Malaysia – Manuk Pansoh

by Fauzan Anandika

As a human, we spend most of our time on the earth surface. We already explore most of the surface and found so many beautiful places, but do you ever expect to be amused by an underground panoramic? Our earth is not only a place to live, but it has many wonderful places to visit. Even in the underground, the earth has so many caves filled with beautiful stalactites and stalagmites. Not to forget to mention the underground lake and river that flow to an unreachable place.

When visiting Malaysia, you can go to the Sarawak Chamber, the world’s largest underground cave chamber. Sarawak Chamber is located in Mulu mountain, Sarawak, Malaysia. Sarawak Chamber is a part of Nasib Bagus cave and has 600 meters long and 435 wide with a maximum of 115 high. While traveling to Malaysia, you can also enjoy their authentic food.

As a part of the Southeast Asia region, some Malaysian dishes use bamboo for cooking their meal. Manuk Pansoh is one of them. Manuk Pansoh is a traditional dish from Malaysia. It a chicken base meal that cooks in a grilled bamboo rod. Manuk Pansoh usually serves in every celebration like marriage, birthday, or at the end of the harvest season. It has a savory taste and a little bit spicy. To get a better taste, you need to use clean bamboo and a side of Keropok Lekor. But do not worry, if you could not find any bamboo, you can use aluminum foil. Let us try to cook some Manuk Pansoh with a side of Kerupuk Lekor for dinner.

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken, cut into small pieces
• 30 cm bamboo log or aluminum foil
• 5 stacks of cassava leaf

Spice and Seasoning

• 10 cloves garlic, chopped
• 5 shallots, chopped
• 6 stick of lemongrass, use only the white part, finely chopped
• 5 cm of galangal, peeled and finely chopped
• 5 cm of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 20 gram of bay leaf
• 10 fire eyes chili, sliced
• 1 tablespoon salt

Keropok Lekor Ingredient

• 500-gram tuna
• 300-gram tapioca flour
• 2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 200 ml of cooking oil

Keropok Lekor Sauce

• 5 pieces of dried chili
• 5 fire eyes chili
• 3 clove garlic
• 20 ml of tamarind water
• 150 ml of water
• ½ teaspoon cornstarch, brew with a little water
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of salt

How To Make Keropok Lekor

1. Ground the fish with salt, sugar, and flour until a good mixture.
2. Roll the mixture into a long tube shape. Use tapioca flour to prevent the dough from sticky.
3. Put into boiling water, cook until the dough floats in the water.
4. Set aside and cool it down.
5. Sliced cut into your taste and fried with a small fire.
6. To make the sauce, blend dried chili, fire eyes chili, and garlic using a food processor.
7. Cook the mixture with water, adjust the taste with tamarind water, salt, and sugar.
8. After the water boiling, add cornstarch, continue cooking until it boiling.
9. Kerupuk Lekor is ready to be served.

How To Cook Manuk Pansoh

1. Mix all the spice in a large bowl. Add the chicken mix and marinate for 20 minutes.
2. Put the mixture into a bamboo or aluminum foil.
3. Cover and seal the bamboo with cassava leaf
4. Cook slowly with charcoal, or you can bake it for 35 minutes at 120 degrees Celsius.
5. To serve, open the seal and pour the chicken into a serving plate.
6. Manuk Pansoh ready to be served with a side of warm rice and Keropok Lekor