From the award-winning author of Milk Pigs & Violet Gold and 0451
Mornings are for Mont Hin Gar comes another sumptuous adventure. In his
third book, Bryan turns his attention to the food of the Malaysian
Peninsula's east coast, comprising the states of Kelantan, Terengganu
and Pahang. Researched and written over the span of two years, Bekwoh is
a journey, from the fishing villages of Terengganu where keropok lekor
is made, to Kota Bharu's famous central market with its giddying
selection of kuih (local snacks), from the border town of Tumpat for
khao jam to the lemang and rendang shacks in Pahang. It also touches on
the daily and festive foods of the Peranakan Chinese communities in
Kelantan and Terengganu. Essentially an East Coast term for the cooking
vessels, Bekwoh suggests abundance, big-heartedness and merriment, and
that is what Bryan serves up, with a collection of over 100 recipes.
There are traditional breakfast dishes, such as laksam (wide rice
noodles with coconut fish gravy) and nasi berlauk (rice with turmeric
and galangal fish curry); salads of noni leaves and fern fiddleheads
with blood cockles; curries, such as opor daging Pahang (a Full-colour,
dark beef curry) and kerutuk (curries thickened with roasted coconut);
Peranakan staples like kay choo budu (chicken cooked with fermented fish
sauce), and kay pachok (grilled, redly spiced chicken skewers); splendid
rice dishes like nasi kerabu (blue-tinted rice with an assortment of
dishes, herbs and sambals) and nasi dagang (coconut and fenugreek rice
with mackerel tuna curry); and a lavish spread of sweet treats,
including the poetically titled cek mek molek ("beautiful lady") and the
curious-sounding lompat tikam ("jump and stab").
