D's Rempah Udang!

So D finally put her energies into a side hustle that found form as @whatkueh. The kueh salat is much raved about, and because it's sweet, I'd buy that for friends instead of hoarding it all to myself. I'm more of a savory dessert person, obviously. When D trotted out her rempah udang, I jumped at it. Quickly reserved one cake. It was a 7-inch round with 200 grams of spicy shrimp paste sandwiched between two glutinous rice layers cooked in coconut milk and dyed with butterfly pea flower.

D personally delivered it just in time for an afternoon snack. She had already sliced them up neatly, and I immediately took out a slice to taste. Eagerly sank my teeth into the first bite. Wow! It was delicious. It was rich, properly spicy and full of umami. This version is seriously fabulous. This is a 'cake' and not wrapped in banana leaf. I like it! It's fun. What's important is the taste and texture. This version holds all the flavors I haven't tasted in a decade.

I knew the rempah udang would be good, but I didn't expect it to be this tasty. D's version and mix of flavors are very close to what my grandmother used to make, especially in how the spices and chilli aren't toned down. I never really fancied it as a kid. However, it soon became a kueh I really like. It's a snack and a meal all in one little banana-leaf-wrapped log. However, it's very hard to find a commercially decent rempah udang. Some even lean slightly sweet. Gross. The good ones are all made by someone's mom or grandmother. A few of my friends can make it well, although everyone's version is slightly different. It's always about the ratio of the ingredients of course, but the unit of each ingredient becomes the final taste of the product. My vote goes to this one made by D. It isn't just a childhood memory I'm looking for. I'm happy to have had a taste of good homecooking. Oof.