Rendang Ikan
For The Fish:
800g of mackerel
1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
½ teaspooon of salt
¼ cup of vegetable oil
To Be Blended:
2 medium sized red onions of 4 shallots
2 large cloves of garlic
6 dried chilis
For The Rendang:
½ cup of coconut milk
1 tablespoon of kerisik / fried coconut paste
1 tamarind slice
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
½ teaspoon of turmeric powder
2 lemongrass, smashed
4 kaffir lime leaves
1 turmeric leaf, sliced thinly
salt and sugar to taste
To Garnish:
turmeric leaves, sliced thinly
kaffir lime leaves
Bambooless Lemang
For The Lemang:
500g beras pulut susu/ glutinous rice, rinsed and soaked in water
1 Litre coconut milk
200ml water
1 tablespoon of salt
2 lemongrass stick, smashed
4 pandan leaves
6 papercups (small cups)
10 sheets of banana leaf 10x12
To Garnish:
banana leaf
First, blend the shallots, garlic and dried chilis to a smooth paste and set aside.
In the same pan you cooked the fish in, add in the blended items along with the cinnamon stick, star anise, lemongrass and fry until fragrant and caramelized.
Then, add in the turmeric powder, salt, coconut milk and tamarind slice. Cook for about 10 minutes on low heat until reduced and the colour changes.
Depending on how much gravy you like, you can always opt to reduce the rendang to make a thick sauce or add more coconut milk to make more gravy.
Once it has thickened, add in the kerisik, kaffir lime leaves, sliced turmeric leaves and sugar. Leave to cook for a few minutes.
Lastly, add in the fried fish and let it simmer for 1 minute before turning off the heat and covering it with a lid. Garnish more with some thinly sliced turmeric leaves.
Wash the glutinous rice until the water runs clear and then soak it in water for at least 45 minutes.
Once soaked, drain it and set it aside.
It is very important to soak the glutinous rice to ensure that the rice stays soft and cooks faster.
You can substitute white glutinous rice with black rice or even add some corn into your glutinous rice for extra texture.
In a pot, add in coconut milk, salt, lemongrass and pandan leaves. Bring to a slow simmer for 2 minutes.
Turn the fire off and let the lemongrass and pandan leaves steep in the hot coconut milk.
Roll up at least 2 pieces of banana leaf and insert it into the cups, leaving about 1 inch of the leaf sticking out at the top of the cup.
Fill the cups lined with banana leaf and fill 1/2 of the way with the drained glutinous rice.
Remove the pandan leaves and the lemongrass sticks from the coconut milk.
Pour the coconut milk into the cups until it covers the top of the rice and help the coconut milk seep into the rice by mixing it around a little.
In a steamer, steam the Lemang for about half an hour. After 30 minutes, using a spoon, just press the top of the Lemang to compress it slightly and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes until the Lemang is cooked.
Cool the Lemang for about an hour before removing it from the paper cups. Slice and serve!