Bepang & Roti Paun

I have  fond memories of my college days, 20 years ago. My best friend is from Terengganu. Whenever she goes back to her kampung for the holidays and comes back when the new semester starts, she would always bring back goodies from Terengganu. There would always be the delicious keropok lekor and along with it  bepang and roti paun aswell. I'm sure most of you know keropok lekor well by now, but what is bepang and roti paun ?

Bepang - delightful, cripsy and yummy

Bepang is a local Terengganu rice cracker made out of glutinous rice, that is fried and dipped in coconut sugar (gula Melaka). I'm not too sure how they make these crackers but they are simply yummy. Crispy, yet soft and chewy. Sweet yet not overwhelming. Simply delightful. Great to have while you're reading books. This is one of my favourite Terengganu snacks, that whenever my friend Fanoriana Ismail goes back to Terengganu, I will always ask her to buy me some. Try it and you'll see what I mean.

Roti Paun - Soft buns to die for

Roti paun might look like your ordinary buns but it is super soft and delicious. Even after more than 8 long hours of bus ride my friend takes from Kuala Terengganu to Petaling Jaya, the buns will still remain soft when they arrive. The texture is simply superb and the taste....ummm you'll have to try it yourself. Now imagine you're having them fresh from a local bakery in Terengganu. Soft, fresh and hot and the aroma ahhh... simply irresistable.

Otak-Otak Terengganu

Otak-otak-so good once you start, its hard to stop

Otak-otak is yet another speciality dish of Terengganu. Made out of fresh fish which is marinated in spices. It is then mixed with coconut and special spicy paste and wrapped up in coconut leaf. Once wrapped up, the otak-otak is line up and cooked over fire, much like how the satay is cooked.

Otak-otak are famous teatime snacks, but don't be surprised if some shops that sells otak-otak finish selling them by 4 p.m. One famous otak-otak shop is Otak-otak Che Wan at Pantai Teluk Mak Nik, Kemaman sells delicious otak-otak. So good that sometimes customers que  from 12 o'clock in the afternoon eventhough the shop opens at 2 p.m. Otak-otak Che Wan cooks about 5,000 pieces of otak-otak daily, yet it is sold out most of the time. So if you're thinking of trying it out, come early.

For those of you who wish to cook it yourself, here is the recipe as described by the Terengganu tourism website :

Ingredients:   400g ikan merah (red snapper) (A):   1/2 tsp salt   1 tsp pounded anchovies (ikan bilis)   A dash of pepper (B) Spice, pounded together:   3 fresh red chillies, seeded   3 cm galagal (lengkuas)   2 cm fresh turmeric root (kunyit)   or replace with 1/2 tsp turmeric powder   5 buah keras (candlenuts)   2 stalks serai (lemon grass), sliced thinly  10 shallots   4 cloves garlic (C):   1 tbsp chilli boh   1 tsp  belacan   1/2 tbsp rice f1our   1 tbsp cornflour Seasoning:   1/2 tsp salt   1 1/2 tsp sugar   Pepper to taste (D):   1/2 cup pati santan   3 eggs, well beaten   5 limau purut leaves, finely sliced   Daun Kadok leaves (aromatic creepers)   Banana leaves, cut into 20 x 18 cm pieces, softened by steaming or scalding in hot water Method: 1. Cut fish fillets into thin slices and season with (A) for 15 minutes. 2. Grind ingredients (B) into a paste. Mix well the ground ingredients with (C). Blend in (D) and seasoning. Add fish slices into the mixture. 3. Take 1 piece of banana leaf, place three to four daun kadok in the centre. Put three slices of fish and 2 tbsp gravy over it. Form a bundle by folding up both the sides to meet in the centre. Fold up both the ends and staple the middle portion to secure. Make as many bundles of otak-otak as possible. 4. Steam the bundles for 10 minutes over rapid boiling water. Serve hot with rice or white bread. Other Places to get Otak-otak :

Kuala Pengadang Baru Weekend Market (Tuesday) Terengganu Panji Alam Weekend Market (Thursday) Batu Burok Hawker Centre (Friday) Pasar Payang Central Market Cabang Tiga Market Marang Kg. Kelulut Weekend Market (Saturday) Dungun Kuala Dungun Weekend Market (Thursday) Kemaman Kerteh (Tuesday), Kemasik (Sunday, Wednesday), s Chukai (Tuesday) Alongside Geliga Beach

Kerabu Pucuk Paku

Delicious & Appetizing Kerabu Pucuk Paku

Kerabu Pucuk Paku is another favorite dish of the people in Terengganu. Kerabu Pucuk Paku is a delicious Malay salad that is made out of fern shoot (pucuk paku), lime juice, cockles and grated coconut.

