Malaysian politician and former Umno Cabinet member Datuk Seri Ahmad Masan has stirred up controversy again, over yet another fried rice dish – Nasi Goreng Strawberry.
The avid home cook had previously attracted criticism with a tweet in 2015, after whipping up a meal of ‘GST-free fried rice’. The former deputy finance minister had been one of the main defenders of the government’s Goods and Services Tax then.
The Pontian MP had also shared a recipe for durian fried eggs in March last year. Honestly, we’re not sure which is worse.
Resipi sendiri masak sendiri: Durian goreng telur – campur bawang merah, bawang putih, ikan bilis, cili merah yang ditumbuk guna lesung. Isi durian campur telur. Digoreng guna minyak masak kelapa sawit. Makan dengan roti. Lazat. Sesuai utk minum petang. pic.twitter.com/PWxUlFzxRs
— Ahmad b Maslan (@ahmadmaslan) March 18, 2018
Most recently on Sunday (Jan 13), Ahmad posted a photo of another fruit-infused dish – strawberry fried rice, using strawberries purchased from Cameron Highlands, which is known for producing the fruit.
He even shared the recipe, you know, just in case you were interested in replicating it: “Rice, onions, egg, anchovies, pepper, chilli sauce, cabbage, salt, palm oil, and halved strawberries. Delicious… try it.”
The dish was specially created ahead of the Jan 26 Cameron Highlands by-election, wrote Ahmad in the caption.
In response, Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin joked that his new recipe was “gross”, while Youth and Sports minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman shared that the recipe was an “even bigger crime than 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB)”.
Nasi Goreng Strawberry?!?!
Jenayah yang lebih berat dari 1MDB 😝 https://t.co/CN5c0I2JFw— Syed Saddiq (@SyedSaddiq) January 13, 2019
Khairy even shared a photo of the “correct” way of using the fruit – as an ingredient in a pavlova dessert.
Ini cara betul nak pakai strawberry. Boleh diberi nama Pavlova Ahmad Maslan. @ahmadmaslan pic.twitter.com/4USwbG1K7H
— Khairy Jamaluddin 🇲🇾🌺 (@Khairykj) January 13, 2019
Netizens also slammed the dish, with some tagging British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay for his take on the unique dish.
@GordonRamsay do you approve of this recipe sir?
— abu garjim 🎣🐟 (@adzymmm) January 13, 2019
https://twitter.com/DANESQ5/status/1084444521755103235
However, the Umno MP defended his creation in a second tweet on Sunday, posting four other versions of ‘strawberry fried rice’ found online and even ‘nasi lemak strawberry’.
He wrote: “I didn’t say my recipe is original… Why so intense? Creativity has no limit.”
Saya tak kata resipi saya sesuatu yg original.
Org lain pun dah buat nasi goreng strawberry & nasi lemak strawberry. 4 gambar ini bukan masakan saya. Org lain dah buat pun. Apa yg nak dihairankan sangat.
Kreativiti itu tanpa had. Yg tidak jenayah & tidak berdosa boleh dicuba. pic.twitter.com/bXLfTTn3YR
— Ahmad b Maslan (@ahmadmaslan) January 13, 2019
Like they say, don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.
