Monday, March 9, 2009

Kerisik / Toasted Grated Coconut

Malay cooking is very tedious and uses a lot of ingredients especially if you really follow the kampung (village) recipes. Those that I have posted so far have mostly been 'modernised' thus they are some-what easier to make without compromising too much of the taste. Some of the ingredients are also readily available (pre-packed/instant) at the store like curry paste, rendang paste, sweet and sour paste, kerisik and etc. When I told my aunt that I uses instant kerisik, she (and my cousins!) pooh-poohed me for not making my own kerisik.

For those who are in the dark, kerisik is toasted grated coconut. One of the many important ingredients in Malay cooking. It is used in making among other, rendang and nasi ulam. To make kerisik, you will need if possible, freshly grated coconut flesh that has not been squeezed of the coconut milk yet. Alternatively, you can use the frozen grated coconut (thawed). That was what I used.

Kerisik / Toasted Grated Coconut

8oz grated coconut


1. Add freshly grated coconut in a non-stick pan, stir continuously on low to medium heat.

2. Stir until it becomes golden brown. Turn the heat off.

3. Grind in the food processor or pound using mortar and pestle.





11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Although I not Malay, my mom prepared this for me while i was young. She added some sugar into it, so I ate it like my junk food. Haha!!! Miss it very much. Now only I know it's kerisik!

MamaFaMi said...

Psstt... mama pun guna kerisik beli punya... tak kuasa nak buat sendiri! Hihihi...

ICook4Fun said...

I only used kerisik in my rendang but will normally stock up the ready made kerisik from home :)

Salt N Turmeric said...

MyTasteHeaven, kerisik w sugar sounds very interesting. i vaguely remember something like that but couldn't remember what it is. lol.

Mama, iye ke? hahaha.

Gert, i pun dulu guna ready made but i think now that i know here to find grated coconut, i should have no problem making them myself.

Unknown said...

I always burn my kerisik, no patience and on high heat.

Salt N Turmeric said...

BeeYinn, I found that using non-stick pan helps but of course must stir all the time. :)

Anonymous said...

ur kerisik is not brown enough actually. to get better taste, lagik bagus kalau kerisik tu a bit dark. maksudnya kena kering btol2. baru aroma dia menusuk kalbu bila masak rendang or laksa johor.

hahhahahah. so sorry cousin. dh biasa buat sendiri. jd kena komen sket. hahhahahhah

nway, i think kelapa kering+gula = sagun kan???

Salt N Turmeric said...

Awa, shuddup u! :P cukuplah brown tu. nanti terhangit ler pulak. Sagun tu not fr kelapa lah. fr what tak sure pulak and malas nak google. lol.

Flower said...

Salam
Tak pernah comment ni tp nak share experience jugak ni.

I kat Australia ni kalau buat kerisik, I pakai dessicated coconut je. Jadi bila goreng tak lama sgt. I jrg beli frozen kelapa sbb I tak suka rasa kelapa parut yg frozen.

Salt N Turmeric said...

Salam Flower. Thank you for visiting. Iv heard abt using dessicated coconut tapi i takut tasteless. Maybe next time kalau i tak jumpa kelapa parut frozen, kenalah i try guna tu kot. Tq for the tips ya.

Argus Lou said...

Haha, I remember kerisik mixed with sugar sold in a folded-up paper cone in the school canteen (ages ago!).

I do make kerisik myself with dessicated coconut for when I make rendang but I'm too lazy to pound or pulverise it. :)