♪ >> Those who live along the mighty Pahang River know that this is much more than a water highway.

It is the way of life for many people around here.

Originating in the Cameron Highlands, Pahang River flows 459 kilometers before entering the South China Sea.

Fishing and fish farming sustain much of the local population.

Life on the mighty Pahang River, next on "Taste of Malaysia with Martin Yan."

♪ ♪ ♪ >> "Taste of Malaysia with Martin Yan" is brought to you by... >> ♪ Yeah, yeah ♪ >> Circulon cookware.

Circles for life.

>> Monogram.

A full line of professional appliances designed for food and entertaining enthusiasts.

♪ ♪ By Melissa's.

The freshest ideas in produce.

By Granite Expo.

Offering a wide selection of cabinet and countertop solutions.

And by B&G Group of Malaysia.

♪ Building Malaysia's tomorrow.

♪ >> Traditional Malay houses are often built on stilts.

The reason is frequent flooding.

During the monsoon season, water can rise over low-lying areas.

The river gives life as a food source, but it also has the power to take lives away.

Up and down the Pahang River, you'll find many fish farms just like this.

And the most popular fish around here is the silver catfish or what they call "ikan patin."

The patin is by far the most popular freshwater fish here.

It is extremely versatile to all forms of cooking.

You can grill it, deep-fry it, or steam it.

A local favorite is patin tempoyak, which is patin cooked in a durian sauce.

The town Temerloh is called the home of patin, and there's a restaurant there that has patin tempoyak on its title.

Got to check it out.

♪ Welcome to Go Bang Maju.

Before I learn of the meaning of this name, I had already fallen in love with how it sounds.

Go Bang Maju.

I cannot think of a more attractive name for a popular local restaurant.

With me, I am so happy, Chef/Owner Rizal.

>> Yeah.

Thank you.

>> Very talented chef, has been a chef for 20 years.

We got this wonderful fish.

>> Patin.

>> Patin.

>> Durian, chili, and turmeric.

>> And so basically, what you need is, you make a special sauce.

>> Yes.

>> Okay.

This is the precious ingredient -- durian.

My favorite.

♪ Put it over here, and then we pound it.

Okay.

Pound.

Pound into a paste.

This is already very, very beautiful.

And then you put that durian right in here.

Okay.

Mix them all up.

Look at how colorful this is.

1 cup of water.

Bring this to a boil.

Put the sauce, 2 big tablespoons.

That means half a cup.

And I put it right over here.

[ Laughs ] In fact, this is the one that actually Chef Rizal just picked up from the fish market.

Oh.

Tiny bit of salt -- that's all.

Sugar -- about 2 teaspoons.

Three pieces of these -- some kelping.

This is the tamarind -- the tamarind fruit, right here.

Tamarind fruit.

>> Yeah.

>> Put it right here.

This is so beautiful.

One piece, two pieces.

Chef, how do you call this particular dish in Malay?

>> Ikan patin masak tempoyak.

>> Tempoyak.

♪ Yesterday, I cooked fish flavored with durian.

Mm, it is the most amazing, most delicious dish I have ever tasted, so I decided to visit a durian farm.

Few fruits in the world can bring out our passion as much as durian.

All over Asia, we call it "King of Fruit," so let's salute to the king.

Durian and durian, way up there.

Local people said, "Don't worry.

Durian has eyes.

They'll never fall on your head."

But to play safe, bring my helmet just in case.

♪ ♪ Amazing!

All of these durian, each one of them is tied down with this rope.

This way, they cannot fall down.

That means I feel safe.

I don't need this anymore.

They told me the reason they tie this down -- every single one of these -- is because each one of these is worth a fortune, up to 50 to 75 dollars U.S. apiece.

And they don't want any one of these durian to fall down and crack open -- they cannot sell it.

Worse yet, the wild boar will pick it up and eat them, and you're gonna lose a fortune.

Now, let's have a durian party!

