02x02 - The Cooking Soprano

[bunniefuu]

Grab a spoon.

Twist it open.

- I don't want to twist.

- Okay.

I don't think your dough is

- My dough? It's your dough.

- Well

Music is to the soul,

as food is to the body.

I love to connect with people

through my music

but I've always dreamed of

making people feel passion and joy

just by eating a soulful dish

cooked by me.

Hello, I'm Ning Baizura.

I have been singing kinda like

30 years in the industry.

And then I became an "actress."

And now I'm teaching singing.

So, hopefully,

I can be called as someone

as an icon, I guess, in a way.

The ambition of every chef

is to make a great dish

using the best ingredients

and there's a vast sea of ingredients

available to us all.

I love discovering gems

and putting them into a dish

that will be loved by everyone.

My name is Zamzani Abdul Wahab.

That's my full name.

I am from Kuala Terengganu

born and bred

in the Terengganu state.

I have not been, like, cooking

for 32 years in the kitchen.

A large portion of my life has been

teaching my students how to cook

and also nurturing them

to become great

hospitality industry players.

- Assalamu alaikum.

- Wa alaikum salaam.

- How are you?

- I'm good, fine.

- Alhamdulillah.

- Long time no see.

- Yes, long time no see.

- What are you doing here?

Well, I need some help, darling.

I have friends coming.

My friends, they are a bit, like,

fussy like me, like divas, too.

So, I don't know what to do.

I think, honestly, I believe

in cooking from the heart.

And then the first time

I started cooking

I've always, like, learned

from my mother

to just always be

in a good peace of mind.

You know, always be happy.

Because when you bring out happiness

in your cooking, people will love it.

All right.

With one condition, though.

I'm not going to do anything.

I'm just going to point out

what you have to do.

You're going to have

to cook it on your own.

How about that?

Everyone at home says,

"Nice, Mommy. Good, good."

So, I hope I'm a good cook.

- I know I cannot afford you.

- I'm almost done.

I will sing for you for free

- any time.

- Okay, okay.

And then you will help me.

- Something fusion, Malaysian?

- You know what?

- Speak no more.

- Okay. Thank you.

It's called an apron,

if you still don't know.

- I know what an apron is.

- Okay.

Tell me what you have in your mind.

- As simple as possible.

- Okay.

- Malaysianized, fusion.

- Okay.

- I only cook English food

- Okay.

- English food

- Okay.

and English food.

She claims that she doesn't know

how to cook Malay food.

- See that?

- Yeah?

I still have smoked duck

- What? Wow, it's flying, okay.

- It's rolling, rolling

- Help me out Okay.

- Okay, I'll help you

- You were telling me about the duck.

- Okay, I still have my smoked duck

on the grill.

Okay, now, smoked duck

is very, very popular

- in Negeri Sembilan.

- Selangor?

Nice, that must be nice,

especially in Jempol.

- Jempol area.

- Because I am from Kajang

- so I only know how to do satay.

- Satay.

Okay, smoked duck.

What do you think if we pair it

with coconut turmeric curry?

- Wow, that sounds so easy.

- It goes perfectly fine.

And to make it a little bit different

we serve it with spinach fettuccine.

- Oh, I love it.

- Homemade dough.

Challenging.

I'd be kidding

if I'd say that I was like

"Okay, I know what's

going to happen."

- I can do this.

- Let's do it. Grab me a bowl.

I still have ingredients here

- perfectly arranged.

- This size, is this the correct

- This bowl.

- Yeah, that's fine. No, that's fine.

- I'll just

- Give me a bit of

- What?

- You know what, in cooking

hygiene is the utmost thing.

He's very strict with cleanliness.

He's very strict with the fact

that you've got to follow

these traditional rules,

so I loved it.

- This is flour.

- Okay.

- Yeah, yeah.

- Just to make sure.

It's not the powder

that you put on your face.

Oh, you can use strong flour

or high-protein flour.

- What's the difference?

- Protein content.

- Okay.

- Gluten content.

Well, is it going to make

any difference with the

The elasticity of the dough.

As a chef, you need to understand

the arts and science behind cooking.

Simple, this is

a very easy-to-make pasta.

All you need are a few ingredients.

- Okay.

- Okay? Break two eggs.

Okay.

- That is why. That is why.

- The skin is there.

Grab a spoon.

Grab a spoon.

- Oh, my god.

- Very dirty, this girl.

- No, Chef.

