SEAWEED is a main ingredient in some traditional Malaysian dishes such as the Sabahan “latok” and the Kelantanese “kerabu sare”.
The latter is a favourite in Gua Musang, the largest district of Kelantan where taste is influenced by appetising salads from northern neighbour Thailand.
“Kerabu” translates to salad while “sare” is the Kelantanese term for the Malay word “sarang” which means nest.
Seaweed-based food supplier Nisah Jaafaar, 66, told Bernama that kerabu sare was best eaten with rice.
“Kerabu sare is a salad dish comprising a combination of seaweed, stewed fish and dessicated coconut mixed with a type of “sambal tumis” gravy plus a squeeze of lime juice,” she described.
The process of cleaning the seaweed, according to Nisah, is tedious.
“I repeat the process of washing the seaweed at least five times to remove the smell and dirt.
“The seaweed then has to be soaked for five hours to make it soft enough to eat,” she said.
Nisah also detailed the long process of preparing the gravy.
“First, blend onions, ginger, galangal and pepper, and then simmer the mixture in coconut milk until it thickens,” she said.
On normal days, she prepares about 500g of seaweed but as demand usually doubles during festivities, Nisah processes up to 2kg of seaweed during these periods.
