Distinct flavour: Zaini (left) with her cousin Abdul Rahman Hassan, 76, proudly displaying the gulai asam rong. — Bernama
KUALA KRAI: From the outside, Kampung Pemberian looks like any typical village in central Kelantan. But talk to its residents there and you will realise that they don’t sound like their Kelantanese neighbours.
Elderly residents such as Hashim Hassan, 75, speak a unique dialect that is different from Kelantanese and Bahasa Malaysia with words like “owng” (you) and “kamboi” (shut).
In comparison, the Kelantanese use “demo” or “mu” for ‘you’ and “tutup” to mean shut.
This is because the first generation of villagers hail from Kuala Sat, Ulu Tembeling, a sub-district in Pahang close to Taman Negara, reported Bernama.
“Owng come here, kamboi the door? Means you come here, (did you) close the door or not?” Hashim said, demonstrating the Ulu Tembeling dialect in a recent interview with Bernama.
According to Hashim, fondly known as “Pak Da”, besides the Ulu Tembilang dialect, the village is probably one of the few in Kelantan that serves “gulai asam rong”.
This is a heritage dish that is unique to Jerantut, Pahang.
In its national culture mapping project website, the Culture and Arts Department states that the dish uses buah perah or Pogoh Nut (Elateriospermum tapos) that is cooked together with chili, torch ginger and tumeric, along with either chicken or fish.
Zaini Mat Husin, who is known for her “gulai asam rong”, said a favourite meat for the “gulai” is fresh water catfish such as kenerak or baung.
“Since the nut is seasonal, we will normally keep it in paste form known as ‘rom’.
“We first dry the nuts, remove the skin for the seeds and dry the seeds again. The dried seeds are then pounded until oil comes out and stored as paste,” said the 67-year-old resident.
