Ardchak-awak, brandy and sarsi
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Tradition
Ardchak-awak, brandy and sarsi
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| A chin chuey wedding (6) .. .gods of Prosperity, Wealth and Longevity..,. These traditional emblems of good luck had for centuries graced the doorway of every Chinese house in which a marriage took place. EARLY IN THE MORNING, two days prior to the marriage eve, red cloth was hung up above the doorway of the widow's house which now had a new front door. Also hung up was a rectangular piece of tapestry, bordered with silk tassels and embroidered with the figures and epithets of the gods of Prosperity, Wealth and Longevity, on a red background. These traditional emblems of good luck had for centuries graced the doorway of every Chinese house in which a marriage took place. That same morning, Meh Ah Lian and five other ladies, all close friends of the widow, came to assist her in making ardchat-awak. Actually, they came to learn the technique of preparing this nyonya speciality which had to be cooked a day before the wedding feast, so that by keeping it overnight, the full flavour of the pickled vegetables, saturated with curried condiments, could be drawn out to improve its taste. They spent hours cutting up cucumber, carrots, radish, long beans, French beans, cabbage and kangkung (a green vegetable) to an appropriate size and length. Whole chillies (red and green ones) were slit open to remove the seeds. Then, each type of vegetable (except the chillies) was put into boiling water and taken out at the right time to retain its crispness, after which it was strained in a bamboo sieve to remove unwanted water. After all the vegetables had been boiled, raw unhusked groundnuts were roasted over a slow fire. When browned, their skins were removed and they were pounded in stone mortars. Then spices, small onions, garlic, saffron, dried red chillies and blachan (dried shrimp paste) were ground into a soft mass on a large stone slab with a rollerstone. |
| When everything
was ready, they watched intently how the cooking was done. The pulpy condiments
were first fried with coconut oil over a slow fire; then the pounded groundnut
was put in and the thick cream of coconut milk was splashed on to this mass
from time to time, the entire lot being continuously stirred with a ladle.
The frying and stirring of this mass went on until a rich spicy aroma arose.
What was very important was that this mass of sizzling condiments and groundnut
should not be burnt. When the proper aroma was attained, then the prepared
vegetables were thrown in and the whole lot was stirred and thoroughly mixed
with the condiments. Now came the masterstroke: putting in the correct amount
of sugar, salt, and vinegar. Without the right proportion of each item, the
whole pot would be spoilt — therein lay the main secret of this culinary
masterpiece. When the 'maestro' had tasted what was cooked and was satisfied, she gave the pot a liberal top spraying of cheema (sesame seed), as a finishing touch. In all, they cooked three large earthen pots of this delicacy, one after the other. The ladies also learnt to produce two variations: ard-chat-fish and ard-chat-prawn. The next morning, that is the morning of the day before the wedding, the two master cooks arrived with three assistants. They brought in two handcarts all their requirements: cooking utensils, portable stoves, flavouring ingredients, spices, top-grade Chinese sauces and wine and what-not. Throughout the morning, the kitchen reverberated with a cacophony of mixed sounds: the shrieking of hens and capons and the frantic quacking of ducks as they were seized for slaughter; the shouts of the cooks giving orders to their assistants; the chopping of poultry, meat and fish; the grinding up of spices, aromatic barks, and the cutting up of onions, garlic and chillies. And throughout the afternoon, the kitchen was full of the sounds and smells of cooking, such as, the spluttering of chicken, meat and prawn as they were fried or grilled; the clanging of ladles on pans; the calls of the cooks to their assistants for this and that. All this while, the aroma of food being cooked drifted from the kitchen to the dining hall, making everyone's mouth water. At about ten that morning, Meh Ah Lian arrived — her hair impeccably dressed, her sang guey held together with five gold hair pins. She wore one of her best long kebayas, fastened in front with three gold brooches, each studded with small diamonds, and she had on a new batek sarong and a fine pair of slippers. She came both as a guest and helper. On arrival, she took off her long kebaya and handed it with the three brooches to Poh Sim for safekeeping upstairs. Half an hour later, the five ladies who came to assist the day before, also arrived. They took off their outer garment and straightaway attended to what they had come to do. Chairs were arranged around the tables and table cloths were spread out. Then, the rice plates were laid-on face down and in front of each plate was placed a drinking glass for iced water, aerated drinks or brandy. On each 'long table', formed by joining four square tables together, were four bottles of Hennessy, spaced out. |
| Only the three square
tables in the front hall had forks and spoons laid-out too, as they were
for guests who do not normally pick up their food with their fingers. Meanwhile, our widow and her daughters put the final touches to the bridal chamber, paying special attention to the bed and all the decorations in the room. After that, the widow and her voluntary helpers attended to other details: where to place the crates of aerated drinks (lemonade, sarsaparilla, cherry and soda); where to keep handy the bottle openers (a simple contrivance with which the glass-marble stopper in each bottle could be knocked down to release the aerated water); who to serve which tables, and who to bring in the dessert. To forestall any mess up in the kitchen should rain fall, a tarpaulin was stretched over a wide area in the air well. It was a good augury that no rain fell the whole day and night. By 4.45 that afternoon, every dish had been cooked and there was enough food for easily a hundred people, so the cooks assured the widow.# (To be continued) Sixth extract from Chin Kee Onn's "Twilight of the Nyonyas" - A chin chuey marriage in Ipoh Previous instalment |
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Foong Kim Cheong
The Best Thai Food in TownPaya Terubong Phone 825 5643 |
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Ardchak awak
The Baling meeting (2)
The Bangkok communique |
____________________ The Penang File Issue 40 |