Nope! This is not going to be a post about Prince William’s royal consort-to-be…but a woman that we used to know a number of years ago.
When I was young, there would be little Malay boys with a basket and the things in it covered with a Good Morning towel and they would walk around the neighbourhood calling out, “Pulut panggang! Pulut panggang!” From that, we came out with this little ditty: “Pulut panggang…kayu api (firewood)…orang bujang (bachelor)…cari bini (looking for a wife).”
More recently, however, there was a woman named Kate who would cycle around the kampung (village) and other parts of town selling what everyone would declare to be the best pulut panggang in the world! Eventually, she disappeared from the scene and we did not know exactly where she got those pulut panggang from. What we knew was that she did not make them herself. As a result, these past few years, we had to make do with whatever reasonably good ones that we could find around town.
Now, what exactly is pulut panggang?
It is simply pulut (glutinous rice) in rich, thick santan (coconut milk) and wrapped with banana leaves and cooked over an open fire (which, I guess, explains the kayu api in the rhyme).
What makes a good pulut panggang is it must be lemak enough…
…meaning that the maker must be generous and not scrimp on the coconut milk. One that is “tak cukup lemak (not rich enough)” would fail the acid test…and there would be no second time – nobody would buy it ever again.
Besides, it must be cooked to perfection…
– just enough to taste the panggang fragrance but not too much to the extent that there is a hard overcooked outer layer all around.
Many would eat it as it is but usually, I would eat mine with a bit of sugar or condensed milk or kaya (coconut jam)…and true pulut panggang connoisseurs would scornfully scoff at those 2nd class ones with sambal inside that can be found in Kuching and elsewhere.
All this while,I would get my pulut panggang from a stall at Rejang Park here in Sibu at 50 sen each…and then, it went up to 60 sen…and eventually 70 sen. The last time I bought some, it was still 70 sen each but it had shrunk to half the size. The ones sold at the coffee shop at the Sibu Medical Centre probably came from the same supplier for they were quite similar in quality and taste. They would do fine if you do not eat them together as you would not feel the vast difference between them and Kate’s pulut panggang.
Imagine my delight when I found them being sold at my regular Bandong Malay kuih stall! They’re RM1.00 each but never mind because they’re very long! As you can see from the first photograph, one is as long as a fork…and most importantly, they taste as good as ever. I quickly bought some and my mother whose appetite had not been so good lately, finished one all by herself in one sitting.
If you love pulut panggang, I must say that you do not know pulut panggang until you have eaten Kate’s pulut panggang. It’s second to none…
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
Up in the northern regions, they call this ‘pulut udang’. LOL… sigh… ur blog is a real torture chamber… now I’m craving for this. 😦
That would be the ones with sambal udang inside – we do not fancy those. Much prefer these plain ones…
Pulut panggang,pulut udang, same kah with lembang? i realy don’t know cos i am not a fan of this kuih kuih stuff.
now tell me who is behind the pantun of bujang cari bini…?
Dunno. My grandma, mum and aunties taught us when we were kids…and we used to chant it to taunt our eligible uncles…and had so much fun. Life was so pure and simple then. You mean lemang? Not really…lemang is cooked in bamboo, layered with banana leaves – this in banana leaves…and I find lemang harder. Just ok with it, not really a fan.
Oooo….I loved these kuih-muih ever since I was small. My house was at the end of one road at a simpang tiga…and a Melanau kampung along one of the other two roads and a Malay kampung along the other. You can imagine who my childhood friends were – 1Malaysia already even during my childhood days.
Yeah, thought the subject would be on soon-to-be princess Kate, just watched the documentary last night..
Your pulut panggang seller really have a canggih name..
Over here in my canteen, they are selling 1RM for 3 but then.. hmm.. i dont buy them… i guess i have to try Kate’s one.. 🙂
3 for RM1? How long? I can guess from the price that they’re not very nice… Hehehehehe!!! These Kate ones – you will just have to eat to know what real panggang should be like.
Anything to do with glutinous rice, I LOVE IT!