These days, you can find durian in many parts of Southeast Asia, but it's really native to Malaysia and Indonesia.

It is easy to identify because it doesn't look like any other fruits, and it certainly doesn't smell like any other fruits.

Here there are several different varieties of durian, but this one on his hand is the best.

This is the Musang King, the most precious, the most pricey of them all.

Now, how can you tell?

Look at this star -- it looks like a starfish right here.

Look at that.

This is an indication this is a true Musang King.

What is so unique and so pricey and precious about Musang King?

First, very, very strong aromatic -- it smells good.

First bite, very smooth texture.

Sweet, a little bitterness to it.

That means, when it's bitter, it makes the sweet -- the sweet taste a little bit more exciting.

It's pronounced, and it stands out.

If you come to Malaysia, have never tasted Musang King, you have never been to Malaysia.

♪ Please open the door, please.

Please.

No durian!

You must be kidding.

Please!

♪ The mighty Pahang River is the longest river on the Malay Peninsula.

It begins high up in the mountains and empties into the South China Sea.

A water super highway with spectacular views.

The Pahang sustains a wide variety of seafood.

Most tourists collect souvenirs like handicraft or postcards.

I come here for recipes.

Here's one of the recipes that I want to share with you.

I'm so honored to have Chef James with us today.

Thank you so much.

Heidi, how are you?

>> Hi, nice to meet you.

>> Thank you so much.

>> Thank you.

>> I'm gonna do a very unique dish.

Now, basic Malaysian -- basic spices, very simple.

Always have chili.

Chili, shallot, galangal, garlic, and Kaffir lime leaf and, also, blachan.

Now here, I'm gonna cut this up.

Okay?

And I go, 1, I'm gonna cut this up, little chunks, and this is red chili.

I want this spicy sauce to not only have the spices, but, also, chili.

This lemongrass -- I crush this, and I chop this up like this.

It's all chopped up like this.

Okay?

Then I put this all together, and then some garlic.

I even crush the garlic like this -- like this.

And then I have shallot.

I cut it in half, and I go...

Okay?

And I put it right here.

And then, also, Kaffir lime leaf.

And in Malaysia, they use a lot of these, too.

And then we'll put them all right in this chopper.

Now, you can also throw in a tiny bit of cilantro.

No, by all means.

Okay?

Anything you can find.

I have a little piece of leftover tomato in the fridge.

And this is how I do it.

I don't want the skin -- I just skin it like this.

I cut it -- I cut the skin like this, get, cut it, skin.

This will give the tanginess and the color to this -- this is addition because I don't want to waste.

I happen to also have a little piece of pineapple, and I will show you how I do this, okay?

You remove the eye like this -- one, two.

You see?

And this is how the Asians do it for centuries.

And I cut this up.

I cut it up.

And I make this sauce a little bit more tangy, more fruity.

Normally, this recipe does not have this, so...but I happen to have this, so I throw this in.

And then, you can start to do this.

[ Motor whirring ] [ Whirring slows, stops ] I add the pineapple and the tomato.

In the meantime, I'm gonna cook this to get the flavor out because you want all of this to melt, to infuse.

So I put a tiny bit of oil here.

[ Bottle thumps lightly ] [ Sizzling ] Okay.

There's a lot of moisture.

This is gonna be very good.

Stir.

Cook it until you see the oil floats on top.

While I'm cooking this, I'll go over to the fridge and pick up the shrimp.

Mmm.

Nice and fresh.

[ Sniffing ] Mmm.

Beautiful.

Now, all you have to do is sprinkle this shrimp with a tiny bit of pepper, a tiny bit of salt, okay, and then you put it right on the baking sheet right here.

One... You can grill them, you can barbecue them, you can pan-fry them, but I'm gonna broil them in the oven.

I'll put it over here... and broil it.

Very, very hot.

Right on top.

And adjust the timer.

[ Beeps ] Four minutes, okay?

