Looking Back At Kampung Food

Now that the Malaysian school holidays are just around the corner, it's time to think of 'balik kampung' or "going back to the village" that formerly once-a-year affair when everyone packs their bags and heads home to the dear old pater and mater, who will (hopefully) cook up a storm of childhood village delights for their beloved children and grandchildren. 

Not many people take the time to think about it but nowadays when people talk about "selera kampung" they don't realise that even in the most traditional homes, the menu has changed. The dip and crunch of fresh from the back garden herbs dipped in a tangy basic sambal (a savoury chili paste) with fried fish, chicken and prawn sambal (prawns cooked in a tangy paste of chili, shallots, garlic and, occasionally, lemongrass or citronella) has acquired elements from richer coconut-based Indian and even Thai curries and salads.

Not only that, but even the big hotels have discovered the potential behind the unique mixture of light, refreshing tastes and textures with the richer, nuttier curries and promotions, buffets or set meals featuring kampung delights have become quite common.

From May 28 to June 12, Bayview Beach Resort is offering a Selera Kampung Special with four different set menus for lunch-time patrons of La Veranda to choose from while its sister hotel, Bayview Georgetown has an entire buffet of kampung temptations for dinner-time patrons at its Dewan Sri Mas. 

But if you just want to try cooking a basic village dish, the simplest and for many, the easiest one is probably the Sambal Ikan (fried fish cooked in sambal), so here, for the first time ever, is my own lazy bachelor's recipe.

200-400 grams of fish (small, whole fish or larger slices are fine)

4 small cloves of garlic (peeled and crushed or chopped finely)

2 red onions (shallots) (peeled and chopped finely)

1 large onion (cut into rings)

the juice from 2 limes (or two teaspoons of tamarind juice instead)

1 large tablespoon of ground or pounded chili 

20 grams of belacan or fish paste (roasted dry and crushed finely)

(use fish sauce if you can't find fish paste)

a.Fry the fish until it's crispy, then set aside.

b.Grind, pound or blend the other ingredients (except the lime juice and the large onion) into a fine paste

c. Heat a tablespoonful of oil in a pan or wok and stir in all the ingredients except the fish. Keep on stirring until bubbles start popping through the mixture.

d. Add the lime or tamarind juice and mix well.

e.Now is the time to taste the mixture. You can add a little bit of salt to taste, and/or a little bit of sugar both for taste as well as to cut the spiciness at this point.

e. Put in the fried fish and stair through the paste until the fish is thoroughly covered and steeped in it.

f. Remove from the fire and serve immediately.

Note - you can use the base paste recipe with fried or boiled eggs, or prawns instead of fish.