Dari Dapur Ummi! Gulai Tempoyak Udang (Prawns in Fermented Durian Gravy)

Salam,

Gulai Tempoyak or Tempoyak gravy is a sweet and sour (and could be hot too if you add up the cili padi) dish made from fermented durian paste. Durian is a fruit with sharp torns on its external hard surface, but with tender, sweet and milky fruits inside. Some people love it like crazy, some people hate it to the maximum. For further information about Durians, please google it ok :p

Alright tempoyak is a familiar paste to be eaten with rice in the Malaysian states which are blessed with Durian trees, most likely Perak and Pahang. The paste, is extracted from very ripe durians which are too sour for you to eat just like that as a fruit, but from the paste we could cook its gravy or like I've mentioned have the paste to be eaten with rice together with other dishes. Gulai tempoyak is then very infamous in those states especially the Gulai Tempoyak Ikan Patin (Ikan Patin is a type of fish of the river) of Temerloh, Pahang. Since my father is from Perak, I am not excluded to be a fan of gulai tempoyak as well :) As for today, the recipe I am preparing today is Gulai Tempoyak Udang or Prawns in Fermented Durian Gravy.

Ingredients / Bahan-bahan:

• Prawns / Udang
• 18-20 Cili Padi ( Ummi told that the old folks' tip for you to have very hot but tasty dish is by preparing the cili padi in odd number)
• 1 turmeric with the size of a thumb / 1 kunyit sebesar ibu jari
• Turmeric powder / Serbuk kunyit
• Turmeric leaves / Daun kunyit
• Tempoyak paste / Tempoyak
• Salt / Garam
• Sugar / Gula
• Water ( according to the thickness you desire) / Air (bergantung kepada kepekatan yang anda ingini)
  

Turmeric and cili padis / Kunyit dan cili padi

Pound the turmeric with salt until it becomes very fine since it is to make gravy/ Tumbuk kunyit dengan garam sehingga sangat halus kerana ia hendak dijadikan kuah

Then pound the cili padis with the turmeric, make it very fine. / Kemudian tumbuk cili padi dengan kunyit sehingga menjadi sangat halus.

This is the result of the pounding. The rationale for the ingredients to be pounded very fine is for it not to float on the surface of the gravy. / Ini ialah hasil tumbukan. Bahan-bahan perlu ditumbuk halus supaya ia tidak terapung di permukaan kuah.

Put the ingredients in a heated wok, without oil. Then add in water according to your liking. / Masukkan bahan-bahan ke dalam kuali yang dihangatkan tanpa minyak. Kemudian tambahkan air mengikut kesukaan anda.

Turmeric powder / Serbuk kunyit

Turmeric leaves after they are cut / Daun kunyit yang telah dipotong

Add in the turmeric powder according to your liking to add taste and colour. Then add in the turmeric leaves. / Masukkan serbuk kunyit mengikut kesukaan anda untuk menambahkan perisa dan warna. Kemudian masukkan daun kunyit.

Put in the tempoyak paste (the whitish lumps you could see in this pic) according to your liking, the more it is the sourish the gravy would become. Then add in a little sugar to give the sweetish hint in the gravy. / Masukkan tempoyak (ketulan putih di dalam gambar) mengikut kesukaan anda, semakin banyak kuah akan menjadi semakin masam. Kemudian tambahkan sedikit gula supaya kuah menjadi sedikit manis.

Finally put in the prawns and stir the gravy until the prawns are cooked. / Kemudian masukkan udang dan kacau kuah sehingga udang masak.

ENJOY! =)