Long before the advent of the gas stove,induction cooker,the kampung house which I live had a cooking stove that could be dated back to the ions of BC .
Very rudimentary.It was on a raised sort of platform made of wood.The tungku not tengku were made of bricks piled up to give it required depth.
In most houses this type of stove is found but those who had dollars to spend,the kerosene stove was more advance especially those with cap rama rama.
Coming back to my mum’s stove,she being the cleanaholic,the soot and burnt pieces of wood would be cleaned.It was a daily morning affair for those in charge of the kitchen to begin the regiment by cleaning the stove.Even the tungku needed bathing.
Getting the fire burning needed mastery. And getting it maintained needed supervision.So when rice was cooking,you had to know when to make the fire smaller.If not,then the case of the pot calling the rice black is the picture.
The pots and pans over the woodstove turned black easily. You never get that black with gas stove.So the cleaning rituals is somewhat removed from the rituals of today.
Ingat iklan sunlight.Sekali sapu sabun,terus merelit merelap.
No No you dont get that with mak’s periuk belanga.But her being her,the periuk and belanga pun merah menyala.Merelit.She used the fine sand to get all those soot away. And the tempat cuci periuk belanga pun cuci sesunggohnya.Thats mum.
IS there a difference between cooking over a gas stove and that from mak’s kitchen? Plenty.Because mak cooked her food with tender loving care.
i remember my grandma's kitchen in mid 70's. our kampung, amongst the few left before concrete jungle emerged through out this city state. cooking was a very tedious process but i loved the experience.
ReplyDeleteMamason,
ReplyDeleteMy Mama said that's the best stove to make chicken charcoal. yummm...I love chicken! roar! roar! roar!
Well, at least they don't have to go for saunas. It's 2 in 1 here, cooking and sauna. No wonder our mothers and grandmothers before them were pencil-slim. And all the blowing and puffing would be good for erasing all the facial wrinkles. Shall we give it a try?
ReplyDeleteNoir,
ReplyDeleteWhat was left were the memories. Children wouldnt know what was our life like back in 60's and 70's.Now they have everything at their becks and calls.No hardship at all ... everything is at a click.
Dell : Back then,they couldn't make chicken charcoal as everything would be gulai and kurma.A feast fit for the king once a year.
ReplyDeleteSiti,
ReplyDeleteIts true.My mum who is 80 is one like 58.She looks healthier than her own children.Until now,she's healthy and fit.