And then we'll let it cook for a little while.

In the meantime, let's check.

This is gonna be so good.

You see, the oil will come out.

And then I put a tiny bit of salt.

[ Spoon clinks ] [ Tapping ] You want it hotter, put a tiny bit of extra pepper and a tiny bit of sugar, okay?

And then finally, coconut milk or coconut cream, okay?

Malaysian food is well-known to use coconut cream rather than coconut milk.

This is very rich.

Beautiful color.

Oh, it's gonna be so good.

Now, the sauce is nice and ready.

Mmm.

Beautiful.

I'll turn it down, and I'll get my shrimp.

This is so beautiful.

Ooh, look at that.

Nice.

And then, when it's done, I also want to show you, you can braise it a little bit more.

Pan-fry it a little bit, heat it up.

Put a tiny bit of this oil -- not much, just enough.

Then, we sauté this, okay?

This is so beautiful.

And then, with the sauce, we braise a little of it.

We braise this.

While I'm braising it with the sauce, and turn it upside down.

It is so colorful.

[ Sizzling ] Braise it a little bit.

Very unique recipe.

When this is done, I have one over here...

I have one over here... and I have one over here.

Okay, and then, I have extra sauce.

Put it right on top.

Dot, dot, dot.

Extra sauce.

And then, now, very simple.

Everybody can do this at home.

It is the broiled shrimp with a citrus or pineapple spicy sauce.

You know what?

Cook this dish a couple of times, and you will be known as the Spice King of your neighborhood.

Enjoy!

I'm by the riverside of Pahang River.

In this very special place and very special house, a world-class celebrity chef was born.

I am honored because he invited me to come to his hometown, his house, to cook with him to celebrate a very special day in Malaysia.

Audience, fans from around the world attend his cooking demonstrations, his appearances, but they can never get close to him.

He's a superstar... [ Chuckles ] >> ...and, also, a very dear friend.

Today, I'm so honored to be invited by this gentleman.

>> Thank you!

>> Chef Wan, how you doing?

>> Can you imagine?

As we always say, if Yan can cook, Wan can cook, too.

>> Of course.

Wan can -- Yan can.

>> Of course, he's [ speaks indistinctly ] And I seem to remember when we were studying in San Francisco at the California Culinary Academy, Martin was in one of our lectures many, many years ago... >> Now, I understand that this is a special day in Malaysia.

>> Mm.

Mm-hmm.

>> And you're preparing a very special dish.

>> Correct.

>> Okay.

Tell us what are you gonna prepare for us.

>> Okay, before I start that, you know, I just want to tell you, I am caramelizing the onion.

>> Yeah.

>> Yeah.

All yellow, golden, before we start to tell the story.

>> Yeah.

>> And here, we have, yeah, the puree.

>> Yeah.

Yeah.

>> Lemongrass.

>> Lemongrass.

>> Okay?

Can you see that?

>> Mm-hmm.

>> Yeah.

We have... >> Shallot.

>> ...shallot.

>> Ginger, garlic, and galangal.

>> And we're gonna...

So, all this goes inside.

>> Yeah.

>> Yeah.

>> Yeah.

>> So, this is typical of what we call a celebration food during the end of Ramadan, where we celebrate tomorrow, actually, Eid al-Fitr.

And this is called "soto ayam," or simply a chicken soup dish.

Has origin from Indonesia.

Eid al-Fitr in Malaysia is about family coming together.

All the family will come back... >> Yeah.

>> ...and we all work in a very welcoming, a very wonderful spirit, no?

>> Yeah.

>> All working together.

That's how you see Eid al-Fitr is all about community coming together, family.

>> Yeah.

>> So everybody put extra hands, you know, to help, you know, to prepare all kinds of dishes.

And one very special moment, as well, is to see all of our relatives and friends and ask for forgiveness.

The first thing we need to do here, as you can see -- I am sautéing all the onions to fragrance because they're onions and all that.

