langkawi magazine
Culture SECTION
Langkawi Popular Food
For example, when early Chinese settlers arrived in Malaysia some took on local Malay wives. As a result tastes and flavours merged and developed into a unique cuisine called Nyonya cuisine. Like Nyonya cuisine, Indian Muslim cuisine evolved when Indian Muslim men from South India in the 17th century, took on Malay wives. Out of this fusion came another unique cuisine which described as robust, hearty and spicy. But though each race has a different cuisine, all share a common feature at the table rice. Rice, cooked in a variety of ways, is the staple food of Malaysians and appears at almost every meal along with a number of accompanying dishes. A typical Malaysian meal would consist of rice, two or three vegetables and a meat or a fish dish.
MALAY CUISINE
Malay cuisine has a range of flavours spicy, sharp, sweet and sour created through use of spices and herbs like lemon grass, ginger, tamarind, lime and coconut milk. The flavours differ in each locality Kelantarim cuisine for example has a sweetish taste due to liberal use of coconut milk and sugar in cooking. Kedah's cuisine is spicier the influence of Indians who arrived here during the spice trade centuries ago. Negeri Sembilan's cuisine is robust due to the influence of its Sumatran settlers centuries ago.Some popular Malay dishes are:
NASI LEMAK: rice cooked in coconut milk, served with fried ikan bilis (anchovies), sotong or ikan bilis sambal (anchovy or squid relish), boiled eggs and cucumber.
NASI DAGANG: originated in the cast coast state Terengganu and Kelantan. Fragrant unpolished glutinous rice steamed with coconut milk and served with tunafish curry.
LONTONG: vegetables cooked in coconut milk and served with rice cakes and sambal.
NASI GORENG: fried rice with prawns, chicken, eggs, mixed vegetables.
MEE GORENG: fried noodles with bean sprouts, eggs, prawns.
ROTI CANAI: crispy wheat flour pancake, popular as breakfast item.
LAKSA: noodles in curry base (Johor style) or asam (tamarind) base (Penang).
NASI KERABU: herbal rice served with fried fish
NASI PADANG: rice with curried meat, fish and vegetables.
SATAY: meat marinated in spices then grilled over charcoal fire. Served with peanut gravy, ketupat(rice cakes), cucumber, onions.
RENDANG: dry curried meat dish.
ULAM: raw herbs and plants taken with main meals, served with sambal belachan (prawn paste).
CHINESE CUISINE
Chinese restaurants offer many choices, whether it is Cantonese, Hokkien, Hainanese, Hakka or Szechuan cuisine. The Chinese have a saying that 'fish must swim in the kitchen' in other words, they must be alive until the moment of cooking. In most seafood restaurants, you select a live fish, crab, prawn or lobster from a tank and tell the chef how you want it cooked. Some popular Chinese dish are:
PAU: steam rice flour dumplings with meat or red bean filling.
DIM SUM: mid-morning snacks comprising steamed sweet or savoury items.
HOKKIEN MEE: thick yellow noodles cooked in soy sauce, prawns and vegetables.
FRIED KWAY TEOW: flat white noodles fried with bean sprouts, prawns, mussels, eggs and chives.
KWAY TEOW SOUP: flat fresh rice noodles in soup base.
CHICKEN RICE: rice with braised or roast chicken
CLAYPOT RICE: rice cooked in clay pot with chicken, Chinese sausages and salted fish.
WANTON MEE: fine noodles with prawn dumplings and barbecued pork.
YONG TAU FOO: soya cakes, ladies fingers, capsicum, brinjals and chillies stuffed with minced fish.
INDIAN CUISINE
Indian cuisine uses aromatic individual spice blends to enhance the flavour of dishes. Southern Indian cuisine is largely vegetarian using pulses as a source of protein. Food is served on a banana leaf. If you are a ecologically minded vegetarian, seek out a banana leaf restaurant for a novel dining experience. Northern Indian fare is mostly meat based and rich in cream and ghee. More wheat breads and less rice is eaten.Yoghurt almost always accompanies a meal, to 'cool down' the 'hotness' of the dishes in all Indian dining. Popular Indian dishes are:
THOSAI: light crispy rice pancakes served with chicken curry, potato dish, dhall or coconut chutney.
IDLI: steamed fluffy rice cake served with coconut chutney or dhall.
CHAPATI: unleavened pancake made from whomeal flour. Served with dhall or chicken curry
MUTTON KURMA: mild meat curry flavoured in, cashew nuts and yoghurt.
RAITA: yoghurt with cucumber and mint leaves.
MUTTON MUGHLAI: north Indian curried mutton dish.
BANANA LEAF LUNCH: rice, assortment of pulse-based dishes, vegetables and pappadom, meat or seafood dishes optional.
INDIAN MUSLIM CUISINE
Indian Muslim is a blend of Malay and Indian cooking styles which is described as hearty and spicy. Popular Indian Muslim dishes are:
NASI KANDAR: rice and an assortment of meat and fish curries.
FISH HEAD CURRY: the head of a large fish is used in the curry.
ME MAMAK: yellow noodles stierr fried Indian muslim style
ROJAK: salad of pineapple, cucumber, bean sprouts, potatoes and soya cakes with thick peanut gravy.
CENDOL: a sweet cold dessert with ice, coconut milk and palm sugar syrup.
NYONYA CUISINE
Nyonya cooking uses spices such as buah keras, buah keluak and herbal plants like lengkuas, serai and daun limau purut are used to give that characteristic sweet with sour, spicy and hot flavours. Popular nyonya dishe are:
OTAK-OTAK: fish meat, mashed, spiced, wrapped in banana leaves and grilled.
GRILLED ITEK TIM: duck with salted vegetables.
ASAM CURRY FISH: sourish curried fish.
INTERNATIONAL CUISINE
Restaurants serving international cuisine can be found in the cities. They include cuisines of South African, Korean, Mexican, Vietnamese, Spanish, French, Italian, Australian, Japanese, Thai, American, British, Lebanese, Greek and Turkish. All the 'big boys' of American fast food chains, too, are well represented in Malaysia.
WHERE TO EAT?
There are choices of posh hotel restaurants, swanky restaurants, chic street cafes and inexpensive food outlets. All shopping malls have food courts or hawker stalls. They offer a variety of Chinese, Malay and Indian food in an air conditioned environment at reasonable prices. Hawker stalls offer cheap, quick food. Some rules to observe:Avoid hawker stalls near busy traffic or unclean areas. Avoid precooked food. Go for food that you see being cooked. If the food operator and his premise look clean chances your food would be handled in a hygienic manner. Avoid iced drinks. Stick to hot or bottled drinks.
FRUITS OF THE TROPICS
Malaysia is blessed with an incredible variety of luscious exotic fruits all year round. Fresh fruits can be bought at supermarkets, fruit stalls, pasar tani (farmers' market) or pasar malam (night markets). Favourites are durian, papaya, mango, pomelo, pineapple, starfruit, rambutan, watermelon, guava, duku, ciku, mangosteen, coconut and banana.
DRINKS
All kinds of fresh fruit juices can be ordered at food outlets. The national brew is 'teh tarik' sweet milky tea. Water from taps is said to be safe to drink, but stick to bottled water.
Langkawi 10/4/2004
