Coconut in Malay cuisine: How it is used in popular delicacies
PHOTO: Facebook/cucuraimahMF
PUBLISHED ONJuly 28, 2020 2:41 AM
Coconut, or Kelapa in Malay, is frequently used in Malay cooking. There are many ways to prepare and consume coconut, whether through the coconut juice or meat.
One of the popular uses of coconut is through its grated coconut flesh. But how do we obtain it?
Featured below is a Coconut Grater, or Kukur Kelapa in Malay, found in the Malay Heritage Centre Collection.
You might be scratching your head wondering, how exactly does one grate a coconut with such an antique-looking object?
It first involves sitting on the low stool and grate the coconut with the blade in front. The blade that is located in front of the grater.
Following that, one will need to hold half a coconut shell and grate the white flesh against the blade in an up and down motion.
To obtain coconut milk, water is then added to the grated flesh to help squeeze out the milk. Otherwise, you can use the grated flesh as it is.
Many uses of coconut in Malay cuisine
Coconut milk
As mentioned, coconut is commonly used in a variety of Malay cuisines. Think delicacies like Nasi Lemak, Rendang and Lontong. These dishes are created using coconut milk.
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Nasi lemak
Rice made fragrant with coconut milk and eaten with fried chicken, peanuts, eggs, fried ikan bilis (dried anchovies) and chilli.
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Rendang
A meat dish that is slow cooked in coconut milk and spices.
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Lontong
Boiled rice cake in a fragrant coconut vegetable stew.
Grated coconut
On the other hand, dishes like Ondeh Ondeh, Kueh Dadar and Putu Piring are some of the dishes made with coconut shavings.
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Ondeh Ondeh
Pandan flavoured rice ball filled with gula melaka (palm sugar) and covered in grated coconut.
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Kueh Dadar
Pandan crepe wrapped with grated coconut filling cooked in gula melaka (palm sugar).
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Putu Piring
Round, steamed rice cake filled with melted gula melaka (palm sugar) and eaten with freshly grated coconut.
This article was first published in theAsianparent.