A spin on classic Malay dishes
Chef Badrol Mohd Noor likes jazzing up classic Malay food with contemporary flourishes.
IN person, chef Badrol Mohd Noor is a commanding figure – a man who seems certain of his way in the world and isn’t afraid to go where few have gone before.
Part of this confidence could stem from the fact that he has cooked for some of Malaysia’s most eminent personalities, like Malaysian royalty and even our current Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad!
He says that a few years ago, he used to cook for the Sultan of Pahang. “I am from Penang and the sultan loves Penang food like fish head curry, mee mamak, rendang mamak and laksa, so I would cook and prepare it for him.”
Badrol is now the Malay chef at Hilton Petaling Jaya and is used to cooking all sorts of Malay food. Although he could easily stick to age-old tried-and-tested Malay recipes, true to his adventurous personality, he prefers to add his own unique twists to classic Malay dishes, going against the grain and fusing different influences and elements that he feels would work together.
“I prefer to modernise recipes, because it offers something new that people haven’t tried before,” he says.
Like his dish of ayam dara bakar putih dengan kerabu pegaga, which sees an aromatic, spicerich roast chicken stuffed with the traditional fresh, vibrant Kelantanese salad of kerabu pegaga in what proves to be a light, flavourful union.
Badrol says he was inspired to create the dish because some of the people he cooks for – like Dr Mahathir – are really into healthy food, and the roast chicken-vegetable salad combination is healthy and makes for a filling meal.
“I got the inspiration from him and I’ve modernised this dish because some people like modern Malay food,” says Badrol.
Badrol’s dish of salmon rangup bersama sos jeruk mangga berkrim, meanwhile, sees its origins in the traditional Malay dish of fish percik. In this incarnation, crispy, perfectly cooked salmon (traditionally not a fish native to Malaysia) forms the bedrock for a meal that is complemented perfectly by a slightly spicy, creamy sauce. It is an interesting, totally new exploration of flavours.
As Badrol himself is also a fan of healthy food, this dish is right up his alley. “I wanted to mix these East-West elements and modernise the dish, while also keeping it healthy, because that’s the kind of food I like to eat,” he says.
Then there is his dish of rendang itik salai dengan pucuk manis, which is a play on the more traditional daging salai which is common in Negri Sembilan, where smoked meat is king. Although itik salai is also offered in the state, Badrol says his version is slightly different as he fries up some duck skin to add a crunchy element to the meal.
“You can deep-fry the skin, it’s very crunchy and goes well with rendang. And the pucuk manis offers a bit of freshness,” he says.
There’s only one dish that remains close to Badrol’s heart, one which he simply does not want to modernise, tweak or adapt in any way, and that’s daging masak hitam.
The dish is a traditional accompaniment in most nasi kandar restaurants in Penang and Badrol has fond memories of frequenting these eateries as a child growing up in George Town. The dish features tender, limber chunks of beef in a thick, dark kicap lemak manis base that is rich and flavourful and ever so slightly sweet.
“If you go to nasi kandar restaurants anywhere in Penang, you can find this. It’s very nice to eat with plain rice or bread and makes a great dish for Hari Raya, with some ketupat and lemang,” he says.