Friday August 17, 2012
Snack a hit during Raya
By ROYCE TAN
north@thestar.com.my
PAKUDA or kerepek pagoda (a stick-like snack) is an all-time favourite snack all year round, and it is getting even more popular as Hari Raya approaches.
Having sold more than 500kg of the snack from the first day of Ramadan until now, Maheran Rahim, 51, said orders were still pouring in.
“We sell around 300kg monthly during non-festive periods and we have a lot of loyal customers co-ming from as far as Pahang, Johor, Singapore and Brunei,” said Maheran from Penang.
She is assisted by her mother Siti Saadiah Darus, 70, and her neighbours Azizah Hamid, 58, Salmiah Mahad, 59, Halimah Hussin, 55, and Nor Fasihah Husin, 16.
Tedious task : Azizah (front) and Halimah deep frying the snack in the kitchen. “Luckily, my neighbours help me as the workload is too much for my mother and me to handle,” said Maheran.
“I am usually here after school and during the weekends to help out,” said Nor Fasihah, Halimah’s daughter.
The group of six start their ‘production’ from 2pm until 7pm daily, producing some 36kg of kerepek pagoda.
“We started mass producing from the first day of Ramadan,” said Siti Saadiah when met at the Kampung Sungai Burung small industry workshop in Balik Pulau.
She added that she learned the skill of making the snack by herself in the 1990s, through trial and error.
“Firstly, we blend dried chilli, dried shrimp and onions, turning the paste into a sambal-like mixture. It will then be added into the earlier mixed dough of flour and margarine,” said Siti Saadiah.
The dough is then rolled into balls roughly the size of a human palm before being flattened twice using a rolling pin.
The dough sheets then go through a manually handled pasta machine, turning the dough sheets into strips similar to that of flat noodles.
“We fry the strips together with curry leaves for extra fragrance, until they turns slightly golden,” added Siti Saadiah.
The kerepek pagoda is priced at RM1, RM5 and RM10 for 100g, 500g and 1kg respectively.
Those who wish to place their orders can contact Maheran at 013-4518756.
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