Urap Pucuk Ubi

We've had the same canteen operator for 4 years. It is run by a manager, 2 cooks and 2 helpers. Since it's already the 4th year that they are with us, we are almost bored with their menu. It's been more or less the same all these years. Every Wednesday, for example, is Mee Jawa for breakfast. And on every Friday, they'll be selling Salad Chicken Rice. We teachers know the menu by heart. Lol.

Because they've been with us for such a long time, I've also become less tolerant with them. Yesterday, I was there at 11.30 a.m. for lunch, but was mortified that there was nothing left to eat. I decided to file a complaint with the Canteen Committee. Well, I did not mean to bitch about it, but I wanted to ensure that the canteen provided enough food for the staff to last the whole day. Since we worked long hours, it would only be appropriate to have a decent lunch.

This year, the canteen was shorthanded. The manager was not there, and there were only 4 workers left to man the place. We were furious when we found out that the manager was at her other canteen at another school because she'd also gotten the tender there too. That was another reason why we wanted to be stricter with them this year.

That aside, I must commend them for their effort in trying to vary the dishes they served for lunch. I noticed this week some new dishes in the lunch menu. The other day they had steamed tofu with minced chicken. That was something new. And then today, they served Urap.

"Apa ni?" I asked Siti, because the dish did not look very tantalising in the tray.

"Urap," she said. "Ini Indon. Ada daun ubi, kacang sama taugeh campur. Cubalah"

"Aaaah," I replied. I was interested because I had never come across Urap before this.

Siti hailed from Pontianak, Indonesia, and had worked here for the last 4 years.

My lunch

Chicken kurma, Urap pucuk ubi, and Acar.

Well, Urap is essentially like our kerabu. It's a spicy salad of vegetables, tossed in grated coconut and flavoured with spices and herbs. I liked it. The flavour of the tapioca leaves, combined with the crunchy texture of the long beans and the beansprouts tasted divine, because of the tangy, fragrant, and refreshing flavour of the herbs. It was very appetising indeed. Made me finish the rice!

I did not interview Siti in detail because I was rushing for time (busy day!!), but I asked her the herbs she used in the dish, and she said she used cekur and daun limau purut. Aaah. No wonder it was slightly sourish.

I did not think that I had ever come across cekur, but according to results that came back from Google, it's a kind of sand ginger. Okie. After this, I'd be looking out for cekur. But daun limau purut is Kaffir lime leaf, a pretty common ingredient.

Well, today's lunch had been fun and interesting because I got to sample something new. I do hope the canteen continue to provide enough food for the staff because we teachers NEED our share of POWER lunch too.

Anyway, I suppose anyone who likes kerabu would enjoy a good urap. Do look out for it!