THE most comprehensive food encyclopaedia with elaborate explanation on authentic Malay cuisine will soon be on the bookstores, thanks to the conscientious efforts of Chef Wan.
The first of its kind, the 500-volume The Encyclopaedia of Malay Food is a project which the celebrity chef has meticulously put together for the past two and a half years.
“It is a reference book for Malay cuisine and provides advice on buying and preparing ingredients, as well as explanations on the fundamental skills of Malay cooking techniques and how to use the mortar, batu giling and other classic utensils when preparing Malay delicacies.
“At least 20 types of assam pedas and several versions of nasi lemak and the various ways of cooking freshwater fish will be featured in this book. There will also be signature dishes of each of the 13 states in Malaysia,” he said in an interview recently.
The book will contain full-page colour photos, illustrations and useful tips on preparing Malay dishes.
According to Chef Wan, the encyclopaedia will give a fine definition of both basic and exotic culinary terms including cooking methods, kitchen utensils, herbs and spices.
The book will be the most complete single reference on traditional Malay cooking, he said.
One of his more impressive works, the book will be available in Bahasa Malaysia and English.
“Each recipe has been thoroughly researched as I have travelled all over the country to put them together. I have taken into consideration every aspect of the cuisine.
“This book should be an invaluable reference for students, research institutions and other professionals,” said the 46-year-old food expert whose real name is Redzuawan Ismail.
A New York publisher will publish The Encyclopaedia of Malay Food by the end of the year, he added.
Chef Wan also has two other books in the pipeline, which he is working on simultaneously.
One is called The Halal Chinese Cookbook, targeted at Muslims who love Chinese food.
“Almost all the different and well-known Hakka and Cantonese cuisine like buttered prawns, kam heong crab, Szechuan soup and 15 types of dim sum are in this book.
“I even sought secret tips from the hawkers in Jalan Alor, Kuala Lumpur and brought my own wok for them to demonstrate their dishes,” said the former accountant who later earned himself an associate degree in Professional Chef Training and Hotel Management from the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco.
His tenth cookbook, which he is working on right now, is called Flavours of Asean and will contain 180 recipes from countries throughout Asean such as Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia.
“This will be a great book as it features “the best of the best” recipes from the Asean countries. The recipes were accumulated during my trips to these countries,” said the chef who holds a Ritz Escoffier Diploma from the renowned Ecole Ritz-Escoffier de Gastrononomie Francaise at the Ritz Hotel in Paris.
Last February, his other cookbook, Chef Wan Mengelilingi Dunia (Chef Wan Travels Around The World), was awarded the best foreign language cookbook at The World TV Food and Media Award presentation in Barcelona.
Much as cooking is a passion, writing is slowly becoming another love for Chef Wan.
“I knew I loved to write ever since I started scribbling on the back of mats as an amateur chef. I may not know proper journalism but I know I have a way of expressing myself,” said the food ambassador of Malaysia.
BY ZIEMAN - PUBLISHED 15/5/2004
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