Since the threat from the virus is far from over, strolling over to the daily Ramadan bazaar for “murtabak” or “ayam percik” is no longer possible, necessitating that Muslims either resort to restaurant takeaways or get creative in the kitchen for their break fast meals.
But if you have questionable cooking skills, Syafkun has got you covered. More popularly known as Syafkun or Syaf to netizens, he has created 30 simple recipes for every day of Ramadan.
Syaf is well-known for his rice cooker recipes, life hacks and his love for cats, which would explain his 384,000 followers on Instagram.
Speaking to FMT, Syaf explains that his popularity came about quite by chance as creating content back in 2018 was more a way to pass time than anything else. “I was something of an ‘inventor’ in secondary school and I’ve been passionate about inventing life hacks for years.
“While creating content, it dawned on me that many people are unaware of basic stuff that can be useful in everyday life. So, I decided to zero in on topics related to life hacks for food, pets, travel and tools.”
He credits the latest venture of creating 30 recipes for every day of Ramadan to his friend Khairul, who awed internet users no end when he posted his amazing recipes.
“I only thought about doing it when I worked with Khairul last year on the videos. And since my segment is tailored to life hacks, my recipes are mostly centred around how to use the simple rice cooker to achieve amazing results,” he says.
One may be forgiven for thinking how easy it is to cook up a meal, shoot and edit the video, then post it on social media, but Syaf explains how it’s a rather painstaking process.
He confesses he’s a bit of a slow learner and since he picked up editing videos only two years ago, the process from start to finish is a long one, taking him from four to eight hours just to shoot and edit a one-minute video.
With Ramadan bazaars prohibited this year because of Covid-19, Syaf, like everyone else, admits to missing the food he used to buy there. That’s when he decided to use his rice cooker to create his own amazing Buka Puasa dishes.
Syaf insists he’s no chef but has great ideas on how to cook delicious meals using just a rice cooker.
“Don’t worry too much about the outcome. After all, it’s not a competition about who can achieve more views or engagements. Just continue honing your cooking skills, be creative and keep trying new things,” he says.
For the first week of Ramadan, he posted a recipe on how to make rice cooker “apom balik” as well as how to grill squid and fish, and make a Thai-inspired sauce to go with it.
He’s got more such mouthwatering creations up his sleeve, so head over to Syaf’s Instagram and Facebook for his daily Ramadan surprises.
May this Ramadan make a great cook out of you!