Come and get your 'lemang-sushi'

KUALA LUMPUR: It may look like a sushi roll, but this Malaysian innovation by Kuala Pilah entrepreneur, Zuriati Sulaiman, 52, is actually the much-loved lemang with a tasty twist.

Met at a farmers' programme organised by the Farmers’ Organisation Authority (LPP) today, she said the idea for the 2-in-1 lemang creation with a beef, chicken or ikan bilis (anchovy) serunding (floss) centre came about two years ago.

“Frozen lemang is quite commonplace, so we thought we’d be different with a lemang with a filling in the middle that will allow one to enjoy it without much effort,” she said.

Now Zuriati also has an extra choice of lemang with a creamy durian centre “which is not an unusual idea because the taste is just like the popular durian pulut from the north”.

She said her lemang is made with traditional ingredients like santan (coconut milk), glutinous rice and wrapped in banana leaf, but it is cooked in a special oven and not in bamboo over an open fire.

She said the lemang-sushi has attracted the attention of dealers from China, but “seeing that my cooking facilities and workforce are limited, I’m still chewing over the idea, but I will make an effort to make it happen and go global”.

Zuriati sells the 9-inch lemang-sushi at RM18-RM20 a piece and only takes orders via WhatsApp.

LPP chairman, Datuk Mazlan Aliman said of the one-day programme at Menara LPP: “Consumers can buy things like meat, fish and vegetables at affordable prices and up to 20 per cent less.

“It is hoped the programme will become a platform for small-and-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to sell their products directly to consumers,” he said, adding the programme will be developed into a monthly affair in the premises of LPP branches across the country. -- BERNAMA