If you have lost your appetite, then this particular dish is highly recommended.  Its  just....so appetizing and mouth watering, it'll add the extra zing to any rice dish you're eating. So special and delicious is this dish that the there is a Terengganu folk song named after Kerabu Pucuk Paku, believe it or not. Listen to this .....

You can get the Kerabu Pucuk Paku at local weekend markets or hawker stalls in Terengganu, however if you can't find any then why not cook it yourself. Here's the recipe as described by the Terengganu tourism website.

Ingredients:

fern leaves
3 big tbs cockle flesh
4 shallot (thinly)sliced
1 tbs dried prawns
1/2 sliced ginger
2 sliced lemon grass
1 sliced turmeric leaf
1 tbs 'kerisik'
1/2 cup coconut milk
extracted juice from 2 lime
5 birds eye chillies
shrimp paste (belacan)

Method:

1. Boil cockles, boil fern leaf and toss them

2. Pound the shallots, prawns, ginger, lemongrass, belacan, chillies together

3. Mix the pounded ingredients together with all the other ingredients including cockles, santan,kerisik, fern shoot, lime juice, sugatr and salt to taste

4.Serve the mixed salad in a plate, ready to eat with rice or just by itself.

Here are a few places where you can get the Kerabu Pucuk Paku.

Kuala Terengganu
Pengadang Baru Weekand Market - Tuesdays
Panji Alam Weekend Market - Thursday
Batu Burok Hawker Center - Fridays
Jalan Sultan Sulaiman - Daily

Marang
Kg. Kelutut Weekend Market - Saturdays

Dungun
Kuala Dungun Weekend Market - Thursdays

Kemaman
Kerteh - Tuesdays
Kemasik - Sunday
Chukai - Tuesdays

Nasi Kerabu Terengganu

Simply fresh and delicious Nasi Kerabu

Nasi Kerabu is one of my favorite dishes. Its simple, its fresh and its delicious.  Nasi kerabu is a rice dish usually blue in color served with fresh ulam (fresh vegetables), fried salted fish or salted egg, keropok (fish cracker) and other garnishing. The  blue colored rice comes from natural dye of  bunga telang (clitoria) though the colored rice may vary depending on the dye color used. You can eat it plain or you can it  with fried fish dipped in flour batter, ayam bakar (grilled chicken) or daging bakar (grilled beef).

One place you can get good nasi kerabu is at Kedai Nasi Kerabu located right across the main entrance of Wisma Darul Iman (Terengganu State Government building). Opening hours are from 11 a.m - 3.30p.m. It may be a bit pricey here, however they offer lots of choices and local specialities.



In case you want to cook it yourself, here is the recipe for Nasi Kerabu Terengganu :

NASI KERABU TERENGGANU


The rice

3 cups of rice 
4 cups of water 
1 lemongrassi } pounded
10 clitoria flowers (blended and extracted) or blue coloring


Method:

Clean rice and cook with lemongrass and  extract of clitoria or blue coloring.  

Sambal kelapa/ikan
1/2 shredded coconut 
2-3 grilled fish meat (mackeral/sardines)
4 shallots 
1.5 cm ginger 
1 tsp black pepper 
salt

Method:

Pound shallots, ginger and pepper together with fish meat.  Add shredded coconut which is cooked over fire till its golden brown in color

Sambal Cili Padi 

A few birds eye chillies. 
Add in 1 tsp of salt, 2 tbs sugar dan some vineger or (lime juice).  
Blend till fine. 

Tumis Belacan Sauce 

2 inches belacan, grilled 
5 dry chilli}pounded 
5 shallots}  pounded 
2 piece garlic }pounded
1.5 cm ginger}pounded
1 lemongrasss (pounded)
a bit of brown sugar (gula melaka),
salt to taste
1/2 coconut, about 2 cups of santan (coconut milk) 
2 tbs tamirind juice

Method :

Cook the coconut milk till thick, Add in pounded ingredients, lemongrass, belacan,brown sugar and tamarind juice.   

Ulam-ulam (Fresh vegetables) 


Julienne or thinly shredded mixture of frangrant leaves such as bunga kantan, daun kesum, daun cekur, long beans, daun selasih (basil leaf), cabbage and cucumber
a bowl of bean sprouts (taugeh)

Serve the rice with sambal kelapa, sambal cili padi, budu(anchovy sauce) and some ulam-ulam on top of the rice plus a choice of your favourite side dishes such as grilled chicken beef or fried fish dipped in flour. Some keropok and salted eggs add the extra zing to this dish. Enjoy.

Singgang Ikan Terengganu

Its the 4th  day since Aidil fitri, yet the mood for Hari Raya is still felt. In fact in Malaysia, the raya mood may last up to one whole month with all the Raya open houses organised through out the whole month of Syawal. After a few days of eating rich raya food from nasi dagang, fish curry, ketupat, rendang, lemang, ayam masak merah and the works, one longs for some simple food.

