Ex-bodyguard Khairuddin Dollah says preparing this traditional dish brings back fond memories of his beloved grandfather.

Khairuddin Dollah makes lemang every Ramadan using techniques taught by his beloved grandfather. (Anuar Idris @ FMT Lifestyle)

PETALING JAYA: Khairuddin Dollah’s muscular frame may have earned him the nickname “Deen Beruang”, but there is nothing ferocious about the former bodyguard when he speaks of his beloved grandfather who ignited his passion for cooking.

“He would teach me how to pick bamboo, how to wash, cut it, and prepare lemang. I was the only grandchild to follow him when he went looking for bamboo,” Khairuddin told FMT, speaking fondly of his grandfather, Jidin Aman.

“Now, whenever I look for bamboo, I will think of him. When I cook the lemang, I will remember him.

“I think if I had not tagged along with him all those times, I would have regretted it my whole life,” he said, watching bamboo stems roasting over a fire.

He said the sweet scent of glutinous rice cooking in bamboo takes him back to those precious outings with his grandfather in Kampung Ramuan China Kecil, Melaka.

Throughout the year, Khairuddin works odd jobs including making roti canai; but every Ramadan, he puts everything aside to harvest bamboo and cook lemang – all to keep his grandfather’s legacy alive.

Khairuddin uses banana leaves from the jungle for his lemang, claiming they provide a ‘unique’ flavour. (Anuar Idris @ FMT Lifestyle)

The 57-year-old begins the day by loading up his four-wheel drive with parangs and gunny sacks, before hitting the road with friends to look for bamboo.

“Usually, I harvest bamboo from a few places. Sometimes at Bukit Tinggi, Ulu Yam in Hulu Selangor, as well as Bentong and Raub in Pahang.”

He explained the process of identifying the right bamboo for harvesting. “If the leaves are long and wide, that means it’s good for cooking lemang.”

He also looks for wild banana trees, claiming their leaves give the lemang a “unique” flavour owing to the natural oils that are released when the lemang is roasted.

After several back-breaking hours of felling bamboo and dragging it back to his truck, Khairuddin and his friends fire up a generator and mitre saw, which helps make quick work of cutting down each stem into uniform pieces.

Once the bamboo has been segmented, packed into gunny sacks, and loaded onto the truck, they head back to Khairuddin’s shop, Lemang Warisan Damai in Damansara Damai, Selangor.

These days, generators and power tools make light work of prepping the bamboo. (Anuar Idris @ FMT Lifestyle)

There, he begins cooking. “First, I rinse the glutinous rice three or four times, then soak it for 20 minutes until it expands. Then I insert a banana leaf into each bamboo segment.”

Each piece is then filled with glutinous rice, after which a jug is used to pour a mixture of coconut milk, water and rock salt into each one, filling the vessel until all the rice is submerged.

The lemang is then left to rest for five minutes before being roasted on an open fire for up to two hours.

Khairuddin sells around 50 lemang a day, priced between RM10 and RM25, depending on the size.

However, the money he makes is secondary to his passion for cooking lemang. “All this is from my late grandfather. He shared the knowledge with me, so I should share it with others.

“Whoever is interested in learning about lemang, I can teach you,” he said genially. “It doesn’t matter who you are or what race you are.”

Lemang Warisan Damai Apartment Suria, Block B, Jalan PJU 10/4A, Damansara Damai, Selangor

Contact: 012-658 9876