MANY of our family holidays found us in Thailand, Malaysia or Singapore. Affordable accommodation, great entertainment, but most of all the diversity of flavours that grace these countries, was our primary motivation.
What has always stuck me most about these cuisines is that they are based on a perfect balance of flavour. I grew up learning how to balance spices - flavour enhancers such as onions, ginger and garlic. But balancing taste - salty, sweet, hot and sour - is the basis of South East Asian cuisine. It is a concept that fascinates me, because if any one of those sensations is off the whole dish collapses.
Always in search for that flavour equilibrium, that perfect dish that can sing in your mouth, the food of Malaysian, Thailand or Singapore will always be a natural choice for me. There were so many choices in London when I lived there, but when I move to Glasgow, it took me to find my happy place - until I met Julie Lin MacLeod.
You might remember Julie as a quarter-finalist on Masterchef, or from Julie’s Street Kitchen on Gordon Lane in Glasgow, that first introduced the real flavours of a Melaka - or Malaysian - street food to the city. At the end of 2017, Julie set up her street food cafe called Julie’s Kopitiam (it means cafe in Malaysian), which in a short space of time, was winning awards. When I first met Julie, I realized quickly that we share a common ethos about cooking our heritage food - it's about respecting the ingredients and the people who have taught us, primarily our mothers and grandmothers. We also both left leaving other careers to follow our dreams and bring the flavours of our cultures to Scotland. I spoke to Julie for this week's column about the flavours that inspire her, the scents that take her home to Malaysia.
I asked Julie how she feels now she has followed her dream and opened a café that serves the dishes she grew up eating and cooking. “I’m incredibly fortunate in that I have found myself in a world which I adore," she says, "being around the food I love to cook. Constantly learning, teaching and understanding good cooking is a utopia I could only have ever dreamed of.” Julie’s mother is of Nonya descent - a Malay-Chinese background - and in their culture, much like mine, food is the glue that weaves a family together. Julie’s mum has been the inspiration for her entire life, she taught her that cooking creates a warmth and generosity that is almost of spiritual importance to them. Julie says she tries to bring this ethos into her restaurant. "It's our little homely shrine to Malaysian cooking in Glasgow," she says. "It’s living roomed size for that reason. We want to welcome everyone in with open arms and make them feel like it’s their home from home. The food should always lift everyone, we want big bold flavours to lift everyone’s mood.”
The flavours that you are hit with when you enter Julie’s Kopitiam is a cocktail of lemongrass, cardamom, coconut and floral smelling galangal. But as Julie explains, you are also met with big, bold, beautiful flavours like dried anchovies and belachan (shrimp paste). Julie explains a little about the heritage of Malaysian cooking, describing it as a melting pot of the cultures that make up the population. “There’s Chinese, Malay, Portuguese, Indonesian and many more influences throughout the food. I find it’s a rather beautiful notion that food is the corner stone of bringing people together in Malaysia. Food diversity bringing cultures together is something I’m extremely inspired by and it is reflected in my cooking. What binds people together more than the love of food?”
It is this love of food that binds the newfound friendship between Julie and I. More excitingly though is the fact that very soon we are about to collaborate - bringing Malaysian and Pakistani flavours together in a modern and exciting way, hosting regular pop-ups ... so do keep an eye out for more news soon. I believe the flavours Malaysian food streets and hawker stalls are here to stay in Glasgow. I am so looking forward to learning and sharing our flavours together – but most of all I am thankful that our common love for cooking, has bought us accidental twins together.
Julie’s Kopitiam is on 1109 Pollokshaws Road, Glasgow, and is open for lunch on weekends and open every weekday (except Mondays) for dinner – walk ins only. On social media: @julieskopitiam
Julie’s smoky char kuay teow
Julie shares a deliciously simple smoky recipe that will keep you wanting more
Serves: 4
Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
400g fresh flat rice noodles
200g king prawns
50g dried prawns
200g beansprouts
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons of light soy sauce
2 tablespoons of dark soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Groundnut or vegetable oil
Method
In order to get the smokiness into the noodles (this is often referred to as the ‘breath of the wok’), the wok has to be smoking hot. So begin by heating 4 tablespoons of oil until nearly smoking.
Add in the dried prawns, let them crisp up, and then spoon them out with a slotted spoon and leave to one side. This will flavour the oil to coat the noodles.
Salt the noodles a little (as you would with pasta) to let the flavour seep into them.
Add the garlic to the wok and fry until just fragrant, stirring quickly so it doesn’t burn. Add in the noodles and furiously push them around until they’re coated in the garlicky shrimp oil.
Whilst the noodles are softening, add both the soy sauces (adding more if you want a stronger flavour). Allow the sauce to caramelise under the heat to add to the smokiness.
Once the noodles are completely soft, add in the fresh beansprouts for a bit of crunch. Make sure they’re not overcooked, and serve up while they’re still bright white.
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