Introducing Asih

Sulasih, or Asih to her friends, grew up on a rice farm in Indonesia with her parents and 5 other siblings. Everyone had a job to do, from her sisters and mother preparing the food and cleaning the house, to her father and brothers doing other chores around the farm and household. “I learned to cook from a young age; it has been my passion since. My friends often visit me here at my home to enjoy some of the food I make for them!” Asih shares with a gentle laugh. 

Now, she spends time in her bright Lamma flat tending to her beautiful roof garden overlooking Yung Shue Wan, where she grows a variety of fruit, herbs, and orchids. This particular jackfruit – or nangka – which Asih used to make this dish was given to her by a next-door neighbour with a  nangka tree in their yard.

About gulai nangka

A countryside staple in Java, Indonesia, gulai nangka uses herbs and spices that are readily available in the region, like galangal and candlenut. Nangka trees are very common in Southeast Asia. The giant, thorny skinned fruit can be eaten unripe or ripe. The ripe nangka is sweet and has a vanilla-like taste, often described by some people as a combination of pineapple and banana.

The unripe nangka needs to be cooked as the sap is very sticky and the flesh is quite tough. The cooked fruit has a neutral taste, taking on the flavour of the spices that it is cooked in. The texture is meaty, often used as a meat substitute for many vegan dishes. Like many Indonesian dishes, the rich and flavourful gulai nangka is best served with steamed rice.

Ingredients

Paste:

• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 candlenut, cracked
• 2 ½ shallots, chopped
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• ½ tsp coriander
• ½ tsp white pepper
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• ¼ tsp cumin powder
• ¼ tsp grated nutmeg
• 2 sticks cinnamon
• 1 red pepper, blanched and chopped
• ¼ cup vegetable oil

Others:

• 500g nangka (jackfruit), roughly chopped
• 3 pcs Indonesian bay leaves
• 2 stalks lemongrass, pounded
• a thumb of galangal, pounded 
• 4 pcs kaffir lime leaves
• 1 can coconut milk
• 300ml water
• salt to taste

Method

1. Place all the ingredients for the paste (except the oil and red pepper) in a mortar and grind them into a rough paste with a pestle
2. Transfer the paste into a blender with the oil and the red pepper and about 200ml of water and lightly blend
3. Heat pan under a low fire; put the blended paste in pan and mix in the Indonesian bay leaves, lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, and remaining 100ml water. Stir for 5 minutes
4. Mix in the nangka and stir for a further 5 minutes
5. Add coconut milk and salt to taste. If sauce is too thick, gradually add more water until desired consistency is achieved. Leave to simmer for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally
6. Remove from pan and serve over steamed rice