: : All is revealed ~ 6 months late : :Remember
this?
As well as this
mysterious rice?
Well, slow slow Wena is about to reveal the mysteries behind this meal. We'll start off with the various vegetables.
Belachan is the taste of this meal. Belachan is a spicy prawn paste that is used in many South East Asian cooking and in this meal, it's being cook with chillis and spinach. Added to that, all belachan do not taste the same. Different people make it with different proportions so some are spicier, some has a stronger smell, some has a stronger prawn taste and so forth. This one was particularly very nice. The belachan paste can be kept in the freezer for a long time - Granny has been known to keep it for more than a year.
Now this is an interesting meal. Timun dayak @ Iban Cucumber is a vegetable that is found in the wild jungles of Sarawak. Makes a great meal as the veggie is slightly crunchy and slightly sweetish as well. It's not bitter at all.
Everyone got this one right. It's squid curry with prawns added in. Yum.
Now this is the ingredient in the mysterious rice picture. It's a type of fungus that grows on fallen trees and is known as Wood Ears in English. Or so my Sina' tells me. First, it's broken up into smaller pieces. Then, it's soak and rinse in water a few times to remove the strong taste and cleaning too. Finally, fry them with rice to get a tasty local fried rice. Yum.
And there you have it folks. A nice meal at Cousin Garnet's.
