A real BOMB! Well BOOM anyway!

Not only is it the BOMB, but it really is a BOOM...Roti Boom.

Now, many of you probably know by now I lived in SE Asia for several years back in the 90's. Much of this time was spent in Malaysia where my home base was (and my apartment). One of my favorite things to do was to go out in the evening to the hawker stalls and get some Mutton Curry and Roti Boom. This stuff was off the rails good! Many people have heard of Roti Canai, and Roti Boom is similar, but different. It is a true Malaysian original, and to watch the masters make this stuff was always a delight.

I can't even begin to tell you how good Roti Boom was! It was like a cross between a slice of fresh baked and buttered bread with the texture of something like a big noodle. It wasn't sweet, and it wasn't real salty, but it was this savory awesomeness. You could usually get a side of this spicy fish sauce to dip it in, or you could do like I did and dip it in some delicious mutton curry.

So sit back and watch some of the masters at making Roti Boom...and if you're not hungry after watching this, well, there's sumthin' wrong with ya!

Enjoy! It's worth 4 minutes of your life.

Incidentally, if you're wondering what the square things are on the other grill, they are a different kind of Roti called a Roti Telur which is kind of like a Roti Boom, but they have an egg cracked into the middle of them before they're cooked, and they're not cooked quite as stiff. Another fantastic dish, and great for breakfast!

Also, if you noticed at about the 3:05 mark, you saw the cook take a small plastic bag and pour some of the picante dip into it. That's how they served it, wrapped in paper with a small bag of spicy fish picante to dip it in. In Malaysia all the street hawkers served drinks and liquids in plastic sacks. If it was a drink, you just put a straw in the sack and drank it that way. The sacks usually had two holes near the top so you could stick your fingers through them and hold it. It was pretty ingenious really.

Its amazing what different cultures come up with. There must be hundreds of ways to cook a spread of dough.
So I reckon you prepared this dish yourself?
It can't be that complicated! I'd try it couldn't hurt.

a reply to: Trucker1

Actually no, I have not tried to prepare Roti Boom. I've had friends tell me it looks simple but it's surprisingly difficult. It all has to do with getting the consistency of the dough just right. Dough and bread making is one of my weakest points in cooking. I don't even make pizza dough very well (at all). I usually wind up just making a mess, and/or making a brick. My breads are better used as weapons than food. My pizza dough has the consistency of a shovel, and my bread is so dense it has a half-life.



You also need a pretty big cast iron cooking surface, which I don't have at the moment other than a cast iron pan.

Fortunately though, my wife is the bread and dough maker. Baking was her specialization in culinary school. Dough is a real science, whereas other forms of cooking is more of an art.

ETA - that's why I posted a video of someone ELSE making it. LOL! I'm taking notes. In addition to the dough being perfect, you also have to press it out to the exact thickness in order to be able to toss it like they do, otherwise you're just throwing dough around the room. Notice how thin it is when he's tossing it? It's like he's tossing a crepe...that ain't easy (though he makes it look that way).

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Sounds delicious, except for the mutton part. Then again, I enjoy trying different things, so I would sample it.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Those would probably taste good with canned gravy.

Looks like a variation on a choux pastry dough, high gluten flour. The melted margarine keeps things from becoming a sticky blob.

The most important thing (after stretching the dough to the right thickness) seems to be capturing that “air bubble” when the dough hits the griddle.

That bubble of air likely makes the roti light and tasty instead of thick and chewy tough.

a reply to: Night Star

You know, many people have a really sour taste about "mutton", but in many countries it can be lamb, wether lamb or an adult. Frankly, it's all good

For my part, it's hard to kill a lamb...I'd much rather kill an adult. People shun 'Mutton', but it's the same meat, just a little bit older.

I had no issues with "mutton" in SE Asia. It was good! And, I learned a lot about the animal.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Actually no, I have not tried to prepare Roti Boom. I've had friends tell me it looks simple but it's surprisingly difficult. It all has to do with getting the consistency of the dough just right.

Roti Boom looks wonderful! I really want to try this one, but I hesitate to work with dough that has to be stretched so thin it looks like rice paper. Based on looking up a couple of different recipes, it appears that the trick is to work a LOT of butter or oil into the dough while stretching it to keep it in one piece.

Dough and bread making is one of my weakest points in cooking. I don't even make pizza dough very well (at all). I usually wind up just making a mess, and/or making a brick. My breads are better used as weapons than food. My pizza dough has the consistency of a shovel, and my bread is so dense it has a half-life.

I always found home made pizza dough kind of bland, so I started making flatbread pizzas out of pretzel dough and it turned out awesome.