There are many dishes that define Hari Raya: lemang, ketupat and, of course, rendang.
But for Nora’shah Ibrahim and her family in Kuala Kangsar, rendang is not just a Raya tradition: it is also how she carries on her late mother’s legacy. The family-run business, Rendang Tok Yoep, uses recipes inherited from his late mother, Faezah Wan Maimunah.
My mother likes to cook, but she doesn’t allow us to cook. I sit on the stairs and watch it. I always want to learn from him,” Nora’shah, popularly known as Kak Cik, told FMT Lifestyle. After Kak Cik married, her husband, Ahmad Rosly Abdul Aziz, also loved his mother’s cooking. So her mother passed on her recipes to her daughter – including the famous rendang tok, a dry beef stew with a sweet taste.
Kak Cik’s rise to entrepreneurship started with his desire to see to it that his elderly parents had money. “I want to give them my own money, not my husband’s money,” said the 62-year-old, adding that her husband worked as an engineer at the time. About 15 years ago, he started selling chips, or what many Malaysians know as kerepek. She later started Rendang Tok Yoep with her husband who quit his job to become a full-time businessman. Her husband added his twist to the recipe and it didn’t take long for customers to fall in love with their beef rendang.
Lighting a tree
The couple is blessed with two sons and a daughter. Their second son, Ahmad Zulhusmi Ahmad Rosly, studied to be an engineer like his father. But after graduating, he started the family business. “I used to watch my parents cooking and carrying their bags. When I started helping them, I enjoyed it and started to like it,” said Zulhusmi, the current project manager of Rendang Tok Yoep. Seeing an opportunity to expand the business, he introduced frozen rendang, which helped expand his reach to other areas such as the Klang Valley.
As demand grew, his brothers also joined the business, and they were involved in the business even more.
Today, Rendang Tok Yoep also sells chicken, mutton and lamb shank rendang. While selling frozen rendang helped increase their customer base, they then discovered a better option: retort packaging.
This is when the food is sealed in a small bag and heated to a high temperature. This packaging allows customers to enjoy ready-to-eat rendang without being processed.
The best part is that with retort packaging, rendang can last for up to two years. In addition, the cooperative family opened a restaurant, Rumah Makan Rendang Tok Yoep, in the village, serving nasi lemak, lempeng (pancakes) and, of course, rendang. Today, their business is built on a solid foundation, with customers from as far away as Singapore and Brunei.
Kak Cik said, “It was my mother who first gave me the food, so if people say it’s delicious, that’s why.” But it’s really fun. The meat is soft and the flavor is sweet, while it is placed in a mixture of spices in the fire for about four hours. Rendang cooking has brought this family together, and Zulhusmi hopes the same for her customers.
“Rendang tok is something the whole family can enjoy with lemang and others. So I hope that this can strengthen the relationship between our loved ones,” he concluded.
