During the Holy Month of Ramadan, we can all come to look forward to sumptuous meals prepared for breaking fast, or iftar. Naturally, culinary social media stars such as Khairul Aming have also seen a surge of engagement from local audiences who are looking to find new ideas of what they should prepare for buka.
Khairul Aming faces criticism for allegedly using excess oil in recipe
With that said, Khairul has recently faced some criticisms online after debuting a new recipe. On his Twitter, he posted a short 2-minute video on how to make green chili sambal from scratch, which he recommends serving alongside a fried egg. A hearty meal that appeals to Malaysians across the board, it’s both suitable for sahur and iftar.
As he demonstrates on how to cook the items, it was seen that the main component of the dishes, other than the ingredients, were oil.
Breaking down the ingredients one by one, many noticed that the dishes, while simple to prepare, required the use of a considerable amount of oil. In the wake of this, concerns were raised as to whether the amount of oil used in the recipe was excessive, and whether if it could lead to adverse health effects on those who prepared and consumed the dish using Khairul’s recipe.
“If I used that much oil to cook, my wife would’ve made noise about it. She would ask me if I think oil is cheap.”
Source: Twitter
“Doctors have spoken about this issue, you should be more concerned about the health of Malaysians, that’s your responsibility.”
Source: Twitter
Source: Twitter
“That’s so much oil to cook the sambal.”
Source: Twitter
The video also attracted the attention of Hospital Putrajaya consultant physician and nephrologist, Dr Rafidah Abdullah, who urged Khairul to share more healthy recipes instead. She adds that she hopes more Malaysians will be wary of their food choices, as it would have an impact on their health.
Salam KhairulAming. Saya berharap masakan akan datang adalah makanan sihat. Banyak sangat minyak ni. Goreng is not good. Harap lebih peka dengan masalah rakyat Malaysia. Kita tidak mahu kesihatan makin teruk, negara makin merundum. TK. https://t.co/vIjsh4lmTV
— Dr Rafidah Abdullah (@rafidah72) April 1, 2023
But some have come to Khairul’s defense against Dr Rafidah’s criticisms.
“Khairul Aming does have a second account specifically for healthy meals and healthy diets. This ’30 days, 30 recipes’ initiative is strictly done for the sake of the Fasting Month, so it can’t be helped if there are recipes that use a lot of oil. But you can follow his IG for healthy meal contents. It’s not like he’s never done it before.”
“Hi Dr Rafidah. I hope that you will come up with healthy cooking videos. No need to wait around for someone else to do it, when you have plenty of followers too. I hope you will be more aware of this issue. We don’t want a worsening health crisis. Thanks.”
In response to this, Khairul was prompted to explain himself in a 4-minute long video. Thanking those who left feedback about his video, he shares how he understands the health concerns that his viewers had with regards to food, as he himself was obese at one point in his life and weighed 113 kilos. As of today, he has managed to lose over 13kg and has been trying to eat clean and healthy.
Given his intention to lose weight back then, Khairul said that he developed a disliking for Malaysian food as he had to force himself to eat clean, and was not able to indulge in his favourite local fare.
Source: Khairul Aming (Twitter)
“I’ve now tried a different approach where I still try to eat clean, but I let myself indulge in Malaysian food as well”, he said.
He opined that it isn’t beneficial to refrain yourself completely from indulging in Malaysian cuisine especially when you’re living in the country. In his case, Khairul said that he has been indulging in his favourite local dishes, but also balanced things out with portion control.
He adds that this method has been more sustainable for him, and that he has slowly begun falling back in love with Malaysian food again, in spite of his weight loss journey.
Source: Khairul Aming (Twitter)
As for the use of healthier ingredient substitutes in his recipes, he defended his choice not to use any substitutes or consider reducing the use of certain ingredients in his recipes as it could change the flavour of the dish.
“The reason why I use that much oil is because that is how to food is being prepared and served. I do it because I want it to taste like what you get elsewhere and please remember that my videos are just a guide on how to cook”, he said.
But of course, Khairul says that netizens are free to adapt the recipe as they deem fit when they cook it themselves, and reminds that taste is incredibly subjective to each individual.
Finally, he hopes that during the Holy Month of Ramadan, people will come to be more accepting of one another and that no unnecessary conflicts would arise during this period.
“Please remember to take good care of your health, get your workouts in and please control your portion intake.”, he said.
Watch his video below:
Thank you kepada semua yang bagi feedback mengenai minyak masak dalam masakan, I will take note for improvement 🙏🏻. If you dont mind, I want to share my perspective on this issue, especially coming from me as an obese Malaysian and also a food content creator: pic.twitter.com/OGQgBjqbvP
— Khairulaming (@khairulaming) April 2, 2023
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Also read: M’sian sambal entrepreneur Khairul Aming shares how he hit RM14 million sales milestone in 2022!
