ONE FM fan crowned winner of rendang challenge

She joined ONE FM's recently concluded Great Homemade Rendang Challenge as a way of giving a delicious treat to the DJs whom she and her mother have been listening to every day for more than a year.

Not only did she get to meet the radio station's #1 Breakfast Show stars Glenn Ong and The Flying Dutchman, Ms Suhana Salleh ended up winning bragging rights and the "Golden Tumbuk-Tumbuk" trophy shaped like a mortar and pestle for her mother's rendang recipe.

The cooking competition, which ran last week from Monday to Friday, saw five families present their homemade rendang on ONE FM's #1 Breakfast Show.

A week earlier, as a response to CNN Travel's announcement that rendang topped its list of World's 50 best foods, the DJs urged listeners to vote for their favourite rendang restaurant in Singapore.

Tambuah Mascame out tops.

But many listeners gave feedback that the best rendang they had tasted was from their own homes, which inspired the Great Homemade Rendang Challenge.

The morning show's Ong, Flying Dutchman and Catherine Robert were the judges and picked Ms Suhana's beef rendang served with ketupat.

The 38-year-old administrative executive and mother of two told The New Paper that she and her mother, Ms Zaharah Kaus, 58, are "big fans of the show, so we initially wanted it to be a treat for the DJs".

Ms Suhana added: "We're really happy. We didn't expect to win because we felt that the other contestants were equally matched."

Ms Zaharah learnt how to prepare the dish from Ms Suhana's late grandmother, but made a few changes.

The original recipe was a one-pot meal, but Ms Zaharah blended the ingredients first instead, adding lime and turmeric leaves to the mix for an extra kick of flavour.

Ms Suhana said: "When you blend the leaves into the rendang, the aroma of the stew is enhanced."

She hopes the ONE FM accolade will help kickstart her family's small catering business - which had been put on hold 12 years ago because of family commitments.

"It will give us a good opportunity to showcase our rendang to others," she said.

The Flying Dutchman was particularly impressed by Ms Suhana's version because the smell of the rendang immediately filled the room when she served it to them.

He said: "It was a perfect balance of aroma, texture and taste."

MS SUHANA SALLEH’S RENDANG RECIPE 

INGREDIENTS

2-3kg beef tenderloin (diced)
Salt to taste
4 boxes of 200ml coconut milk
4 blocks of gula melaka (palm sugar)
2 kaffir lime leaves
2 turmeric leaves
675g of kerisik (toasted coconut) 

INGREDIENTS FOR PASTE

10 big onions, chopped
7 cloves of garlic, chopped
4 lemongrass (white part only), thinly sliced
3” piece of ginger, chopped
3” piece of galangal, chopped
3” piece of turmeric, chopped
30 dried chillies, chopped and soaked with water
3 kaffir lime leaves, torn

METHOD

1. Prepare the kerisik (toasted coconut) by placing desiccated coconut in a pan and dry toast on medium heat till brown but not burnt. Pound the kerisik and put aside.

2. Prepare the paste by blending the ingredients for paste.

3. Heat oil in a large pot and sauté blended paste till oil starts to split.

4. Add diced meat and fry for a few minutes

5. Pour in coconut milk and season with palm sugar and salt and let it simmer on very low heat for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or till beef is tender.

6. Add kaffir lime leaves and continue to cook beef uncovered till the content is quite dry. Continue to stir from time to time. 

7. Add in most of the kerisik and turmeric leaves and continue to cook till oil splits. You should have a very dry “stew” at this stage. 

8. Season to taste