Demand for ‘tuak’ surges during Ramadan, Aidilfitri
Mohd Suhaimi Jusoh, 47, said that currently, he can produce 100 litres of tuak daily. — Bernama pic
Saturday, 30 Mar 2024 5:37 PM MYT
BACHOK, March 30 — Collectors are ramping up coconut palm sap extraction as the demand for ’tuak’ or ‘nira kelapa’ (coconut shoot nectar) surges during Ramadan and Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations, making it a staple during this festive season.
Mohd Suhaimi Jusoh, 47, said that currently, he can produce 100 litres of tuak daily with the assistance of his children.
He said that the surge in demand during Aidilfitri is due to many customers use tuak as ‘nise’ (palm sugar syrup), which serves as a dipping sauce for ketupat on the first day of Syawal.
In addition, he said there’s a demand for fresh tuak as a drink to complement other dishes during Hari Raya.
“Customers are opting for tuak syrup for its pure flavour, without any added sugar,” he told Bernama recently.
Mohd Suhaimi said that every year, as Aidilfitri and Aidiladha approach, there is a high demand for tuak, particularly among ‘nise kerek’ or palm sugar makers, not just in Bachok but also in Kuala Krai, Tanah Merah, and Gua Musang.
“The increase in demand during this Ramadan required us to purchase 20,000 units of mineral bottles, incurring an additional capital cost of RM10,000, as well as add freezers from five to nine units for frozen tuak,” he said.
According to Mohd Suhaimi, tuak has garnered demand from overseas markets, particularly in Singapore and South Korea.
“However, there are constraints, like tuak’s tendency to become gassy and prone to explosion, while for frozen tuak, the postage cost can be quite high, as it is based on its weight,” he said, adding that his regular customers and suppliers are mostly from Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Melaka, and Pahang. — Bernama
kt comments:
Saturday, 30 Mar 2024 5:37 PM MYT
BACHOK, March 30 — Collectors are ramping up coconut palm sap extraction as the demand for ’tuak’ or ‘nira kelapa’ (coconut shoot nectar) surges during Ramadan and Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations, making it a staple during this festive season.
Mohd Suhaimi Jusoh, 47, said that currently, he can produce 100 litres of tuak daily with the assistance of his children.
He said that the surge in demand during Aidilfitri is due to many customers use tuak as ‘nise’ (palm sugar syrup), which serves as a dipping sauce for ketupat on the first day of Syawal.
In addition, he said there’s a demand for fresh tuak as a drink to complement other dishes during Hari Raya.
“Customers are opting for tuak syrup for its pure flavour, without any added sugar,” he told Bernama recently.
Mohd Suhaimi said that every year, as Aidilfitri and Aidiladha approach, there is a high demand for tuak, particularly among ‘nise kerek’ or palm sugar makers, not just in Bachok but also in Kuala Krai, Tanah Merah, and Gua Musang.
“The increase in demand during this Ramadan required us to purchase 20,000 units of mineral bottles, incurring an additional capital cost of RM10,000, as well as add freezers from five to nine units for frozen tuak,” he said.
According to Mohd Suhaimi, tuak has garnered demand from overseas markets, particularly in Singapore and South Korea.
“However, there are constraints, like tuak’s tendency to become gassy and prone to explosion, while for frozen tuak, the postage cost can be quite high, as it is based on its weight,” he said, adding that his regular customers and suppliers are mostly from Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Melaka, and Pahang. — Bernama
***
kt comments:
Tuak is a wonderful Malayan (note 'Malayan') fruit drink, though admittedly the beverage exists elsewhere where coconut grows abundantly and local farmers know how to collect the nectar.
As mentioned in above MM article, the drink is tapped nectar from young coconut shoots or more correctly, flowers. The problem for Muslims is that the collected nectar starts to ferment as Wikipedia informs us, "immediately after collection, due to natural yeasts in the air." Thus for Muslims, they should drink the collected nectar juice as soon as is possible, wakakaka.
To amplify on the last point, well in a certain way, please peruse the following 'extract' from my post Abang Tapai taken from my other blog KTemoc Kongsamkok:
I personally preferred the Penang style of steamed otak otak but the caterer advised me that the southern Malaysian grilled version was better. Mana adalah? How could any food style be possibly better than Penang cuisine but anyway, I deferred to him.
Soup – I mulled over a few options until the contractor persuaded me that tomyamgung (tomyam prawns) was a perfectly authentic Malay dish, well, at least in Kelantan – and since one of the pak ciks (uncles, or peers in age to one's own father) was a Kelantanese, this dish would be gnam gnam (perfect fit) for him.
