Mrs. Periuk Besar

Mrs. Big Pot.

I name her Mrs. Periuk Besar in this blog for obvious reasons. She has all those big utensils ranging from pots, ladle so big, the scoop can fit the size of a child's head, long spatulas, big big kuali and the portable tunku (spelling?) that people use for big kenduris.

And as the name is just so apt for her, she is an expert in cooking especially for hundreds of people. And she is able to do single handedly even. This is not surprising for she came from family who masak for kenduri kahwin, Malay style.

She has her little catering business here which she usually does for the Malaysians, Indonesians and Singaporeans and even Bruneians (betul ke term ni?). I must say she is one of those who can make tasty food even when she cooks in huge amount, which is a skill not many acquire.

If she invites people to her house, many would jump because it is rumah Mrs. Periuk Besar THE chef. And if she is the main cook for pot luck, guess whose pot would finish first?

Thus it it is not surprising that I often ask her for tips. One should only ask from the best.

I must say when I first knew her, she seems reluctant to give her tips. I still remember my first crabbing session, she brought those marinated BBQ chicken that we BBQed. The taste was beyond, in my opinion. When I asked her what did she put, she said ala campak-campak aje.

I understand that not everyone is wiling to give out recipes. And even if you get the recipe from them, not everyone is willing to share tips or their trade secret. But it is ok. I was not angry or kecik hati, because to me the act of learning must be shown by being consistently persistent and pastu kena nampak ikhlas. Nampak nak belajar bukan nak sebok korek rahasia.

Mr. periuk besar, obviously her husband, was also one of the ASS' committee members with me during our ASS stint. So Mrs. Periuk Besar and me often meet during meetings and on our functions. I got closer to her. And tanpa malunya I asked her to comment on my kuih and food. Which begins our chapter of her commenting albeit a bit.

We got closer last year because we were in the same Arabic and tajweed classes. She often "chop" the seat next to her for me so that I can help her with her english. And since than, she was generous with her tips and also comments for me. Yayyy!!

So I want to share one of her tips here with you. Perhaps you know it already, but its still good to share and you might want to chip in more tips here too. ;)

Never put your just used pot filled with food on the cement or tile or your kitchen top.

This tip is particularly useful when you are cooking for lots and with big pots. When you cook for say 100 people, you would need the space to cook other food and you would most likely need to cook the night before or early in the morning.

Put your pot (which ada lauklah ok, bukan periuk kosong) on an alas (what is it in english?).If you notice masa kenduri2 people use alas kayu or the kaki besi. And if you have none of those, like me, since I am not one those Mrs. Periuk Besar gang who has all these gadgets, you can use bekas telur (egg holder?)

And what is the reason? To avoid the food from going bad especially whose with santan (coconut milk). remember most of the time when we are cooking for lots of people, we have to cook early. the risk of the food going bad is there. Perhaps putting the hot food on cold cement would gave a shocking jolt to the food and insult it, giving the reaction of protest thus basi.

Mrs. Periuk besar gave this tip at Mrs. Captain's house when unfortunately Mrs. Captain's laksa johor and lodeh went bad at one of their dinner functions. Kesian kat Mrs. captain. Sedih dia.

Oh the other thing is, don't cover your pot when the food it is still steaming.

Thanks Mrs. Periuk Besar. You are number one.