Friday 12 October 2012

Terengganu Papaya Salad (Gohnyok)


I used to enjoy eating this salad when I was a kid back in my hometown. My grandmother made this salad once in a while and we would eat it with keropok (fish crackers). What I love about this salad is the tangy dressing made with tamarind juice and vinegar and it goes really well with the salad ingredients.



This salad simply consists of grated unripe papaya, pineapple and cucumbers. I took the liberty of adding some alfalfa sprouts because I had some on hand. The dressing contains flaked fish, sambal belacan, vinegar, tamarind juice and gula Melaka. It is a sweet, sour and salty combination. 




Traditionally, ikan kembung (mackeral) is used and the fish is boiled and the  flesh separated from the bones and flaked. It is then added to the dressing. I used a shortcut method and replaced the fish with canned tuna instead (Ok I was lazy :)).




I would say that it is a healthy salad as it contains protein and fresh raw fruits. Besides, tamarind juice is known to be beneficial for our health too. Aside from the keropok, which should be indulged in moderation, I think this salad will feature in  my diet quite regularly now.



Terengganu Papaya Salad (Gohnyok)

Salad ingredients :
- Unripe papaya, grated
- Cucumbers, sliced
- Pineapple, sliced

Dressing :
- 1 can tuna flakes (mash finely)
- 150 ml water
- 50 ml vinegar
- 1 tablespoon asam jawa paste
- 15grams gula Melaka
- 2 tablespoons sambal belacan
- sugar to taste
- fish sauce to taste

To make dressing :
- In a saucepot mix water, vinegar, asam jawa paste and gula Melaka.
- Bring to a boil and simmer until gula Melaka dissolves.
- Remove from heat.
- Add sambal belacan and sugar and fish sauce to taste.
- Add mashed tuna flakes and mix well.

To assemble salad :
- Put the salad ingredients in a bowl and add dressing.
- Toss and serve with keropok (fish crackers).






I am submitting this post to Malaysian Food Fest, Terengganu Month hosted by Lena of frozen wings.



56 comments:

  1. I dub thee "Kerabu Queen"!
    I really love all your kerabu posts. Never thought there could be so many ways to make kerabu...
    This one sounds super too but I'd skip the tuna, not a fan of canned fish. Fresh cooked kembong sounds good tho.

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    1. Thanks, Ping! Love the title har! har! Go with fresh cooked kembong, it's better. I was just being lazy :)

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  2. have.to.make.my.trip.to.kt.soon.for.this.gohnyok.

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    1. Oiks, I thought you are in KT now? This gohnyok must eat with keropok baru shiok!

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    2. no need go KT la...MIL come kau tim will bring along the shredder too

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    3. So lucky got such a nice MIL!

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    4. Small Kucing's MIL (also another HONG) makes quite good chneh, with her everfamous chili sauce... yes gohnyok is good with keropok... can just slurp the extra fished chilied vinegared sauce... try put the jambu air into it... also the very nice...

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    5. Oh yes! My mum raves about your mum's chenh sauce, says its the best she has tasted. I also like to drink the gohnyok sauce :)

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  3. This seems to be a special and a unique salad especially the ingredients in the dressing. Must be very flavourful. Thanks to you that we Malaysian got to know the Terengganu specialty!

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    1. Hi Mel! There are lots of hidden TGG culinary treasures that are waiting to be discovered. I just pandai-pandai elected myself as the food ambassador hee...hee....

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  4. I like salad. Never think of adding flaked fish. Should try one day. Looks like green papaya is the main 'salad' in this salad. Of course the kuah. I can substitute the rest right? Eg carrots, corriader...

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    1. Vivian, you can substitute with carrots. Coriander might not go with this and I honestly think that for this salad, it is best to stick to the papaya, cucumber and pineapples. Or else it might not taste like gohnyok :)

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  5. Wow, never thought of adding fish flakes in a salad....mmm...very appetising!

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    1. Hi Cheah! I suddenly remember there is a western salad that has tuna in it and that is salad nicoise. But I think this TGG one taste better :)

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  6. very colorful and incredible :)

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  7. I can feel my salivary glands working from just the sight of it! :)

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    1. Alan, must make ok? Don't just drool....:)

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  8. I am salivating as I scroll along your photos Phong Hong, looks so yummy!

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    1. Oh dear, you and Alan are drooling! Hah! Hah! Jeannie, you must try this and let me know if you like it.

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  9. Hi Phong Hong, I agree with Ping, you're our 'Kerabu Queen'. All your Malaysian salads are so tempting. BTW, I can't try as yet cos' will be on 10 days vegetarian diet this Monday. Will KIV...

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    1. Thank you, Kimmy! I feel so honoured lah..Oh vegetarian diet? That's very good for health. I haven't gone vegetarian for quiet some time :)

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  10. Very healthy and flavorful salad

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    1. Hi Vimitha, that's why I want to eat this more often :)

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  11. O Kerabu Queen, Tis sounds nice. Light and refreshing, would like to try making this and add mynfavourite ingredient, beansprouts!