Dessert – you guess it, tapai. This was more for kaytee’s personal taste rather than my guests' or uncles'. The contractor was taken aback for a while before he smiled and nodded in approval.
Needless to say, the dinner was a success and my uncles beamed their pleasure that the ‘kid’ in the house could throw a party - at last, long overdue acknowledgement!
During the dessert, the Malay pak cik looked at me with a grin and joked: “kaytee my boy, we Muslims would usually be taking a walk on the edge of sin whenever we have tapai because just that extra iota of percentage proof would tilt us over into haram* land”.
* not kosher
Then, he not only polished off his dish but asked for a second helping. His missus rolled her eyes and gave me a Mona Lisa smile.
Tapai is a marvellous Malay dessert which doesn’t necessarily have to be taken only as a dish after the main meal – like any other sweet pulut (rice cakes) eat it whenever you feel like having it.
It's made from glutinous rice added with yeast, and allowed to slightly ferment. The dish is not unique to Malay cuisine but exists in other ethnic food cultures in East and South-East Asia, but I love the Malay version.
One day I organized a dinner for two families, very close friends of my uncles. They were Malay and Mamak respectively so the food has to be halal (kosher) of course. The dietary requirement was easily taken care of by another family friend, a Malay caterer.
Being the person who was footing the bill - one of my uncles insisted that I should begin my contribution to family responsibilities with this dinner :( - I had the prerogative of determining what dishes were to be prepared.
I decided that while we were to have halal Malay dishes they would be served a la western style, starting off with a hors d'oeuvre, followed by soup, and then the main meal, after which was to be the dessert, and then rounding up the meal with coffee/tea. I intended to dazzle my uncles – gosh, they still treated me like a kid so I was out to show them I was then a ‘man of the world’.
The dinner menu was as follows:
Hors d’oeuvre – grilled otak otak - fish in curry custard-like paste & daun kaduk or wild pepper leaf (piper sarmentosum), a herbal vine-like leaf, with the lot wrapped in banana leaf and then grilled.
 |
| tapai pulut |
It's made from glutinous rice added with yeast, and allowed to slightly ferment. The dish is not unique to Malay cuisine but exists in other ethnic food cultures in East and South-East Asia, but I love the Malay version.
One day I organized a dinner for two families, very close friends of my uncles. They were Malay and Mamak respectively so the food has to be halal (kosher) of course. The dietary requirement was easily taken care of by another family friend, a Malay caterer.
Being the person who was footing the bill - one of my uncles insisted that I should begin my contribution to family responsibilities with this dinner :( - I had the prerogative of determining what dishes were to be prepared.
I decided that while we were to have halal Malay dishes they would be served a la western style, starting off with a hors d'oeuvre, followed by soup, and then the main meal, after which was to be the dessert, and then rounding up the meal with coffee/tea. I intended to dazzle my uncles – gosh, they still treated me like a kid so I was out to show them I was then a ‘man of the world’.
The dinner menu was as follows:
Hors d’oeuvre – grilled otak otak - fish in curry custard-like paste & daun kaduk or wild pepper leaf (piper sarmentosum), a herbal vine-like leaf, with the lot wrapped in banana leaf and then grilled.
daun kaduk
I personally preferred the Penang style of steamed otak otak but the caterer advised me that the southern Malaysian grilled version was better. Mana adalah? How could any food style be possibly better than Penang cuisine but anyway, I deferred to him.
otak-otak - photo from Madam Kwong.com
Soup – I mulled over a few options until the contractor persuaded me that tomyamgung (tomyam prawns) was a perfectly authentic Malay dish, well, at least in Kelantan – and since one of the pak ciks (uncles, or peers in age to one's own father) was a Kelantanese, this dish would be gnam gnam (perfect fit) for him.
 |
| tomyamgung |
 |
| Le Plat Principal (just showing off one of the very few French words I know wakakaka) – the main course was to be de-boned briyani chicken plus plus (all the accompaniments) |
Dessert – you guess it, tapai. This was more for kaytee’s personal taste rather than my guests' or uncles'. The contractor was taken aback for a while before he smiled and nodded in approval.
Needless to say, the dinner was a success and my uncles beamed their pleasure that the ‘kid’ in the house could throw a party - at last, long overdue acknowledgement!
During the dessert, the Malay pak cik looked at me with a grin and joked: “kaytee my boy, we Muslims would usually be taking a walk on the edge of sin whenever we have tapai because just that extra iota of percentage proof would tilt us over into haram* land”.
* not kosher
Then, he not only polished off his dish but asked for a second helping. His missus rolled her eyes and gave me a Mona Lisa smile.
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