And the next thing you want to do as we cook all the spices.

We have your cumin, coriander, fennel seed, white pepper, all put together, yeah?

And a few other secret recipes of Chef Wan.

[ Both laugh ] >> Secret recipe.

Yeah.

>> So all you need is just a sprinkle of this, yeah?

Inside that, we throw in the chicken, yeah?

>> Yeah.

>> So the chicken will be cut into pieces and all that in large pieces.

>> Big chunks.

>> Yes, chunks.

We live in this fabulous place called "Sungai Koyan," surrounded by acres of palm oil.

>> Yeah.

>> And this is where it all comes.

>> Malaysia palm oil.

>> Yeah, the Malaysian palm oil, yeah.

Wonderful, so we throw in a bit of palm oil inside there.

>> Yeah, yeah.

>> Yeah.

Now, Martin, you are here cooking in Sungai Koyan, and this is my country home.

>> Yes.

>> As you can see, my mother is there.

>> Hi, Mom!

>> Hi, Mom!

Even my ex-wife came to see me.

You know, I'm gonna cook nicely, yeah, for her.

[ Laughs ] Okay, now we put hot water.

>> I'm getting it.

>> Yeah, yeah.

>> Yeah, yeah.

So, a little bit of aromatic, and all the spices cook.

>> Yeah, all simmer together.

>> Yeah.

>> It's such a simple thing -- soto ayam.

Now we want to make our so-called here -- the bebola daging.

>> Yeah.

>> You throw in the mixed beef.

>> Is this beef?

No, this is -- >> Mashed potato.

>> Mashed potato.

>> Now, I fry the potato, nicely -- I didn't boil.

I fried them.

>> Yeah.

>> Celery, green onion, the caramelized onion.

Mix them up.

>> With egg?

>> Yes.

>> Yolk.

>> So the egg yolk -- that binds it together.

>> Yeah, bind them together.

>> There you are.

>> Yeah.

>> So very easy.

And just roll them like that.

>> Yeah.

>> Yeah.

And -- whoo-whoo!

>> And look.

Ooh?

>> Look at that.

Martin.

>> Roll it?

>> That's it.

>> Roll it around?

>> That's it.

>> Just your hands?

>> Yeah.

That's it.

>> Just hands -- shape it?

>> Yeah.

>> See, all these balls -- shaped into little perfect round balls, okay?

>> I think you make your balls better than me.

>> Yeah?

>> Now I want you to taste it, but I want my mother, as well.

Mom, come.

>> Mom, come.

>> As you know, she's 84.

>> 84.

>> And from there, she's gonna take a half an hour to walk.

>> Okay.

We'll wait for half an hour for our mom to come.

You know?

>> Needs a bit of rice cube.

>> Yeah, yeah.

>> Yeah.

So that's why it's a complete meal for breakfast, whatever, because you know why?

Here you have the carbohydrates, yeah?

Soto ayam.

>> Mother, 84 years old.

>> I know.

>> Looks sharp.

>> Ah.

>> [ Laughs ] >> Little balls, Ma, little balls.

>> Yeah.

>> Yeah?

Little balls.

That's how we serve a bit.

And then we put the soup.

Now, the secret of all soto is her -- Mom, tell Martin, you know, how you become such a good cook.

I mean, she copied a lot my recipe, you know.

>> [ Laughs ] >> She tells everyone I'm not Chef Wan -- she's Chef "Wan," and I'm Chef Two.

[ Laughter ] Very clever one, huh?

Ma, smell.

Mama, smell.

>> Smell, smell, smell, smell.

Mmm!

>> Is it okay?

>> Yes.

>> You know what?

>> Enough salt, no?

You need more salt?

>> It's not good -- it's excellent.

>> Oh, thank you.

>> [ Laughs ] >> And take the rice, as well.

The rice must go together, and the beans sprouts, and go like [crunches] >> The meatball is nice and soft.

