MELAKA: Melaka is famous for its Asam Pedas dishes, and the state’s authentic Asam Pedas recipe is even said to be the most delicious variety compared to Asam Pedas in other states.
Bernama talks to a few well-known and experienced chefs to find out what makes Melaka’s Asam Pedas stands out from other states’ Asam Pedas.
Chef Melaka Club chairman, Chef Rizwandy Perin said the main difference would be the unique blend of spices that gave Melaka’s authentic Asam Pedas the unique aroma.
“Among the spices in the original Melaka’s recipe would be black pepper, candlenut, sweet cumin, cumin and Kaffir lime.
“Also the authentic Melaka recipe does not use Kesum leaves and Kantan flower (torch ginger) which are the important ingredients in Asam Pedas from other states,” he told Bernama here today.
The chef with over 20 years of experience in the culinary world said the original Melaka Asam Pedas recipe must be preserved even though it underwent several changes in time.
“Its original heirloom recipe needs to be preserved as a legacy even though the Melaka state government has already patented it around 2010,” he said.
Sharing the same opinion, Chef Zubir Md Zain said the basic flavour of Melaka’s Asam Pedas should be maintained although each chef has different ways of producing the traditional dish that is very popular on southern states of Malaysia like Melaka, Johor and Negeri Sembilan.
“I’m not from Melaka so I’m not an expert in the dish, but I have my own version of Asam Pedas… so do other chefs. As long as its taste is more or less the same with the authentic recipe,” said the Masterchef Malaysia jury.
The owner of Chef Zubir Restaurant Group said the Asam Pedas dishes must have three compulsory ingredients known as the ‘three-brothers’, namely kantan flower, kesumleaves and ground chillies, although every chef may have a different opinion.
Zubir also said that the original ingredients in the recipe of authentic Asam Pedas are subjective because everyone has his or her own style regardless of whether the recipe is inherited from family recipes or from their own creativity.
According to the Singaporean Halal Culinary Federation deputy president, the name Asam Pedas (literally translated as sour and spicy) itself reflects the characteristic of the cuisine.
“When we mention Asam Pedas the dish needs to have the balance of sour taste and spicy taste, if the final result tastes resulting in strong taste of sour or spicy, then we can’t call it Asam Pedas,” said the chef who loves to travel to learn about Malaysia’s Malay traditional cuisine.
Fondly known as Chef Jo, he said the cook needs to produce a balanced mix of ‘sour’ and ‘spicy’ through proper cooking techniques.
He also agreed that the authenticity of the recipe and the cooking techniques had to be preserved as a valuable heritage. – Bernama
