Babi Masak Assam

Compared to Shermay Lee, who supposedly began learning Peranakan cuisine when she was five years old, Wee Eng Hwa was a rattling belatedly starter. She began learning Nyonya cookery at the relatively ancient historic stream of 47.

Fortunately, Wee Eng Hwa had 2 advantages over the self-proclaimed culinary kid prodigy.

One, she could run into what was inwards the wok without standing on a chair.

Two, her sifu has been guiding her for to a greater extent than or less twenty years. Shermay's, fifty-fifty if yous believe her marketing spin, kicked the bucket later lesson one.

Judging from "Cooking for the President", Mrs Wee Kim Wee has been an outstanding sifu to her daughter. What virtually Mrs Wee herself? Who was her sifu? No, it wasn't her mother. Instead, it was her maternal grandmother, Saw Hai Choo. Mrs Wee, who was the matriarch's eldest granddaughter together with favourite, recalls:

"Granny had an extremely sudden olfactory organ together with rattling discerning gustation buds. One morning, piece I was cooking ikan masak assam – my commencement endeavour at cooking that dish – Granny came dwelling from the marketplace together with exclaimed loudly from afar, 'Telampon assam, kurang garam,' pregnant inwards Baba Malay, also sour together with non plenty salt. She had non fifty-fifty entered the house, but from the scent wafting out of the kitchen, she could 'taste' the nutrient I was cooking!"

In fact, Mama Choo's eyes were equally sudden equally her gustation buds together with nose. Did yous know she handpicked together with matchmade Wee Kim Wee to her granddaughter?

Two of Mr together with Mrs Wee's 7 children were born earlier Mama Choo passed away inwards 1940. The eldest, Wee Hock Kee, recalls:

"Cho-cho would turn down whatever cistron that was non cutting inwards the right way. She would non receive got sloppy grooming of food. She would follow upward yesteryear bespeak for a spoonful of the nutrient to taste. It had to last merely perfect. I think Cho-cho had a potent loud voice. Often, she would complain, 'Macham ayer longkang!' meaning, similar ditch H2O inwards Baba Malay, if a soup or gravy dish was non upward to par."

What would Mama Choo receive got said virtually Shermay Lee's bamboo shoot water? Without a doubt, "Worse than ayer longkang!"

After reading virtually the legendary produce who didn't mince her words, I was eager to evidence 1 of her recipes. I picked Babi Masak Assam because it seemed similar the form of affair I'd like, together with I wasn't disappointed. The big pot of spicy, sour together with salty centre together with vegetables had strong, bold flavours that were right upward my alley.

I peculiarly liked the mix of 3 types of mustard greens: salted, sour together with fresh. That was fun 'cause all the veggies looked the same later they were braised, therefore I had no persuasion what I was eating until I started chewing.

Did anyone holler longkang?

Nope, non at all, thank yous to Mama Choo who passed her cooking skills to her granddaughter, who passed to her daughter, who passed to me together with the whole globe yesteryear writing an fantabulous cookbook. Had Mama Choo seen "Cooking for the President", I'm certain she'd receive got been rattling proud of it.

BABI MASAK ASSAM (PORK & MUSTARD GREENS IN SPICY TAMARIND GRAVY)
Source: "Cooking for the President"
(Recipe for viii persons)

200 g kiam chye (咸菜/salted mustard greens)

cut lengthwise iv cm wide, together with therefore crosswise 7 mm wide

200 g sng chye (酸菜, sour mustard greens)

cut leaves crosswise 2.5 cm wide, together with stems 1 cm wide

15 g dried cherry-red chillies (15 pieces)

cut five cm long together with soak inwards warm H2O till soft, virtually thirty minutes; squelch dry out together with discard water

20 g candlenuts (6 pieces)
300 g shallots, peel, launder together with cutting into minor pieces

180 ml vegetable crude (I used 120 ml)
25 g belachan

toast till fragrant together with dry; pound/grind finely to yield 2 tbsp

30 g low-cal chocolate-brown taucheo (fermented soya bean) paste
700 g pork belly

cut along the grain 3 cm wide, together with therefore across the grain 1.5 cm thick

15 g saccharide (1 tbsp)

120 g assam paste

knead inwards 1.5 litres H2O together with strain; discard seeds together with pulp

2 pieces assam gelugoh (tamarind skin), rinse thoroughly
500 g kwak chye (芥菜, Chinese mustard greens), launder together with cutting five cm long
100 g dark-green chillies (10 pieces), rinse together with trim stems, leaving 3-4 mm
tabular array salt to gustation (I didn't add together any)

🎄 Mama Choo's recipe specifies small mustard greens (小芥菜). I prefer big ones (大芥菜/大菜), which are to a greater extent than flavourful.

1. Soak kiam chye together with sng chye inwards H2O for fifteen minutes. Drain, squelch dry, together with laid upward aside.

2. Pound or blend candlenuts, dried chillies together with shallots till rattling fine. Fry inwards hot crude over medium-low to depression oestrus until low-cal chocolate-brown together with aromatic. Add belachan pulverisation together with stir through. Push aside. Stir-fry taucheo over depression oestrus until intensely aromatic, virtually five minutes. Add pork together with sugar. Fry over depression oestrus for five minutes. Add assam water, assam gelugoh, kiam chye together with sng chye. Simmer till pork is half-tender, virtually 45 minutes.

3. Add fresh mustard greens together with dark-green chillies. Simmer till all ingredients are tender but pork retains to a greater extent than or less bite, virtually fifteen minutes. Sauce should cling lightly to pork together with vegetables. Add H2O or boil chop-chop to cut equally appropriate. Taste together with add together tabular array salt to taste. Serve hot. Sambal belachan amongst a squelch of calamansi lime juice would brand a overnice dip.

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