The rice soaks up the spicy broth.

>> Correct.

>> Thank you, Chef Wan and Chef Two, inviting me to your lovely home.

You don't have to be born rich.

>> Yeah, yeah.

>> You just have to work hard... >> Work hard, yeah.

>> ...dedicate your whole life, and be passionate about what you do.

>> Passion, exactly.

>> Today, food brought us all together.

>> Yeah.

Young and old.

>> Young and... >> ♪ The young Wan can never be so old ♪ She can dance.

>> Oh, she can dance, yeah.

>> ♪ The young Wan can never be so old ♪ >> Once again, thank you so very much.

Thank you very much.

>> You're welcome.

>> And thank you very much.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> Last night, I had unforgettable and sweet dreams.

Now I'm up in the rainforest looking for my honey.

I want to surprise her.

♪ >> See?

I told you you don't have to worry.

Here, the bees won't sting you.

[ Clicks tongue ] >> I'm concerned because this face is important for me and my fans.

I don't want to have beestings all over my face.

I've traveled all over the world.

I've seen a lot of beehives, but every single one of them looks exactly the same, but different right here.

>> Because the bees that you're used to are honeybees.

>> Yes.

>> Now, our bees are tropical, stingless bees.

And we call them "stingless" for a reason -- because they don't sting.

Would you like to have a look inside the hive?

>> Let me check it out.

You sure?

You guarantee it won't sting?

>> I guarantee it won't sting.

>> Okay.

>> No problem.

>> Whoa, it's very, very different.

Wow.

But it looks very different.

It looks like it's artificial.

>> We help them because the bees spend time using beeswax and propolis to make the little honeypots.

>> Yes.

>> So what we do is, we built these pots for them so that they can spend their effort on making honey.

>> What is different between the one with the hole and the one without a hole?

>> Well, the ones with the -- the ones that have been covered over is the one that the bees have already filled up with either honey or pollen.

And then they seal it with this cover, which is made up of a mixture of beeswax and propolis.

Now, each honeypot is sterile because the propolis is a natural antibacterial agent.

>> Mm.

Even the honey looks a little bit different -- it's not as thick.

>> Would you like to try some?

>> Of course.

>> Yes.

Straight from the hive.

>> Yeah.

You can do that?

You can try it right here?

>> Absolutely.

>> Okay.

>> This is sterile.

>> I can taste it, right?

>> Absolutely.

No problem at all.

♪ >> [ Breathes sharply ] By far, the most unique, the most wonderful honey I've ever tasted.

You know why?

It's refreshingly sweet.

Not only that -- it has a tint of tanginess.

It's naturally sweet and sour.

>> Look at the environment around us.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> We're in the middle of the rainforest.

This is the Malaysian rainforest -- we've got thousands of species around us.

The water is good.

The air is good.

The soil is good.

All of that natural goodness is -- this is what the bees eat.

It goes into the honey.

That's what you're tasting.

>> I'm gonna pump up some more myself because I love it so much.

♪ Down the river, up the hill, Pahang shows us that country living can be every bit as exciting as life in the big cities, truly unforgettable with sweet memories.

Join me on the next episode of "Taste of Malaysia with Martin Yan."

Bye-bye.

>> You can visit our website to learn more about Martin and his travels, get information about upcoming events, find and print selected recipes, provide e-mail feedback, and more.

It's all at yancancook.com.

"Taste of Malaysia with Martin Yan" is brought to you by... >> ♪ Yeah, yeah ♪ >> Circulon cookware.

Circles for life.

>> Monogram.

A full line of professional appliances designed for food and entertaining enthusiasts.

♪ ♪ By Melissa's.

The freshest ideas in produce.

By Granite Expo.

Offering a wide selection of cabinet and countertop solutions.

And by B&G Group of Malaysia.

♪ Building Malaysia's tomorrow.

♪ ♪ ♪