A vegan diet comprises only plant-based food, meaning you don’t consume animal meat or animal-derived products such as dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt) and eggs. Some hardcore vegans, don’t even consume honey. Vegetarians on the other hand, simply do not eat meat and eggs but consume dairy products.
The strict no-meat and no-meat derivatives can pose quite a dilemma for vegans celebrating Hari Raya as the traditional spread is rather meat-heavy.
“It’s not Raya without rendang,” said vegan Elliz Azhar, who posts mouth-watering Malay dishes on her Instagram account, ‘The Kampung Vegan’, a name inspired by her life in a Langkawi village, as well as her love for kampung food.
Needless to say, the 32-year-old content creator makes a mean vegan version of her mum’s chicken rendang using enoki mushrooms. “You know how when you cook chicken till it’s tender, and it falls apart and becomes one with the sauce? I feel that using enoki mushrooms gives a similar texture. It’s definitely my favourite vegan Raya dish,” she told FMT.
Vegan journey
Elliz said adopting a plant-based diet came naturally to her since her family members were on-off vegetarians and she herself was lactose intolerant. “It had been a goal of mine, but watching the vegan documentary ‘What the Health’ was definitely a turning point,” she shared.
So she got down to experimenting and veganising much-loved recipes that were originally meat-based.
“I wanted to start my own blog then, but I was so busy with work; I only got around to it during the lockdown last year,” she said, adding that she has always prepared her own meals, having learnt to cook from her mum and grandma.
Although only launching her channel in July last year, she already has over 23,000 followers, made up of vegans, non-vegans, as well as those who are transitioning. She uses regular store-bought ingredients for her recipes as it’s difficult finding vegan-specific products in Langkawi.
Vegan Hari Raya dishes
Tofu, tempeh or mushrooms are popular substitutes for meat in Hari Raya dishes, she said.
“Most Malaysian food is quite easy to veganise. For example, you can make vegan roti jala by substituting eggs with oil; it turns out the same and people can’t tell the difference.”
In addition, she also makes her own vegan belacan using, by her own admission, “a rather weird combination” of seaweed and fermented soy beans, also known as taucu.
When it comes to drinks, sirap bandung is a Raya must-have. For this, she substitutes condensed milk with a plant-based milk. Sometimes she makes her own ‘condensed milk’ by stirring oat milk and sugar over a low heat until it thickens.
“It’s quite easy, although it does take a bit of time,” she said, adding one could prepare teh tarik the same way.
She does however admit that some cookies and kuih can be hard to veganise, as butter can’t be swapped for oil at a 1:1 ratio. “Butter has some water content in it, and oil just doesn’t cook the same way, so it takes a lot of experimentation.”
However, some kuih like kuih ketayap and kuih seri muka are much easier to veganise. “For the latter, I use cornstarch instead of eggs to thicken the custard layer,” she said, adding that ground flaxseed mixed with water make for a great binder in other recipes.
She’s even got a handle on making the perfect vegan kuih makmur, her grandma’s signature kuih and her personal favourite. “It’s made from ghee and I found it quite difficult to veganise, but I’m happy to say that I’ve managed to do it and I will be posting the recipe soon.”
Fans of serunding should definitely check out Elliz’s mushroom serunding recipe. “I gave it to my dad, who’s not vegan, and he thought it was chicken,” she said, adding that she used a combination of oyster mushrooms and king oyster mushrooms to create the right texture.
A lot of people may still have the misconception that vegan food is pricey, but she begs to differ. “We don’t need to make rendang using imported mock meat, for example. It’s too expensive, in addition to being laden with preservatives and oil.
“Things like beans, tofu and tempeh are quite cheap, especially if you buy them from the market or kedai runcit. So really, veganising something is not as difficult or expensive as people think.”
Be sure to check out Elliz’s delicious veganised Raya recipes on Instagram and Facebook , as well as on YouTube.