Delicious Food In Malaysia

The scientific name for cekur is Kaempferia galanga Linn. It is a herb from the ginger family and also known as sand ginger. The Chinese call it sar keong in Cantonese and Hakka which both means sand ginger. The stemless leaves usually grow in twos and spread out flat on the ground in opposing directions. These leaves sprout from rhizomes growing in shallow soil. White and purple coloured flowers sprout from between the leaves.

Cekur – sand ginger – Kaempferia galanga Linn.

Both the leaves and rhizomes of cekur are aromatic. They are used regularly in Nyonya recipes. The leaves are finely shredded and commonly used in popular Nyonya dishes such as nasi ulam (Nyonya rice salad) and perut ikan (pickled fish stomach, vegetables and herbs curry).

Cekur – sand ginger – Kaempferia galanga Linn.

The rhizomes are small as compared to regular ginger. Their highly distinct smell is essential in Nyonya delicacies like Nyonya chang (Nyonya rice dumpling), chai thau kuih (radish cake), rempah udang (spicy dried prawns in glutinous rice roll) and hong bak (braised pork in aromatic spices).

The cekur plant – leaves, rhizome and roots.

My late-mother had a simple recipe for cekur leaves that I used to enjoy eating as a kid. She would pound a handful of dried prawns and a couple of red chillies until they are mashed. That is eaten with four or five pieces of finely shredded cekur leaves. Unfortunately, when I was in my mid-twenties, I would get gastric pain each time I had hong bak, nasi ulam or anything that had cekur in it. I had to reluctantly cut down on these dishes. I never did find out why cekur caused this.

Close-up of the cekur rhizome.

Cekur propogates well in black soil with good amount of moisture and some shade. It can either be cultivated on the ground or in pots from a whole plant – leaves, rhizomes and roots. The rhizomes are highly prized. They are harvested by manually digging them out during the dry season when the leaves dry up and the rhizomes are enlarged.

Perut ikan – pickled fish stomach.

Perut ikan means fish stomach in the Malay language. It is also the name of the popular Nyonya curry of which the main ingredient is pickled fish stomach. The perut ikan in the image above were given to me by my former neighbour who is a fishmonger at the Rifle Range wet market in Penang. He kept the fish stomachs that he usually discarded and pickled them in a glass jar for me.

The method of preserving the stomach is very simple. The stomach is first cut into strips. This allows for a more thorough preservation and easier storage. The strips are cleaned and drained. Coarse salt is added and mixed well. They are then packed into a glass jar, sealed and kept for several months.

The stomachs from larger fishes are preferred as they are thicker. Thicker stomachs are also chewier. In the olden days larger fishes were served only during festivals. Stomachs from these fishes were pickled as and when they were available. They were salted and kept until there were sufficient quantity for cooking. Nowadays, bottled perut ikan can be bought at selected wet markets. If it is not available, one can get fresh fish stomachs from the wet market and pickle it with little effort.