MASAK LEMAK CILIAPI TELUR ITIK DGN PUCUK ASAM GELUGUR

Last weekend my parents came for a visit. An elderly couple came all the way from the city to visit their daughter in a kampung in Terengganu. An irony that became a joke among my eldest son's friends from his boarding school years in Kuala Lumpur. "mak bapak Ilyas duduk kampung, tapi datuk nenek duduk KL!". Anyway, my father has always been looking forward to come here, as he could recall his own kampung life in Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan before migrating to KL at the age of 15. Waking up to the crowing sound of the roosters, instead of honkings and car engines, ambulance and police sirens every 15 mins from the busy street of Jalan Jelatek. Eating fresh produces, fishes, meats and fruits. Being reminded the time for prayers, as calls of azan came from not one or two but four nearby mosques and suraus. He would take leisure walks around the kampung and along the river nearby. He could sleep soundly and peacefully. But he could never move to kampungs. He could not leave his other grandchildren, relatives, neighbours and friends in KL.
It had been such a long time since my dad had masak lemak ciliapi telur itik with pucuk asam gelugor. It's duck eggs in coconut milk with turmeric roots and asam gelugor shoots and spiced it up with bird's eye chillies. Ah yes, it's not a typical Terengganu dish but it is a Negeri Sembilan dish. I have a asam gelugor tree in front of my house, which surprised my dad. Duck eggs were fresh from the market. And they were huge. My father loved the dish so much..

(the eggs in the bowl shown are for comparisons. the 2 smaller brown eggs are from free ranged chickens and the other 3 are duck eggs)

RECIPES:

about 9 bird's eye chillies( depends on how hot you want it to be)
an inch of fresh turmeric roots
1 cup of thick coconut milk
1 cup of thin coconut milk
about 20 asam gelugor shoots(you could replace them with bacang muda or mangga muda or belimbing buluh)
2 stalks of lemongrass
5 duck eggs

Finely pound chillies and turmeric roots. In a wok, place together thick and thin coconut milk. Add the pounded mixtures and lemongrass lightly bruised. Place the wok on medium heat. Keep stirring taking care not to make the milk curdles. Slowly add duck eggs, one at a time. Lower the heat and stir carefully not to break the eggs. Finely slice the asam gelugor shoots and soak them in a bowl of salted water.  Wash and squeeze out the soursaps of the leaves. Add them to the wok. Stir carefully and slowly. Salt to taste. You may add abit sugar to reduce the sourness of the dish.