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We Love Rambha! Or is that Rempah?

, By Dunkle

  • Grandma's Mortar and Pestle used to Grind ingredients and spices into Rempah or Rambha

Rempah the base of all spicy Asian bases

Rambha or Rempah?

Well what is that? Rambha Curry is an Indian dish. Whereas Rempah is something else. However, they are not all that different. 

The infamous Michelin Guide defines it as “the backbone of cooking across the Malay archipelago and Indonesia. It is the base of well-loved favourites from Beef Rendang to Peranakan Babi Pongteh. The literal meaning of the word is spice in Malay, but in practice a Rempah refers to a paste of spices which imparts an intense flavour to a dish.’ To me, it is that simple. And we all just love Rempah! It is the foundation that makes all curries. 

The Japanese call it the curry roux, taking inspiration from the French. That rich curry they do reminds me of the Indian curries – Tikka Masalas, vegetable curries, your butter chicken. The question is: Is it really that simple?

What makes a good Rempah? What is the ‘best mix’ of spices that fits a curry? I don’t think there is an answer to that. And there lies my obsession. Our obsession. It is an alchemy – a secret to ourselves yet we want to show it to our friends, families, and the world.

I was maybe 10 years old? And I stayed with grandma in Tiong Bahru Blk 54, now it’s a boutique hotel called Link Hotel. I heard this ‘dink dink dink!’ noise coming from the back of the flat. Yes, it’s a huge flat with a whole washing area. ‘dink dink dink!’ like a plumbing noise. I slowly walked to see why grandma was doing pipe works in the middle of the day.

I saw her sitting on a 10 inch stool, almost like she was squatting. And she was hammering on a stone bowl with a club! And I asked, ‘Poh poh! What are you doing?’ She answered,’ Making curry, and I’m grinding the REMPAH.’

That was my first experience with this term. Which is, incredibly, one of my loves of my life. And of course, my love for ‘Poh poh’, Grandma.

There was no particular smell to this paste actually. And for a fact, she motioned me to go away. She mentioned something called ‘Blachan’. It stinks! It’s really smells like dogshit. My older cousin had a Pomeranian and I thought she put its poo into it! But what happened subsequently was absolute MAGIC.

She. Fried. This. Paste. And with a ton of oil.

Recipe

My Base Rempah Ingredients:

  • 5 bulbs red shallots
  • 3 fingers fresh turmeric
  • 1 whole bulb garlic
  • 1 knob galangal (blue ginger)
  • 2 stalks lemon grass
  • 3 kaffir lime leaves
  • Optional: dried chilies to taste or spice level
  • Optional: Balchan (subjected to availability)
The Basic Rempah Ingredients are Fresh Tumeric, Red Shallots, Galangal, Ginger, Lemongrass & Garlic
The Basic Rempah Ingredients are Fresh Tumeric, Red Shallots, Galangal, Ginger, Lemongrass & Garlic

This is why I call it alchemy. At all levels. This smell, was like the whole house was engulfed in this spicy comfort, embracing oneself in a certain level of easiness. Yet, it made me the 10-year-old, very curious. And hungry. And more curious after that. What on earth is this Rempah?

Method

  1. Pound or blend all the ingredients to a paste, adding water to smoothen the mixture. Do not dilute the mixture too much.
  2. Heat oil in a sauce pan and fry the paste at low heat, releasing the smell of the ingredients slowly. Dehydrate the paste slowly and add more oil as the paste dries up.
This is the 1st stage of frying the Rempah
This is the 1st stage of frying the Rempah

I want to recreate this 30 years later. Thinking back so hard on how did that curry chicken actually go? Well, grandma’s curry chicken was always good. Just thinking of it brings a tear to my eye. Hey, she did cook for the British didn’t she? Back in the day! She told me, ‘You gotta coat the chicken in a curry powder and lightly fry them first. And then fry them in the rempah before stewing the curry altogether.’ Wow. At 10 years old, I was just excited to eat the final product!!

Rempah. The gift of our ancestors, the taste to our buds, the fat in our belly.

Rempah FAQs

What is Rempah?

Rempah is a Malay word that literally translates to"spices". It forms the basis of many South East Asian curries.

Are there other names for Rempah?

Yes. Amongst other cultures, languages and societies rempah has different variations - such as Rambha, Rampah and Rumbha to name a few.

What are the main ingredients of a Rempah?

The main ingredients of a basic rempah are fresh tumeric, red shallots, galangal, ginger, garlic & lemongrass. Some other optional ingredients include blachan and dried chillies (if you prefer a spicier rempah).

Dunkle

Dunkle

Local Singaporean Shifu at The Fake Peranakans
The Dunkle's passion for authentic Asian cooking is derived from a fusion between his years spent in Adelaide, where he was unable to find the South East Asian food of his youth & his Grandma's Rempah recipes growing up in Singapore.
Dunkle
Dunkle

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