What could be more refreshing and appetizing than the Singgang ikan Terengganu. Ahhh... the very mention of it already makes me hungry. So what are you waiting for lets cook some singang ikan. Its really easy to cook. Just watch this video below.



For those of you who didn't get the recipe, here it is :

Ingredients


4 pieces of Aya fish ( ikan tongkol) or a  mackeral (ikan kembong)

¼ inches of galagal

4 slices of  fresh tumeric (optional)

2 pieces of shallots (optional)

3 or 4  pieces of garlic

3 slices of  asam gelugor

2 pieces of fresh green cillies 

salt and sugar to taste

A bowl of  water

Method :

Boil all the ingredients together with the fish until cooked. Add in a pinch  of salt and sugar to taste.

Don't worry if you don't cook or don't have a kitchen as you can still taste the mouth watering taste of ikan singgang in most malay restaurants around Terengganu. Ikan singgang is best eaten with hot rice served with fresh vegetables (ulam) dipped with budu (special fish sauce). Ummm yummy care to join me.

Pulut Lepa

Mouth watering  Pulut Lepa

Its almost the end of Ramadhan, which means the days of bazaar ramadhan will be ending soon for this year. But until that happens there is still time to look for Pulut Lepa at the bazaar ramadhan. So what is Pulut Lepa ?

Pulut Lepa is a popular traditional teatime snack in Terengganu. It is made out  Glutinous rice (pulut) and has fish serunding (fish meat) filling which are neatly shaped into long cylindrical shapes and wrapped up in banana leaves. It is then grilled over charcoal stove till cooked. The result looks like the picture above. In other states in Malaysia, it is called pulut panggang, however the filling is made out of spicy coconut and dried prawns instead of fish serunding.

In Terengganu, there is a place in Kuala Ibai's bazaar ramadhan which sells delicious Pulut Lepa. En. Mohd Taib Mohd.and his 2 children sells about 1,000 pieces of  pulut  lepa everyday at Kuala  Ibai's bazaar ramadhan. Priced at 40 cents each, his delicious pulut lepa are authentic recipe of the family which combines fresh fish filling with the rich taste of glutinous rice cooked over fire. No wonder they sold out like hot cakes.

So if you're hungry head over to the bazaar ramadhan for some mouth watering hot pulut lepa. It's simpy irrisistable.

Ketupat Sotong

Ketupat Sotong - Simply delicious...yummy

There's something about Ketupat Sotong that will send my husband on his daily quest for Ketupat Sotong for ramadhan this year. So what is Ketupat Sotong you might ask?

Ketupat Sotong is a popular sweet dish in Terengganu aswell as in Kelantan. Ketupat Sotong is squids stuffed with pulut (glutinous rice) soaked in sweet and creamy coconut milk. The Terengganu Ketupat sotong  is  white as they use cane sugar, while the Kelantan version is brown in color as they use brown coconut sugar to make it.

What does it taste like ? For those who have a sweet tooth like my husband,  then this dish is delicious. The combination of fresh stuffed squids and the creamy and sweet coconut sauce makes it irresistable to some. For me I prefer mine not to sweet. So for those of you who don't like it too sweet here is the recipe on how to make them.

Ingredients:
Some glutinous rice (pulut)
fresh medium to large sized squids
Coconut milk
some ginger
a bit of shallot
1 teaspoon fenugreek (halba)
some cane sugar
some short sticks with sharpened ends

Preparation :
1. Wash the squid clean.
2. Soak pulut in the coconut milk for some time.
3. Take some pulut and put into the squid then pierce the end of squid with the short stick.
5. Cook squids into the pot filled with coconut milk, ginger, shallot and fenugreek.
6. Add salt, and sugar when it boils. Stir frequently to avoid coconut milk congealing.
7. Once cooked, it is ready to be served.

If you're too lazy to make them, you can buy Ketupat sotong from  night or weekend markets in :


Pasar Minggu Pengadang Baru (Weekend Market) - Tuesday
Panji Alam Weekend Market -Thursday

Batu Burok Hawker Centre - Friday

Kg. Kelulut Weekend Market - Saturday

Kuala Dungun Weekend Market - Thursday


Don't forget to tune in to next issue of  Terengganu travels for more exciting information about Terengganu.

Satar Terengganu

I still remember the first time I tasted satar, during our first trip to Terengganu. It was a curious and interesting looking food. Like the satay, it is served on a stick. However it is also wrapped in banana leaf and grilled over flaming charcoal fire, making it look more tempting then ever.

