The Silent Room

Today is May 13th, supposedly a black mark in Malaysia’s calendar. Some voices are crying out in hate, some calling out for peace. Some wanted to rally, while most of us just want to get to work/class on time. Malaysians are modest and simple that way.

The first step is to ‘prime’ the ingredients, so to speak. I heated some cooking oil in a small wok, and stir-fried onions, garlic, ginger, chilli and lemongrass – over a large fire. After the aroma has risen enough, I added a few tablespoons of oyster sauce, squeezed 1/8th of a lemon, salt, pepper, 5-spice and stirred a bit more.

Don’t touch the burger after you’ve put it on the grill, because the meat will break before it has a chance to clump and cook. So, I flipped it after 3 minutes, and let it cook for another 3-4 minutes. Then I continued flipping until the meat feels firm. After that, I turned off the heat, and covered it to keep it warm while I toast the buns.