Malaysia

Malaysian cuisine reflects the multi-racial aspects of Malaysia. Various ethnic groups in Malaysia have their dishes but many dishes in Malaysia are derived from multiple ethnic influences.

Staple foods

Rice tends to be a staple food in Malaysia as in most countries in the region. The rice eaten in Malaysia tends to be the local variety of rice or fragrant rice from Thailand, its northern neighbour. Quality Indian basmati is used in biryani dishes due to its long grained shape, fragrance and delicate flavour. Japanese short grain rice and others are slowly entering the Malaysian diet as Malaysians expand their culinary tastes to new areas.

Noodles are another popular food. Noodles such as “Bi Hoon, ” (rice vermicelli), “Kuay Teow, ” (soft fluffy flat rice noodles made of rice and translucent white in colour), “Mee, ” (yellow noodles), “Mee Suah, ” (very fine wheat vermicelli), “Yee Meen, ” (pre-fried noodles), “Langka), ” (transparent noodles made from green beans), and others provide a source of carbohydrate besides the ubiquitous serving of rice that accompanies every meal.

Indian style bread such as naan, puri, roti canai, thosai and idli are commonly eaten by most Malaysians as part of breakfast. Western style bread is a relatively new addition to the Malaysian diet, having gained acceptance in the last generation.

Poultry

Chicken is generally available from local farms and is a cheap source of meat. Farms used to be family affairs, with chickens slaughtered fresh on demand at the community wet market. For a small fee a vendor would put the dead chicken into a machine where the feathers would be removed. The machine consisted of a large container of hot water which was agitated aggressively resulting in removal of feathers. Gutting and cleaning the chicken would be performed at home.

Today, while wet markets still exist, most urban Malaysians purchase frozen poultry which are raised on huge farms run by corporations.

A special type of chicken recipe in Malaysian cooking is called the “ayam kampung” (literally village chicken). These are free-range chickens which are allowed to roam instead of being caged. These chickens are generally considered to have higher nutritional value. They are scrawnier than their farmed counterparts, meaning they have less body fat. Cooking of kampung chicken is usually by way of steaming or preparation in a soup.

Duck and goose also form part of the Malaysian diet.

Satay chicken, grilled chicken with a peanut and coconut milk sauce, is the national dish of Malaysia.

Beef

Beef is common in the Malaysian diet though it is notable that followers of certain religions such as Hinduism and some forms of Buddhism forbid the consumption of beef. Beef can be commonly found cooked in curries, stews, roasted, or with noodles. Malays generally eat beef that is halal.

Pork

Pork is largely consumed by the Malaysian Chinese community in Malaysia. Malaysian Malays are by definition Muslim and therefore do not consume pork since Islam forbids it. Canned pork can usually be found in the non-halal sections of local supermarkets and hypermarkets, and fresh pork can be bought in some wet markets and some supermarkets and hypermarkets.

Mutton

Mutton is also a part of the Malaysian cuisine. It generally refers to goat meat rather than sheep. The meat is used in dishes such as goat soup, curries, or stews. It is a popular ingredient in Malaysian Indian food.

Seafood

Many types of seafood are consumed in Malaysia, including shrimp or prawn, crabs, squid, cuttlefish, clams, cockles, snails, and octopus. In general, members of all ethnic communities enjoy seafood, which is considered halal by Malaysian Muslims (and indeed most other Muslims) though some species of crabs are not considered halal as they can live on both land and sea. But most people do not take this as a staple or daily meal since it is expensive.

Fish

Fish features in the Malaysian diet and most local fish is purchased the day after it is caught. Frozen fish is generally imported. Such fish, namely salmon and cod, are well received on the Malaysian table but are not caught by local fishermen. Imported fish are frozen and flown in as pieces or as whole fish and usually sold by weight.

Vegetables

Vegetables are usually available year round as Malaysia does not have four seasons. During the rainy season, sometimes vegetable yield decreases but does not stop altogether. Therefore, vegetables can be purchased throughout the year but are slightly more expensive at certain times of the year.

Fruit

Malaysia’s climate allows for fruits to be grown all year round. Most tropical fruits are either grown in Malaysia or imported from neighbouring countries. The demand for fruits is generally quite high. Some notable fruits include:

• The durian, a fruit with a spiky outer shell and a characteristic odour is a local tropical fruit that is notable because it provokes strong emotions either of loving it or hating it. It is also known as the “King of the Fruits”.
• The rambutan also has a distinctive appearance, being red or yellow in colour (when ripe) and having fleshy pliable spines or ‘hairs’ on its outer skin.
• The mangosteen, often called the “Queen of the Fruits”.
• The lychee, which has a bumpy red skin and sweet, sometimes made with tea to make it sweet. they are sold all year round.
• The mango, a refreshing fruit
• The longan, which name translates to ‘Dragon Eye’ in Chinese, and is called mata kucing in Malay (literally ‘cat’s eye’) and it’s similar to lychee

Food types

Indigenous Malaysian cuisine has been influenced by Chinese, Indian, Thai and many other cultures to produce an entirely new and rich cuisine of their own. Many Malay dishes revolve around a Rempah, which is a spice paste or mix similar to an Indian Masala. Rempahs are made by grinding up fresh and/or dried spices and herbs to create a spice paste which is then sauteed in oil to bring out the aromas.