Satar is a traditional Terengganu dish  made up of  deboned  fresh fishmeat  blended and mixed with fresh coconut, shallots, ginger, garlic, chillies and some spices. Then this mixture is wrapped up in banana leaf in a shape of a cone. The satar is then grilled over fire on a stick.

So the next time you see satar being sold near the roadside in Terengganu, stop and get some. It's hot, its fresh and simply delicious, once you start eating them, its hard to stop. They make great snacks while you relax by the beach or tired from travelling. You'll just have to taste it for yourself.

It's hard to get satar anywhere else in Malaysia but Terengganu has the best satar I've ever tasted because it contains lots of fresh fish meat and the taste is not too sweet. Meanwhile take a peek at how satar is made in the video below.

Nasi Dagang Terengganu

Its almost Ramadhan and the people are excited to welcome the blessed month of Ramadhan. Ramadhan the fasting month for Muslims everywhere is a special time for Malaysians. It is a time when they fast together from dawn till sunset, break fast together and in the night time come together to  perform the terawih prayers at the mosques. Indeed Ramadhan is a time that brings us closer.

Just the other day my husband had nasi dagang for breakfast, he said he just had to have one since ramadhan   is almost here and he might miss having them for breakfast. So for this issue of Terengganu travel guide, we are going to talk about Nasi Dagang Terengganu.

Nasi Dagang Terengganu is a rice dish served with tuna curry gravy and fresh acar (mixed salad). So what's so special about it. Well take a look at the short video clip below


So are you ready to try it, if you are in Terengganu, don't forget to stop by Mak Ngah's place in Chendering ( as in the video clip) for a delicious serving of nasi dagang. However, should you like to try and cook nasi dagang Terengganu yourself, here is the recipe.

The Rice
1kg dagang rice
1 cup coconut cream 
5 cups coconut milk 
1 tbsp fenugreek 
5 shallots, thinly sliced 
1 knob ginger, julienne 

Clean and soak both rice and glutinous rice overnight. Drain
Add 2 tsp salt into the coconut milk. 
Steam the rice for about 20 minutes, add in coconut milk slowly. Mix well. 
Steam for another 20 minutes. 
Add in coconut cream, fenugreek, shallots and ginger. Steam for another 5 minutes. 


Ikan Tongkol  (Tuna) Curry 

1.5 kg ikan tongkol (tuna fish)
2 tbsp of spice powder (Coriander powder mixed with fennel seed powder, 2:1 ratio)
10 shallots 
3 garlic cloves 
Small piece of galagal (finely sliced)
a pinch of turmeric powder2 tbsp chilli paste 
2 cups coconut cream 
5 cups coconut milk 
3 pcs asam gelugor 
Salt and sugar, to taste 
small piece of cinnamon1 small piece gula melaka 
some fresh chillies 




Boil fish with salt and 1 piece asam gelugor. 
Blend together shallots, garlic, ginger. Add spice powder to the blended ingredients. 
Heat oil and fry the chillie paste. 
Add in the blended mixture and santan. Season to taste. 
Add in asam gelugor, fish and fresh chillies. Simmer for another 5 minutes. 

Acar (mixed pickled salad)

1cucumber cut in to chunks

1 carrot slced thinly

2 cuts of pineapple (thinly sliced)

1/4 cabbage (julienne)

Cut up all the vegetables into bite size mixed together with salt and sugar and some vinegar to taste.

Keropok Lekor Terengganu

Keropok lekor - so heavenly

If you haven't tried the keropok losong or keropok lekor of  Terengganu, then you really have not visited Terengganu yet. A trip to Terengganu is not complete without trying out this popular dish. So what on earth is Keropok Lekor.

Keropok lekor is a type of fish cracker made out of fish, sago flour, salt and water. Fish is deboned, minced up and mixed with the flour and other ingredients. It is  rolled about to form a long sausage. Then it is boiled for a few moments. Take it out and it is ready to be served. Best eaten while it still hot. Ummm.. yummy its hard to stop once you start eating. Have a look at this short video showing how the keropok lekor is made.

There are lots of  keropok lekor stalls scattered about all along the coastal roads in Terengganu. The famous places which makes delicious keropok lekor are in Kemaman, Losong and Seberang Takir. And what is so special about Keropok lekor Terengganu ?

Well just about everything, from the way it is made using lots of fresh fish to its delicious chilli dipping sauce which is not too sweet or sour, but just right. You can find keropok lekor in other states in Malaysia too, but it is not the same because the volume of fish used is very little as compared with the Terengganu keropok lekor, which uses lots of fresh fish.

So don't forget to try out the Terengganu Keropok lekor. You can try the fried version or the boiled version for those dieting, both are just delicious. It is cheap and handy too.  You can buy a handful and bring it along with you on a picnic by the sea. Until the next issue of  Terengganu travel guide, have a delicious keropok lekor meal, its delicious, its natural and cheap.