Umai Udang ...raw prawn salad

Last weekend, we celebrated my neice's (my cousin's little girl) birthday. She is now 4 years old...how time flies, coz when I came back from UK she was only 3 months old! anyway, back to the posting (hehehehe about food lagi!), her parents made a special request to my dad ...diorang mintak my dad buat umai udang for our family dinner that night...



For those yang tak tau ...before korang jumping to conclusion yang completely wrong (bukan boleh, sebab kiter ada geng yang suka terjah dulu, tanya soalan kemudian hehehe), umai adalah sejenis makanan yang raw i.e. tak dimasak ...yup, sounds gross kan??? aku dulu pun berlagak diva kan main lagi, tak nak touch the stuff, let alone nak makan...tapi now dah insaf and it is my absolute favourite! But i rarely makan if i tak tau sapa yang buat, only eat the one that my dad make for us :-))



Anyway, walaupun the prawn (or squid or fish) tu tak dimasak, it will be cooked by immersing it in a bowlful of lime juice...and by the time we ate it, it has been thoroughly cooked ...and here's the resipi for those who are adventurous enough to try:

1. Clean and devein the prawns, cut into slivers - the reason for this is that senang nak masak kalau nipis


2. put in a bowl with juices from 10-15 limes (but bergantung pada banyak mana udang tu) and marinate for at least 2 hours - the prawn will change colour at this stage to indicate that it is cooked


3. toss kan, then mix with chillies, onions, garlics, daun corriander - semuanya dihiris nipis2. Kalau nak pedas, use cili padi instead


4. mixed with juices, and garam secukup rasa

Or if you are not a fan of prawn, can use fish (like bawal, empirang - nie ikan sarawak, kat kl tak pernah nampak!, tenggiri) or even sotong and jellyfish ...but most importantly, the seafood must be fresh - kalau tak, sure hanyir and tak sedap! That's why aku hanya makan kalau my dad buat - coz i know for sure he uses fresh ingredients...

But eating uncooked seafood like this in not an uncommon thing. Aritu tengok Jamie Oliver buat beef salad- lupa nama dish tu - also using beef yang thinly sliced and dimarinate dalam lime juice aje ...or the japanese sushi, for example, pun mengaplikasikan this method ..

But if you are happen to be in Sarawak - try the umai at Restoren Asam Payak - one of the best place offering this dish.