- Okay.

- Okay, then?

- Make a well in the middle.

- Like that

- Yes.

- I'll just try to use my hands.

- Yes.

- Bring another one, another egg.

- That's rhymes.

- Okay, eggs

- I did that well.

Okay.

- Put it in the middle.

- Okay, fine.

- Get another at egg yolk.

- Okay, egg yolk.

- Everything must be clean and tidy.

- Okay, okay.

I have chopped spinach here.

- We serve it

- Chopped spinach.

Okay, okay.

There are three containers here.

This one's sugar.

- This one is salt, of course.

- It is.

Oh, too much.

- Not so much.

- Okay.

- So

- It tastes stronger.

It tastes stronger

because it is finer

and usually, fine salt

has got a bitter aftertaste.

Yeah, what

what kind of oil is that?

- Tastes delicious?

- It's not

- Sunflower? Corn?

- No.

Wait, let me smell it.

I've actually done that.

You don't have to taste it.

You just have to smell it.

- Olive oil.

- Okay.

- Ten points for me.

- Clever girl. Okay.

Put half in it.

- Give it a stir.

- Can I use my hands?

Yes, just one hand.

Okay.

Make a well in the middle, yes.

Yes, incorporate the flour

into the other ingredients.

Make love to it.

- You have to love the ingredients.

- Yes, the pleasure, right?

Okay, I get it.

Well, it's a bit more

Make it smooth, make it smooth.

You know that the ingredients

are well-mixed

when the dough becomes smooth.

- A smooth ball.

- Just like my skin, is it?

Since we don't have time,

I have to go.

- Quickly, go and grab the pasta.

- You're not gonna leave me, are you?

Ya Allah.

Take a pinch, like a little ball.

Maybe cut this one into four.

- Okay, got it.

- Okay. Flatten it.

- Flatten it.

- This is to flatten the pasta first.

I know.

So, this is to do the fettuccine.

- Fettuccine is this one.

- There was Okay.

- Flatten it first.

- Okay.

Okay.

- Take it. Take it.

- Yeah, but it's not flat.

It's not flat?

Meaning your dough

is not properly mixed.

- Oh, no.

- That's why.

Let's do it again. Let's do it again.

I will I will make sure

that it's flat.

Oh, my god.

We gonna have all day here.

- Okay.

- You know what, Ning?

I don't think your dough is working,

and I don't have all day.

- My dough? It's your dough.

- Well

- You have another solution?

- Well, you know, we improvise.

- Yes, improvise.

- We improvise.

- In times of need like this.

- Yes.

- So, we flatten it.

- Flatten it.

We just pinch like that.

This is going to take me ages,

but I will do it.

I have never made pasta from scratch.

Sorry, "krik, krik" moment

because that really messed me up.

Oh, my god.

This is not going as planned.

Well, it doesn't matter.

- Now you pinch the pasta.

- I'm pinching it.

Check. Check the water.

Is the water boiling?

Okay, okay, it's almost there.

Add a lot of salt in it.

- A lot?

- Make sure that it tastes

like salt water.

Just throw it in.

But once in a while, you stir

so it doesn't stick to the bottom.

- Give it a good stir.

- Right.

Please tidy up. Please tidy up.

Help me to tidy up.

Okay, usually, boiling pasta,

we do not close

- but because the wind is so

- So, how long

- should we wait for this?

- Four minutes.

- Until the pasta floats.

- Really? Okay.

This one, put it back here.

- This one?

- Okay. Grab

- This is called the board.

- Yes, chopping board.

Go and grab that glass bowl

and a strainer.

Bowl and a strainer.

- That glass bowl.

- Okay, okay.

- Fill it up with water.

- With water?

- Yes.

- Room temperature?

- Or should

- So she remembers what I said.

Talk much, this girl.

- Don't be shy. Closer.

- No, I don't want to burn myself.

You see, the pasta,

they're floating now.

- Yes.

- Floating pasta, nice.

Strain them out

- and put in cold water.

- Okay.

- Okay, done, okay.

- Okay, done, done.

That's dirty That's

Strain Strain the water out.

Strain, yes.

Yes.

Put it back in there.

Bring the mortar and pestle.

- This one?

- The mortar.

This is like weightlifting.

- One, two

- It's very heavy. It's very heavy.

Now, as I said, we're gonna do

everything from scratch.

- Now

- I'm so scared

when you say

everything from scratch.

You have to just use

the mortar for everything.

