'Might be too spicy': 92-year-old Japanese grandma tries nasi lemak for first time

What happens when you have a 92-year-old Japanese woman having her first taste of sambal?

One would think that this would be a recipe for disaster.

However, that was not how it panned out for Malaysia-based YouTuber couple iChang RM.

With his wife, Ai Nishida, staying put in Malaysia, Yusuke Nishda flew back to Japan to sort out some administrative matters and visit loved ones.

Having fallen in love with Malaysian cuisine, Yusuke was excited to have his family try a favourite of his, nasi lemak.

Despite the fact that the dish is known to be notoriously spicy, Yusuke's lovely grandmother was not excluded from this special dinner invite.

After all, he was going to be cooking it for them.

Fresh and homemade, kind of

Yusuke felt that food is "the best way" to have his grandmother experience a new country so he came prepared with ingredients.

Unfortunately, cooking nasi lemak from scratch was going to be a near-on impossible task.

"Japan is very strict [when it comes] to bringing fresh meat or vegetables [into the country]," Yusuke explained.

Because of that, he opted for "ready-to-go" instant ingredients instead.

Sitting on his kitchen counter were the rendang sauce, sambal and coconut rice all in pre-packed sealed packaging.

As he began cooking, Yusuke said with a laugh: "I feel like I'm skipping so many steps."

It wasn't long before his grandmother was sitting behind a plate of nasi lemak, complete with ikan bilis, boiled egg and sliced cucumber too.

Tolerating spice

She was keen to give it a try but Yusuke wanted to let her know there's a particular way to enjoy the dish.

He dumped a giant slab of sambal on her plate, but did not warn her (enough) of what was to come.

"It might be too spicy for you," he said casually.

His grandmother's first spoonful was a generous mix of rice and sambal, and you could see the exact moment she felt the spice kick.

They started giggling as Yusuke scrambled to get her a glass of iced water.

Despite the less than ideal start, she was surprisingly game to have more mouthfuls of the dish. 

"Grandma is already addicted to spicy food," Yusuke claimed.

She also seemed to enjoy the beef rendang, scooping spoonfuls of gravy onto her plate.

Not only has he turned his grandmother into a nasi lemak fan, he's gotten her interested to visit the region and enjoy what it has to offer too.

Taking a scroll through the comments section, there was only one star in this YouTube video.

"Grandma is a natural comedian, so funny and she looks young for her age," one user commented.

Yusuke and Ai run the YouTube channel iChange RM with well over 300,000 subscribers.

The Malaysian-based Japanese couple specialises in food-related vlogs, with many including them both trying (and more often, enjoying) food locally or while on their travels.

ALSO READ: Durian with your nasi lemak? Funky dish spotted in Kuala Lumpur eatery

amierul@asiaone.com

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