Singapore-style 'sup tulang merah'
Rizalman Hammim
2009/04/06
MOST people would be familiar with 'sup tulang', a spicy soup made with either mutton or beef bones.
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| Ayu Sup Gearbox restaurant’s ‘sup tulang merah’ (left) and roasted chicken rice are popular with customers. |
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| Rusdi Mohamad preparing the ‘sup tulang merah’. |
What about 'sup tulang merah'? The dish, which is also known as Bone Steak, is a popular dish in Singapore and is slightly different from the 'sup tulang' which is popular here.
As the name suggests, this soup is red in colour. This is because, besides the bone stock, the soup is also made using a special chilli concoction, as well as tomato and chilli sauce.
In Batu Pahat, the place to go to try this dish is Ayu Sup Gearbox restaurant. The chef and owner is Rusdi Mohamad, who is better known as Eddie.
"I learnt to cook the dish while I was working as a chef in Singapore. When I returned to Malaysia, I decided to start selling the dish and, so far, the response has been good," said Eddie, who is from Kuala Terengganu.
At first, Eddie said he only sold the dish at the pasar malam, Ramadan bazaar and during expos. He decided to open the restaurant late last year.
"At the moment, I use up to 60kg of bones a day. Most people are not familiar with the dish but once they have tasted it, they usually come back for more," said Eddie, adding that the dish was usually eaten with bread.
Another of the restaurant's specialties is roasted chicken rice. The chickens are roasted in a custom-made oven after they have been poached in a special marinade.
"The marinade is made with a combination of herbs and spices, lemon juice and honey.
"The chickens are poached in the marinade for about 30 minutes until they are about three-quarters cooked before they are roasted in the oven for a further 30 minutes.
"The oven works by using the heat from bricks which are placed at the bottom of the oven.
"The bricks need to be heated with the stove and once the chicken are put in the oven, the heat is turned down to ensure that the chicken are crispy on the outside and juicy in the inside," said Eddie, who learned the recipe from his former boss in Singapore.
He said the oven was the kind used by the Chinese to roast 'char siu' (barbequed pork).
"Some of my customers like the chicken so much they order it without the rice and eat it on its own. They say they like the juicy flesh."
Another specialty customers can have is a drink called ayu special. It consists of green apple and pineapple juices, fruit cocktail and lychee.
"A friend of mine who worked at the Primula Resort in Kuala Terengganu taught me how to make the drink. It is one of the most popular drinks here," added Eddie.
The Ayu Sup Gearbox restaurant is located at No 1, Jalan Susur Kemajuan, Taman Kemajuan.
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