I mean, like garlic, whatever.

- Wow, look at all the chilli padi.

- Okay, yes, okay.

- We have to use it all.

- Yeah, not at all.

Then you pick how many you want.

- Okay.

- How spicy can your friends stand?

I think medium.

- Medium? Okay.

- Okay.

I think that's enough, right?

- I don't want them to suffer.

- Okay, okay.

Okay. I'll get one more.

- Okay, okay.

- Don't worry.

You got to scrape this one off.

Scrape. Do I need the other one?

- No, you just scrape, just scrape.

- Oh, I know how to scrape, I know.

Like this, right?

- Yeah, this is called serai.

- I know, lemongrass.

- My favorite.

- Okay.

Now what we do is,

we do this, Ning.

This is what we called

"titik" the serai.

- You just put everything in.

- Chuck it in.

Okay.

Careful. Slowly, slowly.

Don't worry. Like this.

That's why we do this.

Have you ever heard the wolf cry

Praise God.

Cooking is supposed to be

therapeutic, Ning.

Yes, it is. That's why I was singing.

Yes, it's not supposed to be t*rture.

- Hey, look at the colors.

- Yes.

- Smash more.

- Smash more.

That's fine. Okay.

So, I can replace it

with any other vegetables.

Yeah, you can

you can use tomato paste.

You can use squid ink,

but you're allergic to seafood.

- Yes. I just told you.

- Squid ink is out of the question.

- Anything.

- Beetroot. Beetroot.

- Oh, I love beetroot.

- Very beautiful color.

It gives you a very beautiful

- vibrant red color.

- Okay.

- Are you okay? Okay.

- Yes.

You need to understand

each ingredient

and how does one ingredient

when it is mixed

with another ingredient

would turn out to be, will function.

- Scoop it.

- Scoop it out.

- Put it in the pot.

- Okay.

- Okay. All done.

- Put it in the pot.

Catch!

You're going to have

to crack it open.

I don't know.

- Is it true that we have to do this?

- No

So, crack it open in the middle.

- This way?

- No, this way.

Oh, you don't want you

to hurt your fingers.

- Yeah!

- Take the juice out.

Take the juice out. Yes, twist it.

- Okay.

- Okay. Drain all the juices out

- That's gonna take ages for me.

- No.

- Done?

- Okay, done, done.

Twist it open. Twist.

Now, next thing.

Go and grab the scraper.

- Where is it?

- You used to

I think you claimed to be

the wanita the last Malay woman.

- There, I found it.

- Okay, you take it out.

- This one, I know how to do.

- Okay.

But then I used to sit down.

Yes, that's exactly

what you're gonna do.

- What?

- Yeah, sit down.

Bismillahi r-rahmani r-rahim.

For me, it felt so natural.

I just, like, "Okay,

let's just ride this"

and then just shave the coconut.

What an experience.

- Yes.

- My grandma used to teach me this.

If you keep eating,

then I will have to keep on scraping.

And I felt so humbled with the fact

that, oh, yes, sure,

I can get down on it

and I will do it.

You haven't even finished half.

You got so much already.

- Magic.

- Yeah. And you know what?

I don't want to scrape

until it's all brown, all right?

So, what you do

- Yes.

- What you do

You know, let me show you.

- Okay, fine, fine.

- Okay.

We do it fast.

Faster like that.

- Because?

- This shows that I haven't done it.

- Yes, like that.

- I don't use this.

I remember exactly how my

- This is the sound

- Oh, my

that reminds me

- when I was still young.

- Right? Childhood, right?

- I love it. I love it.

- Yeah.

Can you imagine,

suddenly, all these

the memories of my mother being there

and then my grandma

and my great-grandma.

It was just that at that moment

of them teaching me, "Ning, do this."

So, it was really great,

and I felt so humble.

Now you're gonna have to squeeze

the coconut milk out of there, yeah.

- Oh, coconut.

- Yes.

- Oh, I love this.

- Now Okay.

- Strain.

- Strain.

Put everything and then

you squeeze and bring it out.

- And then put all all in.

- That isn't my style. I'm doing it.

- Slow and steady

- Okay, this is the part

- where it shows whether a maiden

- Yes.

has been into the kitchen or not.

So, what are we

going to do with this?

This one, we served it

as a chicken feed.

Okay. Do that.

Yes, and we don't want

we don't want to overboil.

Otherwise, the coconut milk

is gonna split.

- Okay.

