We’ve heard of lemang (glutinous rice mixed with coconut milk, coated with banana leaves and cooked in a hollow bamboo tube), but surely we’ve yet to hear of ones sized like a cigarette.
Thanks to his perseverance, Mohd Nasir Shamsudin, 71, succeeded in making small-sized lemang his source of income.
“The idea of making small-sized lemang unintentionally came about due to absence of normal bamboo tubes. I tried using bamboo tubes that are sized like a cigarette up to those with a width similar to a 20-cent coin.
“At first, it was rather difficult to insert banana leaves into small bamboos that are more than two feet in length. After countless trials and errors, it only takes a few minutes now to finish preparing a stick of lemang,” the former Felda explorer told Ipoh Echo when met at his residence in Kampung Pulau Ador near Felda Lasah recently.
Mohd Nasir opined that small-sized lemang taste better than the usual ones, saying, “It tastes creamier, softer and more aromatic. Surely, one will like to taste it with a multitude of rendang dishes or by dipping with sugar.”
A stick of lemang costs between RM2 to RM10, depending on the size. Mohd Nasir can make up to 400 sticks of them to fulfill requests for festivities.
“A 3.6kg pack of glutinous rice can produce between 50 to 70 sticks of lemang using small-sized bamboo, compared to only 10 using a normal-sized one.
“Orders may be made two days in advance before a reception, as I need to source the bamboos based on the requested sizes,” he mentioned.
Cooking the small-sized lemang takes between an hour to two using a gas stove. Despite the process of inserting banana leaves into the bamboo containing the mixture being complicated, it has become a routine for Mohd Nasir.
“Up till today, I still receive lots of reservations all the way from Kuala Lumpur, even from nearby areas.
“Thanks to the overwhelming response, I’ll try my best in fulfilling every lemang lover’s requests for as long as I get to live,” he expressed.
Readers who would like to reserve orders of the small-sized lemang may contact Mohd Nasir at 019 574 4678.
Address: No. 5 Kampung Pulau Adur, Jalan Felda Lasah, Sungai Siput (U) Perak
Rosli Mansor
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