Ummm…not me. Will depend on the quality. 😉
my mum sure loves these!
My mum too…but these Kate ones, all the more!
My father loves Pulut panggang so after seeing this post, I popped over there (2.313940,111.825540) to get some. Yes, they are definitely one of the better ones. Thanks.
Wow!!! That’s fast. You must be pretty early. So far, other than the first time, I think I managed to get some once or twice only…but I would usually go after 8. They have smaller and shorter ones – probably3 for RM1.00, I dunno…never bothered to ask – those of course, would not be nice. Would not even give them a second glance… 😦
no inti inside wan…
Nope. The original authentic Sibu pulut panggang – no inti. I know in Kuching, the Chinese ones have inti – not the same…and not my favourite.
I hardly buy pulut panggang cos i think not everyone can perfectly done it cos my first experince with pulut panggang was so bad. When i opened up the banana leaf, half of the pulut have gone black……burnt!! sobs**no more pulut panggang
Gosh!! Where did you get those? Yes, my missus bought some home one day – from the mere sight, I could tell – not nice! Another thing is the smell – the good ones are really fragrant with the lemak and the panggang smell. Imagine me buying panggang – I would smell them first. The sellers probably find me disgusting…but if it’s Kate’s panggang, no need! Guarantee best!
Wah lah, I thought the marriage is off, and Kate have to sell kuih for a living…ha ha ha!
Hahahaha!!! Poor thing… She will probably end up just as rich though! 😉
Arthur, you just gave me another assignment this summer, hunting down our elusive pangang lady, Kate. And I’ll have to start in Jalan Bandong. Actually I don’t mind that hard overcooked outer layer, I like my food a little burnt.
Don’t worry! Come home! Come home! I’ll buy for you. I’ll make an advanced booking if I must…to make sure you will not miss eating these! Yum! Yum!
Thanks, Arthur. Looks like it’s going to be a busy July! I’ll be on vacation but the old tummy will have to do some overtime.
LOL!!! Get some pants with rubber or drawstring waistbands. LOL!!! 😀
Why did not show us a picture of the ‘inti’. My hubby and I love pulut panggang. So nice…..but we always complaint the inti not enough.
No inti! The original! I think the ones with inti are the nyonya Chinese ones…and they say it’s sambal hay bee (dried prawns) but usually they only have very mildly sambal-flavoured grated coconut. Not for me, thank you!
You make me drool over it….early morning and just looking at it makes me hungry and some more describe it so delicious so lemak…..haih next time I drop by before I sleep so that I wont think about your Kate’s pulut panggang !
Before you sleep? Can sleep or not like that? End up dreaming about it in the end. LOL!!! Come, come to Sibu! You can enjoy this…and more. Firefly starting July, KLIA to Sibu only1 sen! Check it out! 😀
Drooling!…at the pulut panggang. Oh!…I can smell the rich aroma of the pulut panggang. Looks prefectly done!…I love pulut panggang, be it plain or with sambal fillings. Yes…agree with you…..plain one goes best with kaya/sugar.
Hi, STP, I have got the some fork as yours…from LAISIN, rite…hahaha!…I have got their spoons too.
Hahahaha!! Yes! My missus cannot resist free gifts! We have all kinds in the house. Incidentally, those forks are bigger and longer than most, don’t you think? Now you know how long these panggangs actually are…
Pulut panggang, i remember, when i was young, i was stay with my grandma at Brooke Drive there. Every night there will be this old uncle, ride in motorbike and sell pulut panggang. Every night i will get some for my supper. I miss that, i miss the pulut panggang smell. It is always still hot, when we bought it, i love to dip it with sugar.
Dip with condensed milk or kaya ? Never try before, i still prefer with sugar. 😀
Hahahaha!!! I think Foochow-style with sugar or condensed milk. I like it best with kaya… Yum! 😀
oh i love these puluts! and other nyonya kuihs. now u made me crave for some! *droolz*
Aha!!! And these you can eat, no problem…but not the ones with sambal inside…i.e. if they really use udang kering (dried prawns).
oh we called that Suman here….
mom used to fill it with other stuff inside like casava, jackfruit or ube
then we dip it on coco jam or brown sugar…
Coco jam? I guess that’s whatwe call kaya here. What’s ube there? Here ubi kayu is tapioca or casava, ubi keledek is sweet potatoes and ubi kentang is potatoes.
