Shamzuri (Sham) Hanifa, a native of Malaysia, moved to Ireland over 14 years ago seeking new opportunities and experiences. Steeped in a tradition and love of the freshest foods and inspired by his Grandmother’s flavoursome cooking, Sham started his culinary career at 12! He has worked his way up though every stage of the catering world, from kitchen porter to head chef. At the age of 20, his whirlwind Irish adventure began in leading restaurants in the West of Ireland. Little did he know then, that he would spent the next 14 years here, meet and marry an Irish girl, start a family, before settling in Jamestown in 2008 to open his own restaurant, the acclaimed The Cottage Restaurant.
"Agak-Agak is what Hanifa and his team do every day in My Kitchen, a big, bright room in Carrick-on-Shannon retail park. Look at the way they add zesty green mango to a dish of Asian slaw, served with Thai beef salad, or the way they balance Thornhill duck salad with peeled orange and pickled cucumber, hitting the sweet note with every dish is their ambition, and they achieve it almost effortlessly, right from beef rendang to a buttermilk chicken burger. Fun, friendly food, and always perfectly agak-agak"
As part of the Irish Blasta Books Series, Sham’s very own book comes in at #11. Sham joins fellow Irish chefs and writers (e.g. Lily Ramirez-Foran, Russell Alford and Patrick Hanlon, Jess Murphy and Eoin Cluskey, and Conor Spacey among others) in sharing recipes and ideas for modern-day cooking
Agak-agak (pronounced aga-aga, with a silent k) is a Malaysian saying that means ‘guess-guess’ or ‘use your instincts’. In this book, Sham Hanifa has translated those instincts into easy-to-follow recipes that incorporate all the flavour of his diverse heritage, which includes Chinese, Thai, Indian and Malay influences.
This multicultural background is reflected in Sham’s food, from Thai basil beef and the Malaysian comfort food classic of chicken rice to his grandmother’s famous crab laksa and Sham’s own renowned lamb rendang.
With instructions on how to make many dishes out of one batch of spice paste, satay sauce or chicken broth plus clever cooking tips for how to plan ahead to get two different meals out of the same ingredients, Agak-Agak packs a big flavour punch into a little book.
Agak- Agak is available now from www.blastabooks.com or in-store at My Kitchen.
"No other cook in Ireland runs such imaginary culinary riffs as you will enjoy at The Cottage. Sham Hanifa's brilliance has been in discovering the synergies between Irish ingredients and Asian grace notes. Mr. Hanifa makes these wonderful inventions seem entirely logical, and more importantly make them taste explosively delicious, packed with warm, enlivening flavours and textures that are simply unique. Wonderful service, and great value for money complete the picture of a happy, happening place in Jamestown. "
"Sham Hanifa's Malay-style beef curry...It's a stop-in-your-tracks kind of dish, warmly filling and lavishly indulgent"
