Pucuk paku is a wild fern that is commonly consumed in Malaysia. It is tender and sweet when cooked.
Some lightly toasted coconut and a bit of chilli results in a tasty kerabu pucuk paku that has sweet, spicy and rich flavours in a single bite.
Ingredients
- 100g grated young coconut
- 15g belacan
- 3 large red chillies
- 5 cili padi
- 1 big onion, sliced
- 2 tablespoon kasturi lime juice
- 250g pucuk paku
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 50g dried anchovies (optional)
Method
- Prepare the pucuk paku by washing and removing any old stems.
- Toast the grated coconut in a dry pan until it turns light yellow. Remove and set aside.
- In a blender, blitz the belacan, big red chillies and cili padi. If it is too dry to blend, add two to three tablespoons of water. Set aside.
- Bring a pot of water to the boil. Add the pucuk paku and boil for three minutes. Remove from the water and set aside.
- Optionally, wash and toast the anchovies in a pan until dry.
- In a big bowl, toss together the pucuk paku, sliced onions, anchovies, kasturi lime juice, salt, belacan mixture and toasted coconut.
- Serve and enjoy.
Tip: Adjust the salt or lime juice to suit your taste.
This article first appeared in butterkicap.com.
Butterkicap is a food and culture platform and community that enables anyone to experience Malaysia through stories of its people, food and places.