Intan (right) managed to interpret her mother’s imprecise measurements for wajik into a recipe to be shared with family and friends. Photos: KALSOM TAIB
MENTION wajik and my husband, Shafee’s face would light up. Pulut wajik is his favourite kueh, one that his mother, Rafeah, used to make and sell when his father worked in Caledonia Estate to supplement their income.
After the war in 1945, Shafee’s father, Yahaya, worked as a ‘boy’ (waiter in today’s context) at the Caledonia Club within the Caledonia Estate, just about 5 kilometres from Nibong Tebal in Seberang Perai Selatan.
Yahaya had relocated his wife and their three young children from Kampung Lima Kongsi to a small kampung house at Kampung Kecik, just opposite the Caledonian Club. Kampung Kecik was within the fringes of Caledonia Estate. This club was famous during the 1930s and only the Europeans and managerial staff were allowed entry save for the workers who were all locals.
Rafeah was well known for her wajik amongst the estate workers and their families. Wajik, a toffee-like glutinous rice sweetmeat is believed to have originated from Java, Indonesia. It could have been introduced to Malaysia by Javanese immigrants.
In fact, some of the delicacies we enjoy today may have had their origins from Indonesia, modified with elements of local ingredients and palate preferences.
The word ‘wajik’ is derived from the Javanese word for diamond, as the finished kueh is cut into diamond-shaped pieces before serving.
The Javanese called it wajik ketan, ketan meaning glutinous rice. Johoreans call it wajik, in the north it is pulut kacau and in the east coast it is pulut manis.
There are several variations of wajik – the ingredients are more or less similar, the common denominator being glutinous rice, coconut milk, granulated sugar and daun pandan.
Rafeah’s wajik is a rich and lustrous version and its intense brown characteristic is a result of using three types of sugar - granulated sugar, palm sugar (gula melaka) and brown sugar.
The Nyonya wajik could be either white, as only granulated sugar is used, or light brown if palm sugar is added. There are some wajik makers who are very creative and produce colourful wajik by adding food colouring.
Some people prefer to eat wajik that has a soft consistency throughout whilst others like crispy bits of pulut. For durian lovers, they will add some durian flesh during the cooking process.
The word wajik is derived from the Javanese word 'diamond' which alludes to its shape once cut.
There is also another type of wajik – wajik ubi (tapioca wajik). This type of wajik is made from the humble but versatile tapioca and not pulut, granulated sugar and coconut cream. It is cooked in a brass wok to maintain its pure white texture. It is popular in Johor and is often served at official functions because of its glistening appearance and attractive texture.
Rafeah’s wajik was special and unusual - she formed the wajik into small round balls, the size of ping-pong balls and sold them for sekupang (10 cents) each, mainly to the estate workers. They sold like hot cakes, so laku (saleable) as they were so sedap (tasty).
The wajik was soft and shiny, yet there would be some bits of pulut that were rangup (crispy and crunchy). Being Chinese, we often wondered where she learnt it from!
According to Shafee’s aunt, Mak Su Tipah, she learned it from her mother-in law, Tok Mah, Shafee’s paternal grandmother. Tok Mah was of Acehnese-Malay stock and Mak Su Tipah remembered that her mother was an excellent cook and was known for her traditional kueh at Kampung Lima Kongsi. Shafee’s parents lived with Tok Mah after their marriage and Rafeah could have honed her wajik making skills through observation.
Shafee’s eldest sister, Kak Aishah, also used to watch her mother make wajik. She was then only eight, but sharpened her wajik making skill after her marriage at fifteen, in 1951.
Her husband’s family members were excellent cooks, and an aunt had served as a cook at the Sultan Kedah’s Istana Hinggap at Northam Road, Penang.
When Shafee was studying in Penang island for two year from 1960 - 61, he stayed at Kak Aishah’s house at Tanjung Tokong for a while before moving to the Malay hostel at Jalan Air Hitam. Kak Aishah would make wajik during Hari Raya and kenduri (religious feast).
Kak Aishah did not use a recipe for making wajik. The basic recipe was in her head and her hand was her measuring tool – secubit (pinch), segenggam (fistful), sejemput (between finger and thumb), se-besar ibu jari (size of a thumb) and se-jengkal (between thumb and index finger). Her wajik was tasty but sometimes inconsistent – at times, it was too lembik (soft), sometimes too keras (hard), and sometimes it was not rangup (crispy and crunchy) enough.
When Kak Aishah’s daughter, Intan, decided to learn how to make wajik, she decided to do some research and asked around from her friends whether they had a wajik recipe. Intan was determined to document the recipe, to be preserved not only for posterity but also to be shared with her family and friends. A few friends declined as their family recipe was too precious to share.
She finally managed to find a friend who shared the recipe but the measurements were a bit vague. When her mother decided to make wajik, Intan not only observed her mother, but also measured the ingredients and then jotted down in detail each step taken.
Kak Aishah ‘s final tip was that the secret lies in the selection of the pulut. It has to be pure, and not mixed with rice, and has to be soaked overnight in air kapur (water mixed with lime paste).
Through trial and error, Intan was able to develop a wajik recipe that she was satisfied with. Practice makes perfect, she said.
She also said that cooking has to come from the heart if a dish has to turn out right. It is also said that a successful recipe is more than having good ingredients.
The Malays believe that the water moisture from your palm (air tangan) is what makes the difference in a dish. Two people can make the same dish but only one dish will have an exceptional taste. It is not the measurements that give each dish a special quality but air tangan and the way the ingredients are mixed.
Intan’s wajik recipe is in Johor Palate, Tanjung Puteri Recipes and Malaysia’s Culinary Heritage, The Best of Authentic Traditional Recipes. Wajik was gazetted as traditional food (makanan warisan) under the National Heritage Act (Act 645) by the Department of National Heritage in 2009.
Datin Kalsom Taib has co-written and published award winning books on Malay cooking and Malaysian cuisine. The views expressed here are entirely her own.
The writer’s family’s version of wajik is shaped into balls rather than diamonds, and is a recipe passed down several generations.
WAJIK
1 kg glutinous rice
1 tbsp edible slaked lime water (air kapur)
300g palm sugar, shaved
300g loose brown sugar (gula merah)
400g sugar
4 cups water
3 pandan leaves, knotted
1.5kg coconut cream
To make
Wash the glutinous rice and soak for six hours or overnight in a bowl of water mixed with the slaked lime.
Wash and drain the rice, then steam for 30 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Put the three types of sugar, pandan leaves and water in a pot and boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Strain the mixture into a heavy-based brass pot (grengseng).
Add the coconut cream to the pot.
Stir continuously for about 60 minutes over low heat until the mixture thickens.
Add the steamed glutinous rice, mix thoroughly and stir for 30 minutes until the rice is well coated with the syrup mixture and the mixture turns shiny.
Transfer the wajik to a 25 cm x 25 cm baking tray or casserole dish. When cool, slice into squares or diagonally into diamond shapes. You can also scoop the wajik onto dessert plates to serve.
Option: If you like durian, add 1–2 cups of durian flesh during the cooking process.
