Newbie Nonya Cooks Longtong

Before I talk about the Longtong recipe, I need to address The Kitchen. In my family it is more than just a place to get food. It’s a space brimming with activity. When Nenek was alive, she would fry Jumput Jumput. Tantalised by the scent, my Grandfather and uncles would run in and out to sneak a few pieces before she noticed anything. Those few delicious morsels (banana cake meets roasted nuts) were worth incurring her wrath.

As a kid, I did the same thing too. Mother would be cooking and I’d shove some crispy ikan billis into my mouth and dash out before she could grab me. Today, the kitchen is the heart of the home. It’s where we spend time together. I’ll watch her cook or we chat/gossip as I fix us a cup of tea. When guests come over, they’ll gravitate towards the kitchen as Mother whips up a snack. So, calling a kitchen a space does not truly convey the gravity it holds in my family.

Mother with Aunty Ratna (best friend’s Mum) frying up some Roti Jalas for their starving daughters

The favourite thing about Longtong is it’s sweet lemongrass scent that I cannot resist. I may be in the middle of work or engrossed in a book, but once that scent reaches me, I am hooked. Longtong should be mildly spicy, with a semi-thick consistency and a glorious light orange colour — if you get the coconut milk portion right. You can eat it with rice or rice cakes. But please don’t be a monster and eat it with prata, or worse, with pasta! Add whatever vegetables or protein like fish cake in the gravy! It’s the equivalent of the Eurasian Devil’s Curry.

Longtong Recipe

1. Grind fresh chilli into a paste.
2. Fry it in a pot with lemongrass.
3. Add coconut milk (thick paste) and water. The colour should be an orange-brown. Don’t stir it. Let the oil bubble to the surface.
4. Add ingredients such as long beans, fried tofu (hard), grated carrots, turnip and soo hoon into the pot.
5. Finish it off with some ginger slices and salt to taste.

Source: Singapore Local Favourites

Oh, were you expecting the exact measurements and method? No dice. In typical Mother fashion, she agar-agars the amount needed. So, that’s all I have to being my journey from Nebie Nonya to Actual Nonya. But, if you need a detailed recipe, drop me an email with your questions and I’ll try my best to pick Mother’s brain. Basically, what you see on the left should be the end result. Don’t worry, I’m still trying too.

Glossary

• Jumput Jumput — a snack made with mashed bananas and flour, fried to perfection.
• Nenek — Grandmother.
• Ikan Billis — dried anchovies.
• Agar agar — a jelly but in this case it means making an educated guess.