. Sprinkle salt and steam or boil until cooked. Remove and cool before de-shelling. Chop into 3 mm or 4 mm pieces.

5. Slicing the ulam: Remove the skin of the roots – young ginger, turmeric and galangal. Slice thinly, cut into thin strips and then cut across the strips as finely as possible.

6. Cut the torch ginger buds into two lengthwise and slice finely from the tip of the flower, stopping short of the stalk. For the limau purut, kesom and kentut, stack leaves and slice as thinly as possible. Roll the kadok, cekur and kunyit leaves tightly together into a cylinder and slice as finely as possible.

7. Cut off and discard the leafy parts of the lemongrass. Remove the outer layers of the stalk and cut each stalk into two lengthwise, then slice thinly starting from the top end of the lemongrass and stopping short of the root end, which is a bit woody.

8. Peel the shallots and cut off the root end. Cut each bulb longitudinally and slice each half thinly across. Smash up the garlic and remove the skin, and then chop finely.

9. To make kerisik, fry the grated coconut over low heat until golden brown. It will continue to brown after it has been taken off the heat so do not overcook. Pound finely.

10. To make sambal belacan, slice the belacan thinly or form into a thin wafer and grill or toast under low heat until dry and fragrant. Break up the belacan into pieces while grilling. Remove seeds from the chillies and slice them for easier pounding. Pound the cut chillies until fine, and then add the grilled belacan and continue to pound, mixing the belacan into the chillies.

Assembly

Fluff up the rice to ensure it is not lumpy. Place the rice in a large mixing bowl and add the salt fish, flaked fish (or cooked prawns), the sambal belacan and the kerisik. Mix well. Finally, add the sliced ulam leaves, spreading them and mixing evenly into the rice. Add salt to taste. Serve.

Read about Mr Ong Jin Teong's Penang cookbook here.