Masak Lemak Labu Mudah | Malay Style Pumpkin in Coconut Milk
Pumpkin is one of our favorite starchy vegetable.
It is sweet, soft and mushy when it is cooked, depending on how long you cooked it.
A wide range of dishes can be made with using pumpkin as the main star of the dishes like pumpkin soup, roasted pumpkin and pumpkin curry, you named it!
And that doesn't include it's infinite contributions in making baked goods and desserts!
Today, I'm going to share one of Malay's hearty dish made with pumpkin, which is Malay style pumpkin cooked in coconut milk, or in Malay we called as Masak Lemak Labu or Labu Masak Lemak.
It is a simple dish, yet it is heavenly yummy!
My hubby loves to finish all the gravy even when there's no more pumpkin left in the pot!
I was taught by my mum to add black anchovies (ikan bilis hitam) in vegetables in coconut milk (masak lemak sayur).
The black anchovies are not finely ground, instead, they're added in the gravy along with their heads unremoved.
Black anchovies has their distinct aroma which is different from common anchovies used in cooking.
They intensified the flavor of masak lemak, making the dish more delicious!
Usually I 'll add black anchovies whenever I cook masak lemak labu, sayur lodeh (vegetables in coconut milk, usually eaten with nasi impit) and masak lemak kobis (cabbage in coconut milk).
Masak lemak labu can be of two varieties - the gravy can be of whitish or yellowish in color.
To make it's gravy to have yellow in color is to simply add turmeric in it while the white version of masak lemak labu has no turmeric added.
Both exert the same level of deliciousness, but yellow version of masak lemak labu is definitely looks more appealing.
Aside from adding mere pumpkin in your masak lemak labu, you can add other veggies like long beans or green beans.
If you have turmeric leaf, you may also add into it.
The gravy will be rich in flavor if you make it slightly thicker, so you'll need to add more coconut milk into it.
Fresh coconut milk is always the best bet when you cook any dishes that need you to add coconut milk.
However, I don't always keep fresh coconut milk available in my home since I'm more inclined to buy coconut cream that packed in boxes.
Hence, please note that I'll use coconut cream and sometimes added with water to make it diluted in most of my recipes that called for coconut milk.
I prefer to cook my masak lemak dish by using shallots instead of onion, sometimes, I like to combine between these two types of onion because onion has mild flavor and sweeter compared to the shallot which has stronger in taste.
Onion will also makes a thicker and creamier gravy while shallot has no significant effect in the gravy's texture.
I love to enjoy masak lemak labu with mild spiciness.
In this recipe, I'm using red bird's eye chilies but you are free to use either green bird's eye chilies, green or red chilies.
MASAK LEMAK LABU MUDAH
(MALAY STYLE PUMPKIN IN COCONUT MILK)
Category: Lauk pauk
Serving Size : 2 to 4
Ingredients:
5 shallots
3 cloves of garlic
6 red bird's eye chilies
A small handful of anchovies
1 inch of turmeric
1/4 of a large size pumpkin or 1/2 for medium size
5 black anchovies (ikan bilis hitam)
Water as needed
1 to 2 tablespoons of cooking oil
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste
1/2 cup of coconut cream/ fresh coconut milk - I used KARA brand
Instructions:
Pound shallots, garlic, red bird's eye chilies (or any chilies you're using), anchovies and turmeric by using mortar and pestle, or blend the ingredients by using a blender or chop the ingredients by using a food chopper. You may need to add a little amount of water if you're using a blender.
Peel off the skin of the pumpkin with a sharp knife and cut into bite size.
Heat oil in wok or pot, add in the pounded/blended/chopped ingredients once the oil is hot. Cook for about 2 minutes, until fragrant.
Add water sufficiently, black anchovies and the pumpkin chunks, lower the heat and cook until pumpkins are soft but not mushy. Season with salt and sugar if needed. Cover the pot to accelerate cooking time. You can check doneness by poking one pumpkin piece with a fork or a wooden skewer. If the fork or the wooden skewer is easily slide all the way to it's center, then the pumpkin is done.
Add coconut cream or milk, stir and cook for another 5 minutes to ensure the coconut milk/cream is cooked properly.
Ready to be served!
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