CULTURE OF MALAYSIA : Foods

MALAYSIAN TRADITIONAL FOODS

MALAY

Variety is the spice in Malay food. The traditional culinary style has been greatly influenced by the long-ago traders from neighboring countries, such as Indonesia, India, the Middle East, and China. Malay food is often described as spicy and flavorful as it utilizes a melting pot of spices and herbs.

Malay cooking incorporates ingredients such as lemon grass, pandan (screwpine) leaves, and kaffir lime leaves. Fresh herbs, such as daun kemangi (a type of basil), daun kesum (polygonum or laksa leaf), nutmeg, kunyit (turmeric) and bunga kantan (wild ginger buds) are often used. Traditional spices such as cumin and coriander are used in conjunction with Indian and Chinese spices such as pepper, cardamom, star anise and fenugreek. Seasonings play an important role in Malay cooking as they often enhance the food taste and flavors. Many of the seasonings are not dried spices but are fresh ingredients such as fresh turmeric, galangal, fresh chili paste, onions, and garlic. A combination of fresh seasonings and dried spices are normally pounded together to make a fine paste and cooked in oil. Fresh coconut milk is often added.

Rice is the staple diet in any Malay meal. It is often served for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and supper too. Most meals are eaten by using your fingers, and eating utensils are kept to a minimum. All dishes are served at the same time, accompanied by a refreshing drink. Fish is popular in Malay cooking, as with other seafood such as shrimps and cuttlefish. Beef and mutton are very popular choices but never pork as it is against their religious beliefs to eat pork. The other popular white meat is chicken.

Nasi Lemak : A dish comprised or rice that has been steamed or boiled in coconut mil with a hotspicy sauce with mix cucumber and egg and others

Laksa : The main ingredients for laksa include shredded fish, normally kembung fish or mackerel, and finely sliced vegetables including cucumber, onions, red chillies, pineapple, lettuce, common mint, "daun kesum" (Vietnamese mint or laksa mint) and pink bunga kantan (ginger buds). Asam laksa is normally served with either thick rice noodles or thin rice noodles

Satay : A dish of seasoned, skewered and grilled meat, served with a sauce which may consist of diced or sliced chicken, goat, mutton, beef, pork, fish, other meats, or tofu; the more authentic version uses skewers from the midrib of the coconut palm frond, although bamboo skewers are often used. These are grilled or barbecued over a wood or charcoal fire, then served with various spicy seasonings.

CHINESE

Malaysian Chinese food is derived from mainland southern Chinese cuisine such as Fujian cuisine and Hakka cuisine but has been influenced by local ingredients and dishes from other cultures though it remains distinctly Chinese. Most Chinese meals have pork as their sub-ingredient, but due to the popularity and unique taste of the actual food, there are chicken options available for the local Malays (most Malays are Muslims). Some Chinese food restaurants nowadays can be found serving halal food. Chinese restaurants serving food in halal can introduce a wider range of customers to it.

Char Kway Teow ( Fried Flat Noodles ) : Stir fried rice noodles with prawns, eggs (duck or chicken), chives and beansprouts. Usually, with an option of cockles as well.

Wonton Mee : Wonton Noodles - Chinese noodles with Chinese dumplings (Chinese : 雲吞), chooi sam and BBQ pork . Dumpling are usually made of Pork and/or prawns. The noodles may be served either in a bowl of soup with dumplings or on a plate with some dark soya sauce flavoured with oil and slices of roast pork and vegetable. For the latter, the dumplings will be served in a separate bowl with soup.

Chee Chong Fun (Rice Sheet Rolls) : is square rice sheets made from a viscous mixture of rice flour and water. This liquid is poured onto a specially-made flat pan in which it is steamed to produce the square rice sheets.

Popiah : Hokkien/Chaozhou-style rolled crepe spring roll style, stuffed mainly with stewed vegetables, usually shredded tofu, turnip and carrots. Other items may also include egg, Chinese sausage ("lup cheong").

INDIAN

Indian influence in Malaysian cuisine started in the 19th century when large arrivals of Indian migrants were brought into the country as contract laborers to work in rubber estates and on the railways. Some did take the opportunity to set up trade in the textile and food industry. Indian cuisine can be divided into two mainstreams, Northern and Southern Indian cuisine.

North Indian cuisine boasts of a diet rich in meat and uses spices and ingredients such as yogurt and ghee in dishes that are elaborate without being overly spicy. Here, bread and chapati (wheat-flour pancakes) replaces rice, which is the center of most South Indian meals. Coconut milk, mustard seeds, and chilies are also widely used in the Southern province.

