Kelah Celok – The Baweanese “National” dish

Kelah Celok Tongkol

 

"Kelah Celok" is an authentic Baweanese dish. "Kelah" is the Baweanese word for dish and "Celok" means sour. There are two types of Kelah Celok ; fish and vegetable.

 

Kelah Celok Bechok

The fish "Kelah Celok" is a type of dish by which big fish such as Tuna, Red Snapper, or Humphead Wrasse (Bechok) is sliced thinly and cook in a boiling pot filled with water, tamarind juice, salt, blended fresh red chilli, green chilli, garlic, turmeric, onion, shrimp paste (belacan) and few corriander seeds (ketumbar).

Humphead Wrasse (Bechok)

 

Smaller fish such as Gold banded Scad (Selar Kuning), Herring (Tamban), or Indian Mackerel (Kembong) is the substitute for the big fish. However, in cooking the smaller fish, usually fresh sliced pineapple is added into the boiling pot. During preparation of this dish on the dining table, few stalk of small fresh chillies (chilli padi) are added into the bowl. Lime juice is squeeze on to the dish to make it tastier. The dish is to be served steamy hot with steam white rice .

 

Herring (Tamban)

The other type of "Kelah Celok" is prepared using vegetable such as long beans or ladies fingers. When cooking long beans in "Kelah Celok", the beans are cut into smaller pieces and added into a boiling pot filled with water, tamarind juice, salt, sugar, blended fresh red chilli, onion, shrimp paste and few corriander seeds. Together with steam white rice, this dish goes well with fried fish such as sliced Tuna or Kembong. Sambal belacan with cucumber make the meal appealing.
 

Celok Bendi dish  

Sambal belacan is grilled belacan pounded with fresh red chilli and sugar. It goes well with cucumber. Sometimes it is prepared with mashed hardboiled eggs and shredded green sour mango to add more flavors to the meal. The Baweanese from my Pondok called this side dish as "Penchek-penchek".
 

Kelah Celok Otok

It has been quite awhile since I last ate rice with "Kelah Celok Otok" ('Otok' is the Baweanese word for long beans) with fried tuna fish and "Penchek-penchek". I hope my mum will prepare them during my next visit to her home! Endek, Endek, Endek....nyaman Ongku!

''Cukok Tongkol'' - the Baweanese delicacy

"Cukok Tongkol" - Tuna fish

Generally, Singaporean Baweanese enjoy eating ''Cukok Tongkol''. ''Cukok'' is a Baweanese word for fish and ''Tongkol'' refers to ''Tuna''. Tuna is associated with the Baweanese people due to their passion eating this fish, turning it into a delicacy in their daily meals. This is a well-known fact among the people living in the Malay community. Some Baweanese take pride of this fact for they can be easily identified as a ''Boyan'' living among the other Indonesian ethnic groups in this community.

Like any other Singaporean Baweanese, I love to eat ''Cukok Tongkol'' which can be cooked into variety of dishes. My mother often cook dishes such as ''Celok Tongkol'', ''Semur Tongkol'', ''Phentheng Tongkol'', ''Sambel Tomes Tongkol'', ''Tomes Tongkol''. They are my favorite dishes eaten with steam white rice. Yummy!

''Sambel Tomes Tongkol'' - the Baweanese version of the Malay Asam Pedas dish

''Celok Tongkol'' - the pride of Baweanese delicacy
  ''Phentheng Tongkol'' -the Baweanese version of the Malay Pindang dish

During my childhood days in the 1960s and 1970s while living in Pondok Kalompang Gubuk, I remember helping my grandmother with the grilling of Tuna. To go with it, she would prepare black sauce mixed with fresh pounded chilli, thinly sliced onion and lime juice. In other occasion, she would prepare ''Buja Chappi'' – pounded fresh chilli with salt mixed with lime juice. ''Buja'' is the Baweanese word for salt while ''Chappi'' is the Baweanese word for chilli.

 

Sliced Tuna
 

"Lemak Kengan" -Green vegetables coconut soup

Tuna can also be sliced thinly and marinated with salted tumeric powder paste before deep fry. Fried Tuna can be eaten with steam white rice and green vegetables coconut soup. My grandmother used to prepare ''Penchek-Penchek'' - boiled eggs mashed with chilli shrimp paste (sambal belacan) and green sour mango shredded very thinly, to make the meal appealing. In other occasion, she would steam ''Paes Tongkol'' -thinly sliced boiled Tuna with dried chilli paste mixed with tamarind juice, sugar and salt wrapped in banana leaves. Hmmm! I miss my grandmother's cooking very much!