Malay food

• Kangkung belacan‘ is water convolvulus wok-fried in a pungent sauce of shrimp paste (belacan) and hot chilli peppers. Various other items are cooked this way, including petai (which is quite bitter when eaten raw; some older generation Malays still eat it as is) and yardlong beans.
• Keropok lekor, a specialty of the state of Terengganu and other states on the east coast of Peninsula Malaysia, is a savoury cake made from a combination of batter and shredded fish. Sliced and fried just before serving, it is eaten with hot sauce.
• Kuih is usually a cake eaten during the morning or during midday.
• Ikan Bakar, grilled/bbq-ed fish with either chilli, kunyit (turmeric) or other spice based sauce.
• Ketupat and rendang is served normally on Hari Raya festival .
• Nasi Lemak – a rice cooked with coconut milk and served with anchovies, roasted nuts, cucumbers,a slice of egg, a chili paste known as sambal and a choice of curries & rendang
• Nasi Dagang is the Nasi Lemak of east coast Peninsula Malaysia, in the state of Terengganu and Kelantan.
• Nasi Kerabu is a type of rice which is blue in colour (dyed by a kind of blue flower), originated in Kelantan state.
• Nasi Paprik originated from southern Thailand, rice with “lauk”, typically chicken.
• Nasi Goreng Kampung a type of fried rice, traditionally flavored with pounded fried fish (normally mackerel), though recently fried anchovies are used in place of it.
• Lontong is a yellowish creamy soup mix with mee hun and ketupat.
• Soto Soup with mee hun or ketupat
• Apam Balik – a bread like puff with sugar, corn, and coarse nut in the middle.
• Pulut- Glutinous rice serve with either rendang or coconut and brown sugar
• Serunding – Shredded meat in a form of meat floss with spices.
• Nasi Berlauk – Plain rice served with different variety of dishes
• Ayam Percik – grilled chicken with spicy sauce

Nyonya food

Nyonya food was developed by the Peranakan 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.

Examples of Nyonya dishes include:

• Asam Laksa. A bowl of thick white rice noodles served in a soup made of fish meat, tamarind, onion, basil, pineapple and cucumber in slices.
• Laksa lemak is a type of laksa served in a rich coconut gravy.
• Perut Ikan is a spicy stew (of the asam pedas variety similar to asam laksa) comprising mainly vegetables/herbs and getting its distinctive taste mainly from fish bellies preserved in brine and daun kaduk (The Wild Pepper leaf is from the Piper stylosum or the Piper sarmentosum).
• Nasi Ulam is a herbed rice comprising a variety of herbs (daun kaduk, daun cekur, daun kesum etc.) shredded thinly and mixed raw into hot rice with pounded dried shrimp (hae bee) and salt fish (kiam hu) and chopped shallots.
• Kerabu Bee Hoon is a salad dish comprising rice vermicelli mixed with sambal belacan, honey lime (limau kesturi/calamansi) juice, and finely-chopped herbs and spices. Other famous salad dishes are kerabu bok nee (black fungus/tikus telinga), kerabu kay (chicken), kerabu kay khar (chicken feet), kerabu timun (cucumber), kerabu kobis (cabbage), kerabu kacang botol (four angled bean), kerabu bak poey (pork skin).
• 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.
• Jiew Hu Char is a dish made up mainly of shredded vegetables like turnip, carrot, and cabbage and fried together with thinly shredded dried cuttlefish.
• Ter Thor T’ng’ (pig’s stomach soup) requires a skilled cook to prepare and deodorise the ingredients, using salt, before cooking. Its main ingredients are pig’s stomach and white peppercorns.
• Kiam Chye Boey is a mixture of leftovers from Kiam Chye Ark Th’ng, Jiew Hu Char, Tu Thor Th’ng and a variety of other dishes. “Boey” literally means “end”.
• Otak-otak is a fish cake grilled in a banana leaf wrapping. The town of Muar is famous for it. The Penang Otak Otak is steamed, not grilled and the distinct flavour and aroma or daun kaduk and coconut milk is clearly evident in this unique version.
• Ayam pongteh, a chicken stew cooked with tauchu or salted soy beans and gula melaka. It is usually saltish-sweet and can be substituted as a soup dish in peranakan cuisine.
• Ayam buah keluak, a chicken dish cooked using the nuts from Pangium edule or the “Kepayang” tree, a mangrove tree that grows in Malaysia and Indonesia.
• Cincalok, a distinctly Peranakan condiment made of fermented shrimp
• Se Bak, pork loin, marinated overnight with herbs and spices, cooked over a slow fire and simmered to perfection.
• 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).
• Ngoh Hiang (so called because of the use of Chinese five spice powder to flavour the mined meat), also known as Lor Bak (so called because of the lor or starch-based dipping sauce) is a fried, sausage like dish made from minced pork rolled up in soya bean curd sheets and deep fried.
• Masak Lemak is a style of cooking vegetable stew that makes liberal use of coconut milk. There are various versions of masak lemak. One example uses spinach as the main ingredient. In another version sweet potato is the main ingredient.
• Masak Titik is a style of cooking vegetable soup that makes liberal use of peppercorns. One version uses watermelon rind as the main ingredient. Another makes use of green or semi ripe papaya.
• Lam Mee is long yellow rice noodles cooked in a rich gravy made from the stock of prawns and chicken. It is always served at birthdays to wish the birthday boy or girl a long life, and is also known as birthday noodles.
• Masak Belanda is a dish made from sliced pork and salt fish simmered together with tamarind juice.
• 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.