“MA, what are you cooking?” I asked sleepily as my stomach growled. A few minutes ago, a sizzling sound along with thuds of a cleaver greeted my ears. An aromatic whiff wafted into my room and stirred me from sweet dreams. I quickly sat up in my bed, rubbing my eyes and stretching my body.
A shaft of light dawned on the ceramic counter, some stainless-steel appliances and utensils reflected by the sunlight. A woman, with her hair tied up, wearing an apron of multicoloured flowers within many squares, rushed back and forth from the sink to the stove.
“Ah Qiang, don’t just stand there! Go wash your face and help me!” my mother snapped at me.
My job was easy. I had to cut the fresh cucumbers into thin slices and put them in a bowl. But the sweet scent of rice boiling in coconut milk and the aroma of sambal induced the growls in my stomach again.
My mother called out, “Ah Qiang, come and help me with the eggs!”
After peeling the shells of the boiled eggs, I placed them on the board, thrusting it firmly till the golden yellow yolk was seen. Then, a bowl of sambal with anchovies, a plate of golden crispy fried chickens and a bowl of toasted peanuts suddenly appeared on the dining table. The small kitchen seemed to be a paradise of aromatic delights.
Before I could tuck in, my mother requested, “Help me cut those banana leaves into squares before you start eating, please.”
“Oh when can I start eating!?” I mumbled. “Why do we have to do this, Ma?”
“This is the fundamental part of nasi lemak. It will give out a nice fragrance when we dish out the other ingredients on the banana leaf.”
“How about the other ingredients? Aren’t they important as well?” I asked.
“Of course, they are. They can’t be left out. Because it is a rice-based dish, the largest portion is the sweet-scented coconut rice. Then, we have the fried chicken and eggs. They have a tender and chewy texture,” said my mother.
Finally comes the sambal, the soul of the nasi lemak.
“The sambal brings in the flavours of the other toppings together. They have to blend,” she added.
“What do you mean, Ma?”
“Don’t you think nasi lemak and all the side dishes (the sambal, egg, cucumber and fried chicken) make a perfect blend?”
I was puzzled until I saw the Jalur Gemilang fluttering outside the window: 14 horizontal red and white stripes, the yellow crescent and a 14-point yellow star on a blue square.
The 14 stripes represent the equal status of the 13 states and the Federal Territories, while the 14-point star represents the unity between these entities. The moon represents Islam, the official religion. The blue field symbolises the unity of the people while the yellow in the star and crescent is the royal colour of the Malay rulers.
Unity and harmony — the stripes, moon and star — blend well together. And just like the sambal, which is the soul of nasi lemak, Jalur Gemilang is the soul of Malaysia.
Happy Malaysia Day!
CHEONG BING QIANG
Skudai, Johor