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    1. Heh..heh...Esther, I feel so shy being called Kerabu Queen. Oh yes, feel free to add beansprouts. I saw another recipe in one of my cookbooks where beansprouts were added. I love beansprouts too :)

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  12. Wow, looks so yum! I love salad, especially if it is sweet, sour, salty and spicy, all in one! Your salad is making me lau-nuar already!

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    1. Joyce, don't just lau nuar, must make the gonhyok and chiak chey chey :)

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  13. is that good.. it sure looks spicy.

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    1. Actually it is quiet mild, my sambal belacan wasn't spicy :)

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  14. Gosh! Love this colourful salad! I bet it taste great!

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    1. Hi Ellena, yes it tastes great and really stimulates the appetite!

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  15. I'm literally salivating when I'm reading and looking at your post! Lol! The tangy and crunchy mouth feel is so yums! Perhaps I should ask my MIL to give me one of her unriped papaya, heehee.:))

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    1. Hi there! Lucky you, got supply of fresh unripe papaya!

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  16. This sounds really nice, I like the spicy, sweet and sour taste, just lovely!

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  17. Looks stunning! Sure will have a second helping of rice. Never used papaya - usually we use buah emplam for something like this... Slurpssss!!!!

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    1. Oh yes, we also eat this with rice. The sweetish, sourish and salty taste makes the appetite go haywire!

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  18. Does this taste the same as Thai papaya or mango salad? I can see similarities in the ingredients.... Love this.

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    1. It's different. The Thai salad dressing is made of lime juice and fish sauce, so its not the same :)

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  19. tengok air liur pun sudah keluar, memang tak boleh tahan papaya salad ini, hahahah..

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    1. Hah! Hah! Sonia, cepat-cepat pigi petik itu buah betik!

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  20. ROJAK BETIK !! Mmg best, nak2 kalau ada keropok keping.. Anak2 dn k.nor suka makan dgn cara hancurkan kropok keping tu, letak dlm mangkuk dn letak kuah atas tu.. Gaul dn ngap!! Tak ada betik pun tk kisah hehe http://www.secubitgaramnor67.com/2011/10/rojak-betik.html

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    1. Wah, K. Nor punya version pun terangkat lah! Memang betul, kalau ada keropok keping, memang boleh ngap-ngap non-stop!

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  21. Looks so yummy! Not sure I can find all the ingredients around here, but I'll just dream of eating a nice bowl for lunch :)

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    1. Hi Lizzy, sweet dreams of my papaya salad...........

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  22. oh, i also like the idea of adding that some fish meat there..dun have to eat also know it's appetising ! it's stimulating my saliva glands now..hahaha! btw what dialect is gohnyok?

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    1. Hi Lena, I hope you will try this salad! Gohnyok is the Terengganu dialect (I don't know the meaning though!).

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  23. Something very different to the usual salad we used to have, yummy looking salad.

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    1. Thanks for dropping by! This salad is really zingy :)

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  24. It's funny, I spent a month traveling around the backwaters of Thailand with my then S.O. several years ago. And since we were far from civilization in most cases - we ate our meals with any local that would feed us.
    Green Papaya salad was served at "almost" every meal, and although not instantly a fan - after the 6th meal, it REALLY starts to grow on you and now I crave it constantly. I became convinced it was the foamy green jello mold salad of SE Asia.

    oh - as for your comment about the liquid smoke -
    Liquid Smoke is a product readily available here. It's pretty much what you'd think it is... concentrated smoked water. You'd probably have more access to Smoked Salt - and just use it instead of the regular salt in both recipes. If that isn't an option, add in a tablespoon of a bottled SMOKY BBQ sauce to each - or - smoke the roast for 30 minutes or so before finishing the cooking.

    Although if you really aren't all that keen on smoky goodness, I'd just leave it out, or sub in a tsp of fish sauce to round out the flavors a bit.

    Cheers and happy eating!

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    1. Hi Toby! "Foamy green jello salad"? Hmmm....I guess you could recreate the papaya salad back home as Asian foodstuff is quiet accessible. Thanks for the information on liquid smoke. Interesting stuff :)

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    2. Foamy Green Jello Salad... just in case you get a hankering to cook Southern White Trash food...

      MARSHMALLOW LIME SALAD MOLD

      1 (8 oz.) can crushed
      pineapple
      1 (3 oz.) pkg. lime jello,
      unsweetened
      1 c. cold water
      1 (16 oz.) pkg. cottage cheese
      1 c. small marshmallows
      1/2 c. boiling water
      lettuce leaves

      Drain pineapple, reserve liquid. Dissolve jello in
      boiling water. Add cold water to reserved pineapple juice to
      make 1 cup. Stir into gelatin. Chill until partly thickened.
      Stir in cottage cheese, marshmallows and pineapple. Pour into
      slightly chilled 9 x 5-inch loaf pan or a 5 cup mold. Chill 2
      hours. Unmold. Serve on lettuce leaves.

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    3. Toby, this is weird but hey, who knows I might like it :)

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