Arrival - Penang

After stops in Toronto, Hong Kong (photo of landing in Hong Kong - very dramatic), I arrived finally in Penang 24 hours later, and Pearlie and Chandra were waiting patiently as I slung my wheely suitcase through customs and out the door into the embrace of the humid, hot air and the long, wagging arms of Pearlie. We drove back to their house in Penang and then off to eat a delicious bowl of Thai Laksa at the local stalls. Ah. Exhaustion set in, and bed opened its arms so I could tumble in and begin recovery.

Early the next morning I went with them to prepare for the cooking session at the Spice Garden where Pearl was teaching a class from 8-2 on making Otak Otak, a veggie, cuttle fish stir fry and a grandly spicy salad of cucumbers, pineapple, mint. First, we shopped for ingredients: spices, herbs, fish, vegetables, every single one freshly selected and bought. We went first to the dry market for veggies and then the "wet market" for fish, all of which was displayed lovingly and shingingly for photography and selection. Everyone urged me to see, smell, touch and buy.

Once we got to the Spice Garden, I took the tour while Pearl and Chandra set up the kitchen and the foods; there were only two in the class - two Australians -, but a man named Richard filmed the class, and I was trying to help as chef, spilling, tripping and blundering along as I went, frustrating the hell out of Pearlie... The Otak Otak was an intricate mixture of herbs and spices, blended and then sauteed, coconut milk added until the sauce became a gentle orange color. We added the seabass to the mixture. Then, after blanching the banana leaves, we cut them into squares, filled each square with a little of the fish and sauce on top of two other herb leaves and then folded the squares into individual bags, stapling the bags together before adding each to the steamer.

This is looking into the kitchen where Pearl gives her cooking lessons, and here she is braising the banana leaf to soften it before cutting it into squares to make the little baggies.

The cuttlefish, veggie stir fry required delicate cutting of refined slices of jicama, cabbage, carrots, but before frying them up, we sauteed the shallots until brown, taking them out, frying the garlic until brown, taking it out. Both were crispy and browned. The cuttlefish had to be salted and rinsed to rid it of the ammonia with which they dry the fish. When the veggies were stirfried, we learned that this dish is often used for families over holidays, and they serve it for 21 days, refrying each day until by the end of the time, the dish is black and so tasty that everyone kills for it! Would that I were able to post more photos, but the internet connection here is horrendous and bugs out every few minutes. I'm wondering if there is a better way to do this so that I can integrate photos into text and pass it along, and I'm thinking probably just a letter with embedded photos would do better than this.

After the long process of preparation, Chandra set up a table outside, and we sat down to our heavenly meal, as we overlooked the sea and drank a cooling lemon juice, lightly sweetened. Oh, yum. On the way home, we pulled over to buy coconuts cut so that we could drink the coconut water with straws and scoop out the young, soft fruit. IS there a better life?