Centrepiece
paste, coconut milk, 1½ to
of salt, the kerisik and into a pot (the pot has to quality and with a thick
an even distribution of food doesn’t burn). Keep likes to add tamarind finds that they provide flavour. However, his not add them.) two to 2½ hours, stirring
time. uses old chicken for using spring chicken, meat for 40 minutes, take let the paste cook till it’s and then return the the pot.) gravy thickens, add salt kaffir lime leaves or turChef Riz puts in both) for three minutes before
the heat. Riz says homemade kerbest. To make it, take one coconut and stir-fry in a
on low to medium heat turns golden brown. Don’t burn. Blend or pound the until fine, as this will
thickening agent. Ingredients to grind 10 red onions 4 shallots 15 cili padi 15 dried chillies 2cm ginger 2cm galangal 1cm fresh turmeric
Fry the ground ingredients with lemongrass until fragrant. Put in the kurma spices and fry some more. Put in the coconut milk and kerisik. Mix well. Put in the chicken. Put in the turmeric leaves, lime leaves, salt and gula Melaka.
Cook until thick.
Cooking with heart
SHEILA Rusly says cooking is very subjective, as taste buds differ from person to person. Hence, she changed her grandmother’s recipe just a little to suit her taste.
“I prefer the rendang I cook to be spicier. I like spicy food,” she says over the phone, before sharing the recipe just from memory.
The actress, who has hosted a bunch of cooking shows, adds that she can’t give the exact amount of salt and sugar to put into her recipe as, again, that depends on how much a person likes and “I cook with my heart”. Nonetheless, her improvised recipe is a hit with her friends and family, especially during Hari Raya.
“Last year, I cooked seven chickens in one wok in the front garden of my brother-in-law’s house in Ipoh. It was this huge wok and in the kampung, we all cook lemang and ketupat the old-fashion way as well.”
Rendang Minang
1 chicken, cut into pieces 500g thick coconut milk 1 or 2 asam keping 6 turmeric leaves, finely chopped 5 kaffir lime leaves 2 tbsp kerisik 2 stalks lemongrass, bruised Salt and sugar Ingredients to blend 20 dried chillies 15 to 20 cili padi 7 shallots 4 cloves garlic 8cm ginger 5cm fresh turmeric 2cm galangal 6 stalks lemongrass
Fry the bruised lemongrass in oil, then put in the blended ingredients. When the colour has changed – and the blended ingredients are a bit garing (crisp; though not too much), put in the chicken and the coconut milk (if the milk is too thick, add water, though not too much as the chicken will excrete liquids).
After a while, put in the lime leaves (just tear and throw in) and the asam keping.
A little while later, put in the turmeric leaves and kerisik. Wait till the gravy is thick, then add in salt and sugar to taste. IT’S often said that nasi lemak and curries cooked with coconut milk are bad for health.
New research, however, suggests that coconut milk, a vital ingredient in the traditional cuisine of Southeast Asia, can be part of a healthy diet when consumed in moderation as it does have positive functions, according to French nutritional biochemist Professor Philippe Legrand who was in Kuala Lumpur recently.
He reckoned that as a heritage ingredient in local cuisine, it would be a shame to lose the culinary tradition of using coconut, but said that it is important to draw up guidelines on the consumption of coconut milk so that people know the limit.
In a paper he co-wrote with Vincent Rioux entitled, “New Data, New Approach and New Guidelines for Saturated Fatty Acids (The case of coconut lipids)”, it was stated that observational stuides have shown that a high intake (more than 15% of daily energy intake) of saturated fatty acids (SFAs) is positively associated with increased levels of blood cholesterol and high coronary heart disease mortality rates.
Among the SFAs, myristic acid is said to be the most responsible for the increase in blood cholesterol level in animals and humans when provided at a high level, followed by lauric acid and palmitic acid.
At moderate levels, there was no evidence for the deleterious effects of SFAs and especially myristic acid.
The researchers found that in many countries, the recommended dietary intake of total saturated fat has cautiously been set at less than 8% to 10% of the daily energy intake.
“Coconut milk (which has dietary saturated fatty acids) suffers from many misconceptions. With deeper study we begin to understand more about the role of different fats in the human diet and how they impact on health,” said Legrand, chairman of the Laboratory of Biochemistry and Human Nutrition in the Agronomic University of Rennes (Agrocampus), France. He is also chairman of the French Guidelines Committee for the fatty acid dietary recommendations in the Food Safety Agency.
Legrand was in KL as part of the Asian tour to share research on fatty acids, including the revised French nutritional recommendations.
“There are good health benefits in short and medium chain fatty acids in coconut milk that were previously overlooked or not properly understood,” he said.
Dietary saturated fatty acids such as coconut milk are usually associated with negative consequences for health when consumed in excess because of their impact on atherosclerosis biomarkers, said Legrand.
(Atherosclerosis is the hardening of the arteries which occurs when fat, cholesterol, and other substances build up in the walls of arteries.)
The saturated fats found in coconut milk and dairy products are medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs) such as caprylic and capric acids, and longer chain fatty acids (LCFAs) such as lauric and myristic acids. Other longchain fatty acids are more prevalent in meat and common plant sources like palm oil.
A few decades ago, animal studies demonstrated that LCFAs were more likely to end up as fat deposits in the body and vessels compared with MCFAs, which were quickly metabolised by the liver.
Differentiating saturated fatty acids
“A large review of saturated fatty acids functions suggests that they cannot be considered as a single group anymore, in term of structure, metabolism and functions, including health considerations,” Legrand said.
For more than 30 years, he has performed research on the fundamental aspects of fatty acid synthesis and metabolism. He had studied the role of delta-(9)desaturase in adiposity and obesity in animals and humans.
“Saturated fatty acids exhibit metabolic and physiological specificities, which differ between the different
New approach to fatty acid intake guidelines
The French Food Safety Agency recently published the adult French population reference intakes for fatty acids using a different approach of assessing each type of fatty acid as essential, “conditionally essential” or if the body can synthesise the acids itself. The underlying goal is to help build a diet which aims to maintain good health that corresponds to primary prevention of diseases.
Legrand said: “The innovative nature of this guideline lies in the fact that the ‘approved intake’ of each fatty acid studied has been established from minimum physiological requirements and physiopathological aspects.”
Since 1998, he has been chairman of the French guidelines committee for the fatty acid dietary recommendations in the Food Safety Agency where he proposed a new approach for considering saturated fatty acids. He is a member of different scientific societies including the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids.
At the event, Chef Kang Tian from T-Garden Cooking School in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, cooked a fish curry, a pandan chiffon cake and bubur cha cha in two versions – one using coconut milk and the other with milk.
Three volunteers from the media (including yours truly) took up the challenge to differentiate between coconut milk and milk in the dishes. We all passed the test and could tell the two versions apart.
Members of the media who were present at the event were later invited to a sampling and asked for opinions on the use of coconut milk and milk in cooking. The majority favoured the delicacies cooked with coconut milk and said they had better flavour and taste.