Saturday 23 June 2012

Kerisik


What is kerisik ? It is simply grated coconut dry fried in a hot pan until golden brown and crispy and pounded into a paste. Kerisik is an essential ingredient when cooking rendang as it imparts that signature taste and aroma to the dish.  There is ready made kerisik available but I am a little cautious and prefer to make my own.

So how do we go about making kerisik ? What you need is grated coconut and a frying pan. I get my grated coconut from the supermarket or you could buy from the market. 
One packet grated coconut.
Heat up the pan (no oil is required) and when hot, simply put the grated coconut in and stir fry. What you are doing is slowly roasting the coconut to dessicate it. In the beginning, the coconut feels dense and heavy as it has lots of moisture. Keep stirring. It is a simple process but time consuming. And you will work up a sweat.
Dump grated cocnut into hot pan and stir fry.

After about 15 minutes, you will notice that it starts to brown and the grated coconut feels lighter. Keep going.

Coconut starting to brown.
Eventually, after about 45 minutes, you will get golden brown crispy coconut. Test it by crushing a small amount with your fingers. If it is crispy and crumbles easily, you are done. Take some and taste it. It is quite yummy and you can use this as topping for some of your desserts.


Almost there.






Golden brown crispy coconut. Taste soem, it will make you smile.
At this point, pound the crispy coconut. Pound until you see coconut oil oozing from the paste.


My family heirloom, the "lesung batu". Heavy as hell.

 
 
Pound to a shiny paste.
You don't need to make such a big amount like I did. I normally do it in a big batch and freeze some for future use. It is very convenient.

Before and after.








18 comments:

  1. Hi Phong Hong,

    Kerisik is very very interesting:) :)

    I want to do this Phong in my own:-)

    Keep on Dear...

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    Replies
    1. Hi Punitha, with your experience and creativity, I am sure you will create wonders with kerisik.

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  2. HI Phong Hong, I love this kerisik especially served with lontong.
    Yours look good, ya I never trust those come in packet don't know how what they add inside.

    Have a nice weekend.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Amelia, how about a dessert using this :)?

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  3. I hanen't seen or heard of this Kerisik b4,thanks for sharing this useful posting with us,very informative

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    Replies
    1. Hi Jessie, if you want to cook rendang, you must make this :)

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  4. Can't see the pictures!! Is it just my computer or what?

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  5. There appears to be a technical problem with the pictures. Don't know how this happened but will rectify later today. Sorry about that.

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  6. Ahh..... can see all now...... this auntie sure can cook!! Your rendang chicken looks delicious!

    Stan

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  7. Hi PH,
    TQVM for dropping by @ my space... What a lovely & colorful space u have here... Keep it up ok.. Your rendang look so tempting.. So, rajin bikin rendang meh..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Raya sudah mau sampai, kena practice buat rendang loh!

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  8. i never made my own kerisik before, i usually get it from the coconut store. i would like making them my own some day if time permits.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Lena, yes its very time consuming. Make extra to freeze and that would save the hassle.

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  9. It's too bad that its hard to find freshly grated coconut here in Sg now. :P Sing $1 can only get about 4 Tbsp worth...crazy right? If I can buy cheap grated coconut, I'll make this kerisik every week!

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    Replies
    1. Wah, that's expensive! Do they have at the wet market? Maybe you can get the ready made ones from supermarket.

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  10. as a malaysian abroad,memang takdela kerisik dekat tempat saya.thank you for sharing your recipe.much love!

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    Replies
    1. You are welcome! When you come back to Malaysia, you can buy good quality ready made kerisik as they are available at the supermarkets now.

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