Malaysian author’s first cookbook named world’s best in street food category
Nur Dayana Azman Wong’s craving for Malaysia’s authentic traditional avenue meals although studying abroad influenced her to develop her personal cookbook Penang Makan.
Including yet another feather to her cap, the 32-12 months old writer manufactured Malaysians proud when her debut cookbook Penang Makan was awarded the best in the world less than the street foodstuff class at the 27th Gourmand Awards in Sweden early this month.
She upstaged other contenders, among the them, a culinary institute from China, Future Foods Studio by way of Shanghai Jianbing Road Meals, Comida Callejera Guatemala (Guatemala), Bak Fritay (Haiti) and My Road Food items Kitchen from the United Kingdom (United kingdom).
Sharing her cookbook journey with Bernama lately, Dayana who was born and elevated in Penang claimed she started collecting recipes of her favourite hawker fare immediately after returning house from her scientific tests overseas.
Dayana graduated with a Grasp of Science in Global Business at the Hult Business enterprise College, London in British isles in 2017.
“I have long harboured an ambition to publish a book, more of a childhood aspiration and the fascination grew wider when I was carrying out my Master’s diploma in London as I couldn’t locate any cookbook on genuine Penang dishes in this article (London),” she mentioned.
Wong’s enjoy of cookbooks started out when she was a baby and culminated in the publication of her extremely very first cookbook, which pays homage to the avenue food she grew up with.
The daughter of a Malay-Chinese pair, Hayati Ismail and Azman Wong Abdullah, Dayana stated her appreciate for food items and lifestyle was ingrained in her from young from her parents.
She grew up finding out how to cook and recognize regular dishes from the matriarchs of her family her fondest recollections as a young girl revolve all-around cooking and sharing foods with her loved kinds.
“The reserve, Penang Makan is nothing quick of a labour of love”, stated Dayana, who has also shared her personalized childhood reminiscences of escalating up in the foods haven, that is Penang Island.
The procedure
Sharing her passion in gathering recipes, Dayana reported immediately after completing her scientific studies in Uk in 2017, she returned to the Pearl of the Orient and labored in a private business ahead of providing up her work to assist with her household small business.
“I started off going to my favourite stalls in Penang. Rather of inquiring the hawkers for the recipes, I only ate the meals to reignite my taste buds and made confident I realized the elements in the dishes,” she claimed.
Dayana reported that most of her recipes in the cookbook ended up tailored to fit her palate.
“Then the pandemic took place and it gave me the substantially needed time to compile the recipes and take a look at them out with my mother,” she extra.
Dayana, who also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Toronto, mentioned the cookbook characteristics in excess of 50 recipes that are very carefully selected and curated for Malaysians to recreate memories of Malaysia when they are overseas.
Cucur udang, the 1st recipe
Among Dayana’s favourite meals is cucur udang, the Malaysian variation of prawn fritters. The deep-fried crispy snack is the very first recipe which created its way into her cookbook. It is normally marketed on pushcarts along the roadsides in Penang, with 3 variants, Malay, Chinese and Indian.
One of the major highlights of Wong’s e book is that whilst it showcases some of Penang’s most effective road foodstuff, it is also Muslim-helpful, so dishes like lor bak (pictured right here) have been tailored with pork substitutes like hen.“Cucur udang is straightforward but the memory that I get from consuming is, it provides me again to a time when I was a child, when I was 4 many years old. My grandmother will make the cucur udang for the afternoon tea.
“Just after my grandfather was done working out in his backyard, he would tear open up the cucur udang and give me the prawns he will try to eat the cucur that is empty. I felt really cherished and that is one particular of my favorite reminiscences to reminisce,” she reported.
Dayana reported cucur udang is in all probability a single of the least complicated recipes in the guide which reminds her of her late grandfather each and every time she eats it or can make it.
“My mom still cooks the very same cucur udang any time I arrive back from abroad. When I move into the house, I can scent it,” she claimed, adding that the odor of cucur udang reminds her of residence.
On the cucur udang variants, Dayana reported the Malay version is rounded with a crispy exterior when clean from the wok and a gentle interior crammed with a variety of vegetables.
“The prawns utilised are shelled and are both full or chopped and mixed into the batter ahead of deep-frying. The Chinese or Peranakan edition is crispier, wafer-slender with unshelled prawns on top.
“The Indian or Mamak variation is mainly found in pasembur (Malaysian salad). They are a lot more rectangular in shape and are crammed with sliced onions, spring onions and the prawns made use of are not shelled,” she reported.
Up coming, a cooking present most likely
To a dilemma, Dayana stated it was her childhood desire to surface in a Television cooking programme or video clip creation to market Malaysian foods and Malaysia to the planet, as she grew up seeing cooking demonstrates hosted by renowned movie star chefs.
“I viewed cooking displays by Chef Wan, Denise Keller, Nigella Lawson, Anthony Bourdain, all those are my favourites.
The famed Ramly burger is a food that Wong felt required to be integrated in her cookbook, because of its potent charm among Malaysians and visitors.“I would appreciate to have one, particularly an in-depth cooking journey programme that discovers the numerous Malaysian ethnic meals and delicacies, but so far, I have but to acquire any proposal for that,” she reported.
Dayana reported she would like to feel of herself as a man or woman who prefers house cooked food items and one particular who strives to protect Penang heritage and legacy.
She is presently endorsing Malaysian delicacies in Belgium in collaboration with the Malaysian Ambassador to Belgium, Datuk Ahmad Rozian Abd Ghani and is also involved in a marketing function with the Malaysian Palm Oil Council in Europe.
“We are incredibly psyched about this event and are so grateful for the support and encouragement to promote Malaysian cultural heritage.
“I feel the next move is to organise a very similar function and glance for distributors to market place our cookbooks throughout the world,” she additional.
Foods is adore
“I want individuals to take pleasure in the traditional way of cooking no matter of in which they are. In a nutshell, even though we nevertheless use fashionable appliances, the essence is nonetheless there (dependent on recipes), we nevertheless prepare dinner food items from scratch (without instantaneous pastes),” she mentioned.
Dayana mentioned the e book would enable the young technology to know the foodstuff substances these kinds of as lengkuas (galangal), belacan (shrimp paste) and gula Melaka (palm sugar).
“I think my real really like for Penang food stuff is portrayed in the cookbook. And this is actually the sort of reserve that I desire I had when I was absent from household, when I was researching at the college for the 1st time,” she observed.
On successful the coveted award, Dayana said, “I am quite honoured and grateful for this award specially this becoming my to start with guide, and ‘Penang Makan’ was up against so numerous other people in the managing.”
“Successful the award definitely boosted my self esteem as it speaks volumes about the normal of our Malaysian cookbooks, which is as superior as any out there,” she included. – Bernama
