PETALING JAYA, Sept 24 — In Malaysia, our fruit and vegetable salads get a vibrant makeover... by tossing it in a gooey, sticky black sauce.
It’s a mix of flavours and textures: sweet, salty, soft and crunchy, making it perfect for an afternoon snack.
At this 30-year-old plus stall in Damansara Jaya run by Lim Teong Lai, 65, you get to enjoy your rojak on the spot or in the comfort of your home with your take-away portion.
As Lim works almost solo preparing the numerous ingredients for the rojak, he can only open for four days a week. Originally from Teluk Intan, Lim tells us that he relocated to Kuala Lumpur when he was 20.
Back in his hometown, life was tough as his father died when he was just six. His mother would hawk food like kuih and steamed peanuts by the roadside to raise the family of five children.
Initially Lim was a fruit seller but he switched to selling rojak since that business was seasonal. A friend had taught him how to prepare the sauce which he makes himself every week using prawn paste brought in from Penang.
He is incredibly particular and insists that his chilli paste is prepared using a stone grinder rather than settle for the pre-made chilli boh. For the fritters, he prepares them himself after tweaking and perfecting the recipe. Usually he prepares the fritters at least one week in advance since he needs to painstakingly drain the excess oil after frying.
Since Lim knows his fruits well, he heads to Chow Kit market to source for his fruit supplies where he can trust the quality. “The fruits must be fresh for it to match the sauce,” said Lim. The basic mix includes yam bean, pineapple, green mango and cucumber. He also offer papaya, which he tells us is a KL thing, as it’s a customer preference here.
What’s unusual in his line-up is the rarely seen blanched kangkung and bean sprouts. Commonly found in Perak and Johor, this combination works well with the gooey sauce.
In the old days, he tells us that they used paku pakis or fern tops but it’s now omitted since prices have shot up with the high demand.
You will find the kampung kangkung served here has a crunchier bite. This type of vegetable is harder to source for as it’s only grown in mining pools or the river compared to the usual variety planted in soil.
Even though Lim resides in KL, he started this stall here back in 1984 as a popular supermarket opened here which drew in many customers. Sadly none of his children are keen to continue his legacy once he retires.
He hopes to continue for a few more years before he quits but as he tells us, it’s getting harder and harder to work since he is getting older.
As most of his customers often stop by and take away, he has all the ingredients separated in packets. Some even call ahead to ask him to prepare so it’s literally a drive-through rojak order.
As he separates the cut fruits and vegetables in a packet, this can be kept chilled in the refrigerator and eaten the next day. Only the blanched kangkung and bean sprouts can’t be kept too long.
You can just toss the fruits and vegetables in the sauce with the fritters and sprinkle the toasted ground peanuts yourself.
The rojak is RM5.50 for a small portion and RM6.50 for a big portion.
Rojak stall outside Maybank
65-67, Jalan SS22/19
Damansara Jaya
Petaling Jaya
Tel: 017-8702438
Open: 9.30am to 4.30pm. (Saturdays and Sundays)
On Thursdays and Fridays, find him inside the food court opposite Atria Shopping Gallery
