Chinese Rojak
Chinese rojak is a popular snack food in Singapore and Malaysia. It’s a medley of fruits, vegetables, beancurd puffs and dough fritters tossed with a sauce that’s sweet, savory, spicy and nutty. It also has a special fragrance from finely minced rojak flower, which is the flower bud of torch ginger.
Last weekend, I tried my hand at making rojak. I stirred bowl after bowl after bowl of rojak sauce, trying to find one I liked.
The first mistake I made was with the tamarind water. I followed the rojak recipe in “The Best of Singapore Cooking”, mixing a walnut size blob of assam with 80 ml of water. That totally spoilt the sauce because it was way too watery.
I had to reduce the amount of water, and leave out the lime juice in the recipe. Otherwise, I couldn’t get a thick and sticky consistency.
My second mistake? The sauce turned watery again after I mixed it with fruits. The culprit this time was the (rather) expensive “crystal” pineapple I had bought. It was ideal for eating straight, but too juicy for making rojak.
The colour of the sauce wasn’t right either. It should be almost black or very dark brown, but mine was more like a medium brown.
Also, the fermented prawn paste didn’t taste right, in a I-can’t-put-my-finger-on-it-but-it’s-not-quite-right kind of way.
I was into my third bowl of rojak sauce – making, not eating – and on a roll. Off I trotted to a minimart to look for a different brand of fermented prawn paste.
“This is the one rojak hawkers use!” the friendly shopkeeper assured me, holding up a red and blue plastic tub that said “TWO BOYS BRAND”.
“Really ah?” I bought prawn paste, plus a cheap, green and hopefully not so juicy pineapple.
On the fourth attempt, I finally nailed it with the help of the two new ingredients.
The sauce tasted quite similar to the famous rojak in Balestier (the one Chow Yun Fat goes to). Rojak mission accomplished!
Chinese Rojak
Ingredients
- 1 pair youtiao
- 4 pieces tau pok
- 150 g bangkuang wedges
- 150 g cucumber wedges
- 80 g underripe pineapple wedges
- 80 g green mango wedges
- 100 g jambu wedges
Rojak sauce – makes around 1 cup
- ½ cup peanuts
- 60 g tamarind paste
- 90 g fermented prawn paste
- ½ calamansi lime peel finely minced
- 1 tbsp torch ginger bud finely minced
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp chilli powder
Instructions
Make rojak sauce
- Roast peanuts in 180ºC oven till lightly brown. Remove peanuts from oven. Allow to cool down. Remove peel. Grind coarsely.½ cup peanuts
- Add 3 tbsp hot water to tamarind paste. Mix thoroughly. Drain and discard seeds.60 g tamarind paste
- Thoroughly mix tamarind water, prawn paste, lime peel, torch ginger bud, sugar, chilli powder till sugar melts. Add all ground peanuts except for 2 tbsp. Stir till evenly mixed. You should have 1 cup of sticky sauce that's as thick as peanut butter. Taste and if necessary add more sugar or chilli powder. Refrigerate till ready to use, covered tightly. Sauce may be stored for up to 1 month.90 g fermented prawn paste, ½ calamansi lime peel finely minced, 1 tbsp torch ginger bud finely minced, 4 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp chilli powder
Assemble
- Just before serving, toast youtiao and tau pok in 180ºC oven till crisp. Cut bite-size.1 pair youtiao, 4 pieces tau pok
- Place veggies and fruits in a big bowl. Add three-quarters of rojak sauce. Toss thoroughly. Add more sauce if necessary. Add youtiao and tau pok. Toss again. Plate and sprinkle with remaining peanuts. Serve immediately.150 g bangkuang wedges