SIDNEY KAN

So charming and hospitable — SIDNEY KAN had a heavy dosage of both at a Nyonya restaurant

MARRIED to a fisherman at the age of 16, chef Christibelle Savage has decades of experience preparing Malacca-Nyonya cuisine.

Today her delicious kitchen creations have found a permanent home at Malacca’s Portuguese Settlement.

Auntie Belle, as she is fondly known, arrived for our review in a traditional purple baju kebaya infused with white lace, paired with a colourful, embossed sarong.

While we chatted, the Pai Tee arrived. this Nyonya delicacy comes in a crispy battered casing filled with eggs and braised turnip.

Another of her speciality is her moist vegetable spring rolls or popia basah. Instead of using skins available commercially, she makes pancake-thin skins for her popiah.

For lunch, Auntie Belle prepared a few dishes among which was seabass cooked in curry. She uses homemade curry powder, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and turmeric to bring out the freshness in the fish.

Next came the Fried Prawn with Tamarind Sauce (Kamrang Frizie Kutanbrinyu). Tossed over sweet tamarind sauce, the pan-fried prawns were juicy and tasty.

We also had the Braised Chicken in Black Nut Curry (Ayam Keluak), served with nasi ulam. The presence of preserved black beans lends to the dish a Chinese touch, though.

For dessert, we sampled Auntie Belle’s Glutinous Rice with Coconut and palm sugar.

Another must-order is her steamed tapioca roots with coconut and palm sugar. this mouth-watering dessert is truly a classic. She shares two recipes with us.

Auntie Belle’s scrumptious fare can be found at:

Sri Melaka
The Saujana Kuala Lumpur, Saujana Resort,
Jalan Lapangan Terbang SAAS, 40150 Shah Alam
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Tel: +603-7843-1234

RECIPE:

Popiah Basah
(Moist Spring Roll) Yields 4-6 popiah

For the popiah pancake skin, you’ll need:
200g of flour
1 egg
Milk to be added accordingly

For the popiah stuffing you’ll need:
150g of cucumber
100g of bean sprouts
100g of (sengkuang) jicama
100ml of cooking oil
100g of sweet/plum sauce
100g of spicy chilli sauce for serving

Method
To make the skin:
1. Stir flour, egg, fresh milk until foamy and add water.
2. Blend until smooth.
3. Heat up flat pan with cooking oil and make a thin layer of pancake from the mixture.
4. Place aside to cool
5. Heat up the cooking oil.
6. put in grated bean sprouts, sengkuang and cucumber. Cook till tender.
7. when cooled, place it on the skin, wrap and roll.
8. Serve it with sweet chilli sauce.

Ayam Keluak
(Braised Chicken in Black Nut Curry)

100g of dried chilli
100g of shallots, peeled
100g of onion, peeled
100g of ginger
100g of candlenut (buah keras)
100g of lemongrass
100g of lengkuas (galangal)
150ml of tamarind juice (air asam jawa)
300g of diced chicken
80g of buah keluak
(black nuts)
10g of kaffir leaves
150ml of cooking oil

Method
To prepare buah keluak:
1. Soak buah keluak overnight.
2. Pry the buah keluak open to extract the black paste within.
3. Pound paste with salt and sugar and repack into shell.

For Spice Paste:
4. Blend dried chilli, shallots, onions, garlic, ginger, lengkuas, lemon grass, candlenut and small amount of oil until it becomes paste-like.
5. Saute the blended ingredients until oil surfaces and the paste fragrant, and almost dry.
6. Add two tablespoonfuls of oil onto the frying pan and heat it up.
7. Add in the spice paste and fry till fragrant.
8. Add cut chicken with kaffir lime leaves and lengkuas.
9. Transfer to pot and add buah keluak and tamarind juice.
10. Simmer on slow fire for about 45 minutes.
11. Serve with steamed rice.