I love the ones which have those fillings, which tastes sweet and spicy at the same time.
This pulut panggang reminds me of lemang.
No, it’s nicer than lemang. I find lemang too hard for my liking and it is not as fragrant and lemak. The ones with sambal inside is just sambal wrapped in pulut and wrapped in banana leaf – not much lemak…and not much panggang fragrance. It is more or less like those pulut mounds with sambal on top wrapped in banana leaf – there’s a place here that sells very nice ones…very pedas.
nice description STP, now I know why I love dropping by your blog daily! XD
You still do? Wink! Wink! LOL!!!
My boss tiap kali gi Sibu, will never miss ordering a box of the pulut panggang from the abang kat Bandong. That seller is on his speed-dial or something. Haha. I like the ones with the inti sambal tho.
I wonder which the ones your boss would buy are. I know there are a few stalls in the evenings – two at least selling panggang. I’ve never tried but I hear they’re not bad…but of course, nowhere near Kate’s panggang. The ones in Kuching with inti…not the same. I’ve lots of cousins in Kuching – I don’t think they will go out and buy those to eat – not the same, nothing like the Kate’s panggang they used to know and loved.
I haven’t tried a plain pulut panggang before.. the ones over here have sambal udang inside, which I actually love! 🙂 The pulut in the picture certainly looks very LEMAK!!
The ones with sambal not the same lah. I think we also have those – Chinese made…but I never bother to buy. The pulut is completely different, comes nowhere near as nice as these.
Sorry lah bro dunno what you call or they call pulut this or pulut that Bananaz only knows to fill up the perut hahaha.
I also don’t know the names of many things…but these that we have loved from young, I know very well.
Never too late to learn the names of pulut picking up a few names already. Just like fish all I know is makan but what fish tak tahu. The only way I started to learn them was going around super market where they show the names and the price tag. Oh this is siakap, oh this is pomfret, oh here oh there muahahaha.
I don’t even know siakap… Pomfret, now only I know the English name…and the Malay name, ikan bawal. From young, we only know pek chio…and or chio as those were the names we used to call them at home.
Gosh, it is even cheaper here in the Klang Valley. Love them puluts to bits too! 😉
+Ant+
Lucky you… Lemak and wangi or not? Never had any there… 😦
My MIL pandai make this one la…sedap some more with a lot of “inti”
Not the same. The sambal will drown out the taste of the panggang – once, a cousin bought from Kuching….so much inti that it was like eating sambal with rice, the pulut almost non-existent already. Should not overdo things like that…
ate something similar to that.. but not wrapped in such a way.. haha 🙂
…and not cooked over an open fire? Not the same then…like the ones my missus bought home once. All thrown away in the end… 😦
i like the one with sambal udang! but your picture look very tempting lah.
I think Chinese-style is with sambal udang… I’m not a fan, not the same – the sambal is always not really sambal hay bee, just sambal-flavoured grated coconut and the pulut has no taste. 😦
There is a stall at my area’s night market that sells pulut panggang. I haven’t tried it myself coz I’m not a fan of them but I’ve seen people queue up to buy them. According to my cousin (who loves pulut panggang), the ones sold at this stall is really good.
I dunno if they’re any good…but these are simply out of this world. Eating is believing!
wah you used the fork to eat it. if me, I’ll just chuck the whole thing into my mouth.
Nope, we must eat the way we did when we were young – with our fingers. The fork was there to show how long the panggang actually was…
i miss pulut panggang! my aunt’s one! hehe some are too spicy ler.
Spicy? So Sabah ones also have inti like over there lah? These are kosong ones…no inti. You can actually savour the taste and fragrance of the pulut panggang. Yum!