The Nook Of Nosh: Other Nosh : Pincilla's aunty's Kerabu Bee Hoon

The Nosh'lette says : The Nook is all about the archiving of family recipes - not just my immediate family, but its extended members too.

As authored by Pincilla

Something about receipes in the family. You have to get them, learn them, before they're gone forever. I'm not a good cook, hardly a cook even. But at least i've got one aunt's meesiam how-to, and now here's another one's kerabu how-to. Never mind that i haven't realllly cooked up a feast for anyone yet, YET. But at least i have them.

Step 1.
The coconut. I think they call it kerisik or whatever it is. (told you i'm not a cook). Get the grated coconut from the wet market, (no skin), and fry it till its dry in the kwali.

Until it looks like this... Brown and dry. apparently this is when it's fragrant.

Step 2
And then there's the finely sliced up 'lotus flower'. (is that what it is? we call it 'ang hwa' in hokkien. i have no idea what it's called in english) the fragrant thing they use in rojak. My aunt being the true blue penangite had brought some with her from penang (but not enough) - those are the pinky bits you see in the pic.

The ones that i got from our market weren't as pretty. The browner ones. Obviously, the pinky bits are more fragrant than the brown ones which weren't as good. You'd know if you could get a whiff of that lovely thing. So *must* get nice pinky ones for best fragrance.

Step 3.
And then there's the coconut milk. Squeeze grated coconut (without skin), add salt, and cook the coconut milk. This will be poured over the bee hoon eventually and mixed well. There's no cooking involved, other than this coconut milk and the frying of the coconut pulp. And the sambal. And the boiled beehoon and bean sprouts. And hard boiled egg.

Step 4.
These are shallots, sliced up. One bowl.

Step 5.

And i wonder... step 5 was already done when i got to her house. It's chili sambal. I'd think it was probably made with blitzed up dried chillis fried in oil. And sugar. And salt. (this is where cooks have to use their best judgement).

Step 6. You need Eggs. Hard boiled. These would be sliced. And prawns. Sliced too. (No closeup of prawns. But you see them in the layout next)

Step 7. Very important. You need Mint leaves. chopped up.

Step 8. Lay them all out on the table. The soaked and boiled bee hoon being the base..

Another view... With lime juice in the bowl. And a jar of sugar.. (not all the sugar gets added! just abit)

Step 9. And this is where it all comes together. Stir in the chili paste, the lime juice The coconut, and the action shot shows that you've got to eventually stir it all up and mix it up nicely.