Lemak lodeh recipe by Hed Chef
Hedy Khoo | The New Paper | Mon Aug 13 2012
Singapore, August 13, 2012
It’s smooth, creamy and tasty all at once.
Lemak lodeh is the perfect dish for a family gathering, says Madam Zubaidah Mahamood, 60, a housewife.
The dish is essentially rice cakes (lontong) soaked in thick curried vegetable gravy.
She shares her treasured family recipe that her mother taught her.
Says the jovial woman: “I learnt to cook when I was 10 years old. My father used to tell me to help my mother in the kitchen during the weekends and school holidays. He said, otherwise, I wouldn’t know how to cook when I got married.”
Madam Zubaidah has three daughters, two sons and four grandchildren, and she says that her daughters often call her up for recipes and cooking tips.
Lemak lodeh, a dish popularly eaten on festive occasions like Hari Raya, is a favourite with her family and Madam Zubaidah usually cooks it twice a month.
But she has modified her mother’s recipe. The spice paste is supposed to be fried with oil over low heat. But Madam Zubaidah has omitted this step. Instead she heats the spice paste in a pot, adds the coconut milk, vegetables and dried glass noodles all at once and simmers the mixture for 20 minutes.
She explains: “I’m trying to cut down the amount of oil used, to make the dish healthier.”
When trying out Madam Zubaidah’s recipe, I decided to fry the spice paste with oil for a more fragrant result.
I also added three stalks of lemon grass and galangal to the spice paste.
Madam Zubaidah prefers using fresh coconut milk over coconut cream for the vegetable curry.
I tried the recipe with coconut cream and found that it is best to dilute it with water. A ratio of about 300ml coconut cream to about 200ml water should be all right. But the thickness of the gravy depends on your own preference.
The gravy for the lontong is essentially vegetable curry. Madam Zubaidah says you can also cook it with carrots, cabbage or brinjal.
She also insists that the sambal tumis – which goes on the side like a condiment – should not be omitted.
Madam Zubaidah says you can add fresh prawns, fried beancurd (tau kwa) or fried ikan bilis to the fried chilli paste.
I fried about 50g of ikan bilis and added that to the sambal tumis. Be sure not to season your chilli paste with too much salt if you plan to add ikan bilis.
INGREDIENTS
For sambal tumis
1/2 tbsp tamarind
50ml water
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
50ml cooking oil
100g dried chillies
4 purple onions
1 garlic clove
2.5cm-thick piece of belacan
METHOD
Grind the chillies, onions, clove and belacan to get a chilli paste.
Mix the tamarind with the water. Strain and reserve.
Heat oil over low heat. Fry the chilli paste for about 20 minutes until fragrant or until the oil surfaces.
Add the tamarind juice.
Season with sugar and salt.
For the vegetable curry
100g cabbage, cut into 5cm by 5cm pieces
6 stalks of long beans, cut into 5cm pieces
Half a jicama (bang kwang), sliced like french fries
2 bunches of dried glass noodles
500ml fresh coconut milk
For the spice paste
3 purple onions
2 garlic cloves
50g dried shrimp
2.5cm-thick of turmeric
2.5cm-thick of old ginger
5cm-thick piece of belacan
3 fresh red chillies (or 2 tbsp of dried chilli paste)
METHOD
Grind the spice paste.
Heat the spice paste in a bowl.
Add the coconut milk, vegetables and glass noodles.
Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
METHOD
To cook the rice cakes, buy a packet of pre-packed uncooked rice.
Allow for 2 or 3 sachets of rice per serving.
Follow packet instructions and boil for 45mins.
Remove sachets from the pot. Allow to cool to room temperature before slicing for use.
To serve, put the cut rice cake on a plate and pour the curried vegetable gravy over it. Serve with sambal tumis on the side.