- Okay. Go get the duck.

Now, this one is by smoking.

It takes hours.

- In the oven.

- In the oven.

What I need you to do is to cut

each piece into two pieces.

Make it pretty, okay?

Slice it through.

I didn't realize

that I should be cutting

and searching for the joints.

It's just a point

where you feel so satisfied.

Once you get it right,

it's just like

- There you go.

- I got it. I got it.

I feel it.

You go, "See, you've got it."

Look at the inside.

It's so beautiful.

- Put in the sauce.

- All right.

- Okay, now, next one.

- The other one?

This one doesn't have,

so I'll just put it in.

That's my favorite part.

To make this recipe

a bit more unique

generally, duck is more

- It's not fishy, it's ducky.

- Yeah.

So, we want to k*ll that ducky taste.

So, we add in the bamboo star fruit.

You got to blanch it.

Otherwise, it's gonna be

very, very, very sour.

Taste this one.

You tell me whether you know.

This is macadamia.

Oh, macadamia.

- No

- Pecan.

- No.

- Oh, my god.

- It's jackfruit.

- Are you serious?

- Yes, jackfruit seed.

- Looks like macadamia.

- Look.

- Yeah, yeah, looks like Brazil nut.

- So, do I just

- Yes, just throw everything in.

- And this is What is this?

- I know this one.

- Limau purut.

- Yes, kaffir lime leaf.

Now, why don't you take

a clean spoon, give it a taste

- and season it accordingly.

- Okay.

Season it to taste.

Oh, it's very nice.

You smell the aroma

from the turmeric

from the kaffir lime leaves.

Again, it's very aromatic, right?

Go and get the soup plate.

In general, an adult takes about 180

to 200g of pasta per portion.

Okay, that means it's one scoop.

- Is it too much?

- That's not even 50g.

- Without the kaffir lime leaves.

- Ah, yes.

- How How

- Because it's not pleasant

to bite into it.

- Be gentle with it.

- Okay.

So, should I put

the jackfruit seed in, too?

Yeah No you put it later.

Then you get one drumstick.

See, when you serve, you always

serve the best pieces first.

- This is beautiful.

- Is that a drumstick?

No. Oh, my god. Ning, wake up.

- Oh, like a cuisine style.

- Yes.

- Okay, okay.

- Let's take out

- Then I put the jackfruit seed.

- That's enough. Yes.

- No Like this.

- Like this.

Underneath here.

He was actually kinda like

pop quizzing me, right?

He's just trying to ask me,

"So, how would you dish it out?"

So, I took out the pasta first

and then I made a mess

with the gravy.

A big boo-boo. And he went

You wipe the side

the side of the plate.

You garnish. What do you want

to garnish it with?

Wait, I don't want more chilli padi.

- Okay.

- That is crazy

- and it's gonna drive them wild.

- You have to give color.

Give some color, Ning.

- In that case, I will take out

- No need to cut.

- No, I do. This is my style.

- Okay.

- Okay.

- Okay?

You know what is spicy in a chili?

- It's not the seed.

- It's the seed.

- No, it's not the seed.

- It's the skin.

- The middle part, Ning.

- I have to take that one out.

She thought that the scale

of the spiciness from the chili

comes from the seeds.

No, it's not.

She She got it all wrong.

It comes from the middle part

of the chili, not the seeds.

So, I think she learned

a great deal today from me.

I hope so.

Never know. She might've forgot.

- I'm so proud of it.

- So what are you gonna do about it?

Oh, my goodness, when he asked me

to cut the chilli padi

and then I actually put it

at the top of the drumstick.

He went

- I just put it

- You're not you're not No!

- Just land it there.

- Oh, okay.

- Effort effortlessly. Yes.

- For color.

- It's not "Warung"

- Housewife.

Yes. This is gourmet.

It's quite embarrassing,

but it's okay.

I love him still,

and I learned a lot from that.

You know, garnishing

is something that

It's an art, you know?

So, I learned that art.

- This is done.

- Beautiful.

Okay, okay. This is done.

Okay, Ning.

We've done the main dish.

- Yes.

- Now it will not be complete

without a delicious aromatic drink.

- Yes, you mentioned that.

- Right?

- What's it called?

- Air Kathira.

So, there's grape gum.

- Halwa fruit, basil seeds.

- Halwa fruit.

Sweetened condensed milk.

- Agar-agar?

- Scaphium affine.

Oh, Scaphium affine.