Spices are the heart and soul of Indian cooking. But the quantity and proportions vary with the geographical boundaries. Curry powder is almost never used. Spices are freshly grounded and added in many different combinations. Spices commonly used are coriander, turmeric, cumin, chilies, fennel, and fenugreek. Other fragrant spices added are cardamom, clove, cinnamon and star aniseed.

Banana leaf rice is white rice served on banana leaf with an assortment of vegetables, curry meat or fish and papadum.

Chapati is a type of bread originated from Punjab. It is made from a dough of atta flour (whole grain durum wheat), water and salt by rolling the dough out into discs of approximately twelve centimeters in diameter and browning the discs on both sides on a very hot, dry tava or frying pan (preferably not one coated with Teflon or other nonstick material). Chapatis are usually eaten with vegetable curry dishes, and pieces of the chapati are used to wrap around and pick up each bite of the cooked dish.

Fish head curry - a dish where the head of a fish (usually ikan merah, or literally "red fish"), is semi-stewed in a thick curry with assorted vegetables such as okra and brinjals.

Thosai (in Johor Bharu spelt Dosai) is a batter made from lentils and rice blended with water and left to ferment overnight. The batter is spread into a thin, circular disc on a flat, preheated pan, where it is fried with a dash of edible oil or ghee until the dosa reaches a golden brown colour. Then the thosai may optionally be turned over on the pan, and partially fried. The end product is neatly folded and served. Thosai is served with sambar (vegetable curry) and coconut chutney.

Idli is made from lentils (specifically black lentils) and rice — into patties, usually two to three inches in diameter, using a mold and steamed. Most often eaten at breakfast or as a snack, idli are usually served in pairs with chutney, sambar, or other accompaniments.

JAVANESE-INFLUENCED

There are a few Johorean dishes with Javanese influences or copied from Javanese. These include lontong, nasi ambeng and bontrot or berkat - both traditionally served after feasts like wedding ceremonies, Yasinan and others; and ungkep.

Soto - Soup with mee hun or ketupat.

Mee rebus - a famous noodle dish which consists of mee (a spaghetti like mixture of flour, salt and egg) served with a tangy, spicy and sweet potato-based sauce. It is sometimes also calledmee jawa, perhaps as a nod to its Javanese origins.

Pecal - It is a Javanese traditional cuisine which consists of long beans, slice of cucumber, beansprout, tauhu, tempe mix with special peanut sauce.

Telur pindang - Eggs boiled together with herbs and spices, popular during wedding feasts in Johor.

Penganan Kacau keledek is a dessert normally reserved for the Johor monarch and elites. It is made from sweet potatoes, a lot of eggs (at least 40), fresh coconut milk (not instant ones) and huge amounts of sugar. It is mixed and stirred on a simmering heat for at least 4 hours.

NYONYA FOOD

Nyonya food was developed by the Nyonya (Straits Chinese) and Peranakan (mixed Chinese/Malay ancestry) people of Malaysia and Singapore. It uses mainly Chinese ingredients but blends them with South-East Asian spices such as coconut milk, lemon grass, turmeric, screwpine leaves, chillies and sambal. It can be considered as a blend of Chinese and Malay cooking with some Thai influence.

Acar - various pickled meats and vegetables like acar keat lah (honey lime/calamansi), achar hu (fried fish), acar kiam hu (salt fish), acar timun (cucumber), acar awat (mixed vegetables).

Asam Laksa - A bowl of thick white rice noodles served in a soup made of fish, tamarind, onion, basil, pineapple and cucumber in slices.

Bak Chang - Similar to the original zongzi, or Chinese rice dumpling, made from glutinous rice wrapped in leaf along with pork, shiitake mushrooms, nut and salted egg yolk of a duck's egg. A common Peranakan variant (Nyonya zong (娘惹粽) involves pandan leaves being used as the wrapping instead.

Itek Tim or Kiam Chye Ark Th'ng is a soup whose main ingredients are duck and preserved mustard leaf and cabbage flavoured with nutmeg seed, Chinese mushrooms, tomatoes and peppercorns.

Nasi Kunyit (Translated into English as "Turmeric Rice") is glutinous rice cooked with turmeric colouring and is usually served with coconut milk chicken curry, "Ang Koo" (Literally "Red Tortoise", a Nyonya Cake) and Pink-dyed hard-boiled egg(s) as a gift of appreciation in celebration of the 1st month of a newly-born child.