Peranakan Heritage Cooking

A savoury snack of glutinous rice with a filling of ground dried prawns and grated coconut wrapped in banana leaves, rempah udang is very popular with both children and adults. Although the rice and filling are already cooked prior to grilling, the additional step of grilling the banana leaf parcels infuses the rice with the fragrance of the leaves and gives them a lovely, appetising smoky flavour.

Coconut milk 250 ml (8 fl oz / 1 cup)
Salt ½ tsp
Bamboo cocktail sticks 60 or tape

Lemon grass 4-cm (1½-in) bulbous end
Garlic 3 cloves, peeled
Shallots 200 g (7 oz), peeled

Cooking oil 2 Tbsp
Dried chilli paste (page 27) 2–3 Tbsp
Grated skinned coconut 100 g (3½ oz)
Salt ½ tsp
Sugar 2 tsp

1. Wipe banana leaves clean, then scald in hot water or over an open flame to soften
leaves and prevent them from tearing when folded. Cut to obtain about 30 square
sheets, each 9-cm (3½-in). Set banana leaves aside.

2. Place dried bunga telang in a bowl with 100 ml (3½ fl oz) water. Leave to soak for
about 15 minutes, longer if you want a deeper blue. Strain colouring.

3. Rinse and strain glutinous rice. Place on a steaming tray. Mix coconut milk with
100 ml (3½ fl oz) water and salt. Pour over glutinous rice. Using a teaspoon, drop
spoonfuls of blue colouring randomly on rice to colour it in patches.

4. Steam rice for about 45 minutes or until rice is tender and cooked. Set aside to cool.
While rice is cooling, prepare filling.

5. Heat a wok and dry-fry dried prawns until fragrant. Leave to cool, then grind until
fine using a mortar and pestle or blender.

6. Using a mortar and pestle or blender, grind lemon grass, garlic, shallots and turmeric
into a paste.

7. Heat oil in a wok and add ground mixture and dried chilli paste. Stir-fry until fragrant.
Add ground dried prawns and grated coconut. Stir-fry until golden brown. Add salt
and sugar.

8. To make parcels, spoon 2 Tbsp cooked glutinous rice on a banana leaf square and
press it down lightly. Spoon enough filling in a line along the middle of rice, then roll
banana leaf up neatly to get a cylindrical parcel. Secure open ends with cocktail sticks
or tape. Repeat until ingredients are used up.