Preparing Pulut Panggang

One of Malaysia's many food heritages, pulut panggang is glutinous rice wrapped in banana leaf, which is then grilled over a fire. A good pulut panggang must have a rich serving of coconut milk infused into the glutinous rice. It must also be cooked to perfection; just enough to taste the panggang (grilled) fragrance but not to the extent of having a hard and overcooked outer layer of rice. A Malay-inspired cuisine originating from Sarawak, it is enjoyed in all parts of Malaysia today. However, the end product of a pulut panggang varies between the different regions of Malaysia. To illustrate, in Sarawak pulut panggang is kosong, which means plain; there is no filling stuffed in the glutinous rice. On the other hand, pulut panggang in other parts of Malaysia is stuffed with fillings, ranging from dried dessicated coconuts to beef floss to shrimp floss.

The aim of this blog post is to document a current recipe to prepare pulut panggang at the household level. This is my take on the method of preparing pulut panggang that is kosong (or pulut panggang original as my mother likes to call it), which has been made known to me by Phua Siaw Hong, my mother, who is a Sarawakian just like me. However, this recipe is not set in stone. There are slight deviations compared to other takes on this delicacy; for example in terms of culture, region, skill level, availability of ingredients, budget, and time constraints; which will be discussed in the later part of this post.

Ingredients:

- 1 cup glutinous rice*
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 5 or 6 pandan leaves
- Banana leaves
- Toothpicks
- Salt*
- Sugar
*Number of cups of glutinous rice can be adjusted according to preference. Be sure to adjust number of cups of coconut milk accordingly (1:1 ratio).
*Amount of salt and sugar used may be adjusted according to preference of desired taste.

Steps:

1. Clean and soak one cup of glutinous rice with water for at least 3 hours. If possible, soak the glutinous rice overnight.

2. Drain the glutinous rice soaked with water and add into a rice cooker. Add one cup of coconut milk, pandan leaves that have been cleaned and bundled, and pinches of salt and sugar.

3. Select "Sticky Rice" function on the rice cooker. If the "Stick Rice" function is not available, select normal rice cooking function and cook for two cycles. Alternatively, the glutinous rice can be steamed for around 20 minutes until it becomes soft.

4.While waiting for the glutinous rice to cook, clean the banana leaves and cut them into sheets of roughly 15cm x 10cm. These suggested measurements may be adjusted according to preference of the size of pulut panggang desired.

5. Soak the cut banana leaves in hot water for two minutes to soften them, then pat dry.

6. When the glutinous rice has been cooked, let it cool for about 10 minutes. An optional step at this point is to taste the cooked glutinous rice and add more sugar or salt (and mix well) if desired. If the glutinous rice appears too hard, add a little water or coconut milk and let it rest in the rice cooker for another 10 minutes. 

7. Remove the bundled pandan leaves from the mixture.

8. Using a spoon, add the glutinous rice onto a piece of cut banana leaf and flatten as shown in the picture.

9. Roll the banana leaf containing the glutinous rice, just like rolling a piece of sushi. Using toothpicks, seal both ends of the banana leaf as shown in the picture.

10. Repeat step 9 until all the glutinous rice has been used up.

11. Grill the packaged pulut (glutinous rice) over low heat. A griller or a frying pan may be used. 

12. Turn the pulut occasionally to ensure all sides of the banana leaf are grilled. Grill for around 20 minutes to allow for the flavor of the banana leaves to be infused into the glutinous rice. One tell-tale sign that the pulut has been grilled long enough is the releasing of the banana leaves' fragrance into the air.

13. Serve hot or cold, with or without condiments such as rendang, sambal, curry, or sweet kaya.


Serving suggestion:



As mentioned earlier, this recipe on preparing pulut panggang is not concrete. To illustrate, this recipe will be compared to an online recipe which can be found here. There are slight deviations compared to other takes on this delicacy; for example in terms of time constraints, regional differences, and availability of ingredients; which will be discussed in the later part of this post.

In terms of time constraints, this blog's recipe requires the glutinous rice to be soaked in water overnight compared to the much shorter three hours required by the online recipe. In essence, the longer the glutinous rice is soaked in water, the stickier the rice will be after it is cooked. Ultimately, both recipes fit into different time constraints and preferences.

In terms of regional differences, the recipe on this blog shows how to prepare the Sarawakian version of pulut panggang, which is kosong. The online recipe, however, enlists the method of preparing pulut panggang with a spicy coconut shrimp filling also known as pulut udang, which is commonly referred to as the West Malaysian version of pulut panggang.

In terms of availability of ingredients, the online recipe makes use of the backbone of coconut leaves known as lidi to aid in the wrapping of glutinous rice with banana leaves. On the other hand, this blog's recipe uses toothpicks for the same purpose due to it being more readily available.

There are also differences in terms of the actual steps involved, with the most obvious being the addition of extra steps in the online recipe in order to prepare the spicy coconut shrimp filling and adding it on top of the glutinous rice before wrapping it with a banana leaf. Other small deviations include the absence of sugar for taste and pandan leaves for added fragrance in cooking the glutinous rice in the online recipe. This could be due to the presence of extra flavors from the aforementioned addition of filling into the pulut panggang.

Besides that, the recipe on this blog entices the use of a rice cooker in order to cook the glutinous rice: coconut milk is added straight into the rice cooker together with the raw glutinous rice. However, the online recipe opts for a more 'traditional' way: by steaming the rice for 15 minutes before adding coconut cream and steaming for another 5 minutes. 

Also, the online recipe makes use of a charcoal fire to grill the pulut until it is charred. However, because the recipe listed on this blog is more suited for the household level, the usage of a frying pan is listed instead. Admittedly, the non-usage of a charcoal fire will cause the end result of the pulut panggang to lack; what is dubbed by my mother and other Sarawakians as; the 'original' flavor and taste.

To conclude, the online recipe can be said to be more 'traditional' and 'original' compared to the more current recipe showcased on this blog. Being a Malaysian Food Heritage, it is imperative that its method of preparation is not changed too drastically so as to maintain its cultural roots. Although ingredients and techniques may be varied slightly in order to be in line with technological advancement, availability, and level of preparation, the very essence and identity of this food heritage must never be forgotten.