Postponed entry.
This is my second time fasting far away from the family (The first one was in Puncak Alam, during my foundation years). Just like others (Read: students), the culture of eating outside are something my friends and I have already getting used to. But, this time is quite different. As my housemates are all finished their examinations a week earlier than me: which means only Sya & I are left in this house, we decided to invite our close friends over for iftar.
We never expect that we manage to host a nasi-kerabu gathering party (As requested by Fami & Chombee). Everything is cooked on our own, following the recipes & numerous phone calls with the master-chef at home. haha. & to be honest, we are quite nervous (We eat nasi kerabu, but we have never done it before). You know, with the long list of the ingredients....... T__T Everyone knows that one of the key ingredients of Nasi Kerabu is the fish, but both Sya & I are all not specialized in recognizing the fishes. So, we just went to the market......but, too bad we really have no idea which one to buy as everything looooks so familiar to us!
De-bone the fishes to make the fried coconut. Phew! This work is really no joke, man. We spend one whole night to boil & de-bone the fishes (We personally asked the pakcik kedai at the market & he recommended ikan kembung for us). Sya does the frying part of the grated coconut (1 skinned coconut that has been grated is more than enough. We buy 3! Haha). This part involves frying the grated coconut without oil until it turns into slightly brown color. Don't forget to add in some seasonings and adjust it accordingly.
Perhaps, we can say that kerabu of the nasi kerabu is the Malay version of salads. It is the mixture of various types of vegetables and spices. We use long beans, cucumbers, torch ginger bud (bunga kantan), and bean sprouts as the kerabu. Without all these spices, the recipe of nasi kerabu will never complete. With the basic nasi kerabu, we served it with the turmeric fried fish (I use Gogi instant flour), fried chicken, fish crackers, and salted eggs as the side dishes. Not many people know that nasi kerabu comes in a few colors other than blue. Since our classmates are mostly from the north part of Malaysia (Kedah & Penang), they are all very surprised to see the rice in yellow (We put in some turmeric to make it yellow).
As nasi kerabu requires a very tedious preparation, we are very lucky to receive help from our classmates. Some of them even come earlier to our house in order to help in preparing the food and setting up the place. You know what did I learn from hosting this party ? Get help. People love to help. In my experience, this is so true. We get other friends involved in the preparation of the food (we ask Zarep to bring tupperware from his house, get help from Huda & Nisa in frying the fish crackers & turmeric fried fish, and even ask for help from other classmates in doing some simple things). The point is: no one is expecting you to be perfect. Everyone just wants to have a good time together!
As for the overall, I guess everyone is very happy that day! We even teach almost everyone on how to really eat nasi kerabu. "Put some rice, pile on some desired amount of the fried coconut, some sauce, and the salads. You can choose any side dishes that you like to eat with, and don't forget to mix it well with the rice". REPEAT. haha. Till then, back to study-mode, guys. Another paper to go T__T
