Well, why did I make my own kerisik?
Because I wanted to make rendang for the very 1st time in my life, and 1 of the ingredients for rendang is kerisik. May I add that kerisik is an essential ingredient in rendang, very very important as without kerisik, what is rendang.
But why didn't I just get the ready-made kerisik from the stores?
Because I was so geared to be in front of the stove for ~6hrs, to toast the grated coconut to a lovely golden brown. Indeed, I was so gung-ho~. No regrets. And also, ready-made ones may not be as tasty and sometimes they do have a certain undesirable aroma after being packed for a while.
I can't quite remember now how much coconut I bought from the wet market but I think it'd have to be at least 1 whole coconut. We need to use the old coconut not the young coconut as young coconut is sweeter and less aromatic than the old one. The young coconut are the full-whites when grated and are used for malay kuih like kuih kasui, lopis and the likes.
In a wok, i used anodized wok, stir coconut repeatedly and frequently, with slow fire. Since it was my first attempt, I was very careful with the fire. I think it wasn't slow fire but *very* slow fire. :P
It should gradually changed colour from white to light brown and to a golden brown like these:
Fresh coconut at the beginning of it all. I also added a tablespoon of coriander seeds to the coconut.
changes to light brown, after approximately 3 hours
becomes more brown
finally to a golden brown, after close to 6 hours, with slow fire.
Then, using the miller, blend the golden brown coconut
Golden brown in miller and dark brown after milling on the right. The oil that was released from the milling changed it to dark brown.
Can be stored in airtight container and frozen. Just what I did.
And with the kerisik, I made my rendang for the very first time, for Eid this year:
Beef Rendang
The husband gave his thumbs-up for my very first rendang and that was enough for me.
The 6 hours of kerisik? It was all worth it.
:)
Aku tabik kerajinan kau dalam buat kerisik. Aku pernah buat rendang tapi kerisik beli kat kedai. There will be nooooooo way that you will find me patiently stirring kelapa over the stove for 6 hours. You are one amazingly patient woman!
ReplyDeleteI remember a loooong time ago when my mother tasked me with the stirring of the kelapa and later on tumbuk2 the kelapa and i had to tumbuk the kelapa until it becomes an oily gooey mix. Last time, where got miller and all these things.
But i suppose that's why people in the past - despite having the same menu that we do - are a lot healthier than we are. Kalau nak makan rendang, buat kerisik sendiri, kelapa perah sendiri. Heck, even parut sendiri! And parut kelapa using this contraption like a bangku with the grater thing sticking out. Obviously, their choice of daily food will simply be bening2 aje. Sapalah sanggup parut kelapa on a daily basis, kan?
Wah! My comment went thru!
ReplyDeletei've also replied to ur comment but my comment vanished too..boohoo!
ReplyDeletenad, ure too kind la :) i know a few who made their own kerisik too. :) can't bear to buy cos' i'd feel so frustrated if it doesn't taste right, so i'm willing to do the leceh business of making my own kerisik.
omo, i think u had a not so good experience kena tumbuk kelapa manually la, sebab tuh la. ive never tumbuk kelapa manually before, tumbuk belacan ada. tumbuk kelapa manually till become oily goeey mix is no joke, that's hard work!
couldn't agree more..people in the past are healthier than we are, makan singgang, makan asam rebus, makan ikan bilis- easy but still as nutritious, if not more. :)