- Pineapple, of course.

- The one in the can. Pineapple.

- Longan, you told me that. Pandan.

- Pandan.

- These are dates.

- Delicious.

And this is not custard

This is custard.

- Evaporated milk.

- Evaporated milk.

These are nuts.

This one is not jackfruit. Almonds?

- Yes, almonds.

- Yeah, clever.

- This one is mucus.

- Coconut.

- Mucus

- No, no, it's coconut.

Now first things first

we're going to have to do

the pandan sugar syrup.

Then a bit of sugar.

- Okay. More than enough.

- Okay.

- Where do you find this?

- This one in Chinese medicine shop.

Just to make them soft.

Next, you're gonna have

to slice this, yes.

Okay. Wait for this to boil.

Usually, what we do alternatively

is you boil the pandan

sugar water separately

and you boil almond separately

and you puree separately.

But we're gonna have

to do it shortcut.

So, we boil it together,

we blend, we filter

then we're gonna have

our pandan almond milk.

Usually, we cool it down a little bit

and you pour it in here.

- Without the pandan?

- With the pandan, with the almond.

Yes. Drain it out here

for maybe three-quarters.

Press it down. We wanna get

every bit of the juices.

Next is you mix in the

the sweetened condensed milk.

- Right. Yes.

- Give a good stir.

- Okay, get the ice cream soda.

- Ice cream soda.

Fill it up. Fill it up. Okay, enough.

What we do is

- Okay.

- So

- Okay, wait a minute.

- Garnishes.

Garnishes.

- The pineapples.

- Wait, okay.

Yeah, it's true. I got to go.

- Okay.

- Can you please finish up for me

- and send it to us?

- Okay, I will. No problem.

- Okay.

- Go

- I'll see you later.

- Bye.

You've done a very good job.

I can cook now.

Go entertain your guests,

make sure they're comfortable.

I think they're there already.

- Bye.

- Bye.

Okay, are they here yet?

Guys, come on.

Look, the sunset is

It's not going to wait for you. Okay.

Hi, I'm Syed Sobri

and I've known Ning

for more than 15 years.

I'm Nina Airina.

I've been friends with Ning

for a few years now.

Oh, you do cook. Okay.

Yeah, of course you do.

Yeah, Malay food

is not really my style.

Right? You know it.

Whenever she's busy or something,

she always invites me into her house.

She already has a meal

prepared for me.

- Hey, what is this, honey?

- Oh, that's a very good question.

Spaghetti with some duck.

I know you love coconut milk

- and coconut.

- It's spicy.

Well, I've never tried, like,

a proper meal that she cooked for me

but, yeah, I had,

like, tidbits, and

- Nothing Malay food.

- No, no.

- Beautiful sunset.

- What a view.

- You're so lucky.

- You know, with the view.

Sorry, I'm This is

more beautiful actually.

- It's tasty.

- You are eating non-stop, I see.

It was amazing.

I think I've never tried

anything like that before.

It was my first time.

Even the pasta itself.

- Hello.

- Hi, how are you?

- Hi, don't worry. Nice to see you.

- Chef Zam, these are my friends.

Hi how are you?

You know what?

This is not my doing.

This is Ning Baizura's cooking.

- No way.

- Never lie.

I really thought

it was Chef Zam's work.

Never judge Ning by her voice.

Yes.

I think she has got the flair.

Being a mother, she needs

to cook for her child, her son Ryan

and also the husband.

You cannot afford

to always go out and eat.

Maybe she could afford it.

But the love

that is being poured into the food

for the son, also the husband

is completely different

than getting your rations outside.

Thank you, my darling,

for teaching me how to cook properly.

I love you.

- Okay.

- Wow, it's nice.

- Do you like it?

- Well, fabulous?

- Yes?

- And it's also aromatic.

- From the pandan itself.

- I can do it for you next time.

I miss doing the Malaysian food,

so he has converted me.

Thank you, Chef Zam.

Thank you, you guys, too, for, like,

really giving me an eye-opener.

The fact that I've always

had this persona

because I always see what

how coconut milk is being made

how you actually scrape the coconut.

And then Because my whole life

I've been eating all this food

and I thought, "Nah, I'm not

going to go back there."

I'm going to go back there.

Healthily, of course.

- Okay. Go on.

- Thank you so much.

You all keep enjoying

the meal, and

- I'll see you later.

- Thank you.

- Bye.

- Bye.

Thank you.