DESPITE the many colourful, loud, and vibrant festivals in Malaysia, there is nothing quite like Christmas.
Blame it on maximalist capitalism, commercialism on overdrive or the cultural hegemony of the West that dominates local popular culture, but Christmas feels special.
Maybe because it falls at the end of the year when schools and offices are closed, compelling for a time to introspect and cherish those closest to you as the new year eclipses.
Beyond the sparkling lights, gifts, endless replays of Michael Bublé and Mariah Carey, nothing brings out the spirit of Christmas like sharing a meal with your family. But what do Malaysian Christmas dinner tables look like?
For Amanda Barnabas, who grew up in a big extended family with over 40 cousins, Christmas dinners are a sumptuously rich and elaborate affair.
As the de facto person in charge of her family’s annual Christmas celebration, she puts out a buffet with turkey, roast pork, and beef stew as the main dishes, and supplements it with cocktail sausages, lamb, or salmon as the healthier alternative.
Like mandarin oranges and red packets for the Lunar New Year, the roast turkey is a Christmas must-have.
“Christmas is Turkey. When you think of Christmas, you think turkey,” she explains.
She swears by Nigella Lawson’s spiced roast turkey recipe but adapts it accordingly. The beef stew, not usually part of a typical Christmas dinner spread, was added due to it being her late father’s favourite and has since become part of the Barnabas family tradition.
This year, her nieces and nephews are getting more involved in the kitchen, and she looks forward to passing down what she has learnt to them.
Recipe for Nigella Lawson’s Stuffed Turkey
Ingredients to prepare the turkey brining:
- approx. 6 litres water
- 1 large orange or 2 smaller (quartered)
- 250 grams Maldon salt (or 125g / ½ cup table salt)
- 3 tablespoons black peppercorns
- 1 bouquet garni
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tablespoon caraway seeds
- 4 cloves
- 2 tablespoons allspice berries
- 4 star anise
- 2 tablespoons white mustard seeds
- 200 grams sugar
- 2 onions (unpeeled and quartered)
- 1 x 6 centimetres piece of fresh ginger (unpeeled and cut into 6 slices)
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup
- 4 tablespoons runny honey
- stalks from 1 bunch fresh parsley
- 1 x 5½ kilograms turkey
For the basting glaze:
- 75 grams goose fat (or butter)
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
Instructions:
- Put the water into your largest cooking pot or a clean bucket or plastic bin. Squeeze the juice from the orange quarters into the water before you chuck the husks in, then add all the other ingredients, stirring to combine the salt, sugar, syrup, and runny honey.
- Remove any string or trussing from the turkey, shake it free, remove the giblets, if not already done, and put them in the fridge (or straightaway set about making the stock for the gravy), then add the bird to the liquid, topping up with more water if it is not completely submerged.
- Keep covered in a cold place, even outside overnight or for up to a day or two (and see intro) before you cook it, remembering to take it out of its liquid (and wipe it dry with kitchen paper) 1-2 hours before it has to go into the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C.
- Melt the goose fat (or butter) and maple syrup together slowly over a low heat. Paint the turkey with the glaze before roasting in the oven and baste periodically throughout the cooking time.
- Roast for 2½ hours. When you think it is ready, pierce the turkey with the point of a sharp knife where the body meets the leg, and if the juices run clear, it is cooked; if still pink, cook it for longer until they run clear, or use a meat thermometer.
- Then take the turkey out of the oven, and let it sit, tented with foil, for 20–40 minutes or even longer if you like, as I do.
Joan Zarsadias, of Portuguese-Eurasian descent and the matriarch of the family, picked up her love for cooking from her parents who managed a catering business.
Macaroni, prepared devotedly from a long-held family recipe makes up the main dish in her household, alongside roast turkey, traditional chilli pickle that “must go together,” debal (devil) curry and salads.
For the Zarsadias, it is a family affair, and everyone is in the kitchen helping to prepare. These dishes are not prepared during any other time of the year and so have gained significance as part of her family’s Christmas spread.
Recipe for Macaroni (a Zarsadias family recipe)
Ingredients:
- 2 chicken breasts shredded
- 500g sliced bacon
- 500g sliced ham
- 1 packet straight macaroni
- 1 box grated cheddar cheese
- 2L chicken stock
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Boil macaroni and set it aside.
- Next, mix the meat and cheese with macaroni into a baking dish.
- Add half of the chicken stock into the baking dish.
- Then add beaten eggs on top and bake for 40mins at 180° Celsius.
- Serve with homemade Eurasian Chili Pickles.
Kenneth and Khin Speldewinde, who resides in Penang, prepare a completely meatless and vegetarian spread of lasagna, baked potatoes, minced pies, shortbread biscuits, salads, boiled green peas, French beans and carrots, some beetroots and lettuce, and for dessert, poached pears with ice cream.
Mixed nuts, usually consisting of macadamias, pecan and pistachios are prepared as appetisers and snacks.
The secret behind the Speldewinde’s crowning jewel, their minced pie, is the bottle of Roberston’s mincemeat classic which makes up the filling, a delicious mix of apple, dried fruits, candied peel, and spices. – The Vibes, December 25, 2022
