The proof of Penang rojak is in the eating

The proof of the Penang rojak is in the eating

For those who love Penang rojak, mere mention of the dish is enough to make one lick the lips in anticipation. So where in Penang does one go for their fix?

TO the residents of Gat Lebuh Macallum in George Town, the sight of Khor Ewe Hock manning his fruit rojak stall barefoot on the hot tar roadside is nothing unusual.

Penang’s “Rojak King” – a title Khor claims was bestowed on him by his many loyal customers – has been hawking there barefoot since the late 1980s. The energetic and eccentric 66-year-old believes that the heat from the ground is the secret to his clean bill of health.

Before starting the rojak business, Khor was in the construction line.

“In 1986, jobs were hard to come by. Since I love rojak, I decided to start my own stall selling it,” he shares.

Starting from scratch, he fine-tuned his recipe and kept at it until he was happy with the result.

“My first plate of rojak didn’t fare well,” he recalls. “A good friend said it wasn’t appetising but I didn’t give up. To succeed, you have to take criticisms positively so I kept trying to improve. It took me almost two decades to perfect the sauce.”

Not surprisingly, the recipe for the thick, gooey sauce is a fiercely guarded secret, and Khor will only concede that “everything is homemade”.

He claims to have been offered RM10,000 for the recipe, but turned it down.

“Even the ang mor (Caucasians) and Japanese love my rojak, and most of them can’t stand hae kor (Hokkien for prawn paste, the main ingredient),” he beams proudly.

Khor’s rojak is distinctively different from what many are used to. His sauce has a rich chocolate hue unlike the darker, brownish-black mixes that are more common. It is also a lot stickier, but his regulars love it.

He prefers to use coarse peanuts to give the rojak “more bite”. “If the peanuts are ground, they won’t be as aromatic,” he explains.

He also does not use belacan (dried shrimp paste) powder, substituting it with finely ground ju hoo (dried cuttlefish) instead.

Delicious rojak is all about the sauce and quality ingredients, he insists.

“If you are not stingy with your ingredients, your rojak will be good. That’s what I tell my daughter Ching Cheng who will be taking over the business at the end of the month.”

Khor, who is an avid traveller, assures regular customers that Ching Cheng is a worthy successor.

“I have given her the exact recipe and will be helping out from time to time. But I am looking forward to travelling more and indulging in my hobbies. I enjoy giving feng shui consultations and making little decorative dough dolls,” he admits with a chuckle.

When he first started the business, Khor’s rojak cost 70 sen per serving. But that was over 20 years ago and prices of most things have gone up since then. So, these days, he charges from RM6 to RM12 yet the line of customers has not become any shorter. The prices are slightly higher compared to his competitors’ as Khor offers extras like hae bee (dried shrimp).

Cheah Yew Weng, who goes for his rojak fix at Khor’s stall at least three times a week, isn’t complaining, though. “I’ve sampled the rojak at other stalls and I just don’t like the watery mix. Khor’s presentation is also much classier. Just looking at the dish makes you hungry,” he says.

Khor doesn’t even bat an eyelid when someone orders 35 packets, saying that he’s had orders for 50 packets by outstation visitors.

Khor’s is just one of the many famous rojak stalls dotting the island and mainland but it is arguably among the most sought after. “I’ve had at least three people open rojak stalls near mine but they have all closed down,” he says matter-of-factly.

Another acclaimed stall on the island is Majestic Rojak at Swatow Lane. Operated by Helen Cheah, Majestic Rojak is a popular pit stop for both locals and tourists.

Her husband Loh Moon Kan, who used to run the stall, passed away recently and she has taken over the reins. “But I’m not sure for how much longer. My son has no intention of taking over and I’m already 57,” she confides.

The couple inherited the business from Loh’s mother who ran the original stall outside the old Majestic Theatre near Penang Road for 40 years.

Cheah, who has been in the business for 26 years, confesses to not being particularly fond of rojak. She wakes up at 6am daily to prepare the vegetables, fruits and sauce. “It takes a lot of strength to stir the thick sauce,” she says.

Those who love her rojak, priced at RM4 or RM5 per plate, will feel the loss if she decides to close the business.

Bernadette Yap, who discovered Majestic Rojak while surfing online, says: “Majestic had so many rave reviews and after trying it, I have to agree.”

“Rojak is my favourite,” she adds, describing Khor’s version as “very unique. The sauce looks like melted chocolate.”

“Every stall has its own following but for me, the fruits and vegetables must be fresh and crunchy. That’s the most important. And stalls that are stingy with the peanuts are a no-go,” she says.

On the mainland, Bukit Mertajam town is a hotbed for delicious rojak.

Teh Lee Pheng, 29, operates the Rojak Orang Putih Hitam in Jalan Pasar, which opened for business four years ago and is now thriving despite the stiff competition there.

In fact, the stall’s unique name is a reflection of that competition. “It was a customer who suggested the name,” says Teh.

“Opposite my stall is Rojak Orang Putih (also known as BM Rojak) and across the road is Rojak Orang Hock (also known as Rojak Orang Hitam).”

She says there is no animosity among the rojak sellers there and that they all get along.

“Sometimes customers come here asking for directions to the other stalls and I tell them where to go. Which rojak is tastier depends on the individual’s preference,” she says, adding that Rojak Orang Putih Hitam’s sauce is sold nationwide.

“We even supply our special mix to Sabah and Sarawak. We source for the best hae kor, chili, tee chiau (sweet sauce), rock sugar and belacan, and heat up the mix for three hours on a gas stove. Charcoal is not suitable because it causes the mix to burn and stick to the bottom of the pot.”

Teh assures that her sauce doesn’t contain preservatives and can last up to two months. To prevent her rojak from turning watery, she generously sprinkles on the peanuts.

“For take-away orders, I always line the packet with ground peanuts because these soak up the water from the pineapple, cuttlefish, cucumber, jambu air (water apples), mango and yam bean.

“Otherwise, the taste of the sauce will be compromised,” she says, adding that original rojak ingredients did not include deep fried items like ewe char koay, prawn fritters and tau kua.

“Since youngsters like these items, you’ll find that most rojak stalls have added them.”

Rojak Orang Hock proprietor Teng Ah Hock is an old hand at this trade. Now 63, he started selling rojak in the town when he was only 22.

“Back then I only had a push cart and my stall was known as Penang Rojak. I was selling it for 30 sen because ingredients were cheap in those days. My stall became known as or lang (Orang Hitam) rojak because I am very tanned,” he laughs.

Teng may have started the colour-coding trend for rojak on the mainland but his prices remain reasonable at RM3 to RM5 per plate.

“Everywhere you go, the ingredients are almost the same. It’s the kanghu (skill) of preparing the sauce that makes the difference,” he says.

“The chilli paste must be properly heated in hot oil before going into the sauce for that extra kick.”

Cherrie Koh, who loves rojak with a passion and has already tried the dish at most of the “must-go” spots, says Teng’s sauce tastes sweeter that Khor’s, which has a more hae kor flavour.

“Teng’s rojak is very nice. Squeezing some lime juice on top gives it an irresistible zing,” she says.

W. H. Chen remembers the days when he used to walk 15 minutes in the scorching afternoon heat to get Orang Hock’s rojak.

“I would go after school every other day,” says the rojak lover. “Now that I’ve moved to the island, I go to Khor’s stall.”

-News courtesy of The Star-