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.
Ingredients
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 (米粉), " (
rice
vermicelli), "Kuay Teow, " (soft fluffy flat rice noodles made
of rice and translucent white in colour), "Mee (面), " (yellow
noodles), "Mee Suah(面线), " (very fine wheat vermicelli), "Yee Meen
(伊面), " (pre-fried noodles), "Langka (冬粉), " (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

250 px
- 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
Malaysian Indian food
Malaysian Indian
cuisine of the ethnic Indians in Malaysia is similar to its roots
in India. Hands are washed before and the right hand is used during
the meal.
- Banana leaf
rice is white rice served on banana leaf with an
assortment of vegetables, curry meat or fish and papadum.
- 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.
- Putu Mayam (String
hoppers/ Idiyappam) is a sweet dish of rice noodles with coconut
and jaggery as main ingredients. It is served with grated coconut
and jaggery, or, unrefined block sugar. In
some areas, gula melaka (coconut palm sugar) is the
favourite sweetener. Putu piring is a version of putu mayam in
which the rice flour dough is used to form a small cake around a
filling of coconut and brown sugar.
- Biryani is a rice dish
from the made from a mixture of spices, basmati rice,
meat/vegetables and yogurt. The ingredients are ideally cooked
together in the final phase and is time-consuming to prepare.
Pre-mixed biryani spices from different commercial names are easily
available in markets these days, which reduces the preparation time
though the taste differs considerably.
- 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.
- Curries Malaysian
Indian curries uses a lot of spices, coconut milk, and curry
leaves. Some of the most popular curries include Chicken Curry,
Fish Curries, and Squid Curry.
Mamak (Indian Muslims)
dishes have developed a distinctly Malaysian style. One of the most
popular kinds of food by the Indian Muslims is called "nasi
kandar".
Nasi kandar
originally came from Penang. Also available throughout the country,
the omnipresent Mamak stalls or restaurants are particularly
popular among the locals as they offer a wide range of food and
some outlets are open 24 hours a day. They're fast, economical and
perfect as a meeting place for a drink and snacks.
- Roti canai is a thin
bread with a flaky crust, fried on a skillet and served with
condiments. It is sometimes referred to as roti kosong. In
Singapore, it is referred to as prahta.
- Roti telur is a roti canai with egg in it. Telur means
egg.
- Mamak rojak
is a variant of rojak consisting of substantial ingredients like
boiled potatoes and hard-boiled eggs. Also known as
'pasembur'.
- Maggi goreng is a
dish of fried Maggi instant noodles with flavouring (usually
curry), vegetables, egg, tofu and occasionally chicken.
- Nasi Kandar is
white rice or briyani rice served with other dishes of curry either
with chicken, fish, beef, or mutton and usually with pickled
vegetables too. It is usually accompanied by some Papadums.
- Nasi Lemak is rice
steamed with coconut milk to lend it special fragrance. It is
served with anchovies, peanuts, cucumber and a chili paste known as
"sambal". The mamak variety of "sambal" tends to be a bit more
spicy whereas the malay version of "sambal" in a nasi lemak tends
to be on the sweet side.
- Teh tarik literally
meaning "pulled tea", is a well-loved drink amongst Malaysians. Tea
is sweetened using condensed milk, and is prepared using
out-stretched hands to pour piping hot tea from a mug into a
waiting glass, repetitively. The higher the "pull", the thicker the
froth. The "pulling" of tea also has the effect of cooling down the
tea. Teh tarik is an art form in itself and watching the tea
streaming back and forth into the containers can be quite
captivating.
Malaysian Chinese food

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Malaysian Chinese
food is derived from mainland Chinese 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, and Islam forbids them from
eating pork). Some Chinese food restaurants nowadays can be found
serving halal food i.e. food without ingredients that are forbidden
by the Islamic religion. Chinese restaurants serving food in
Halal can introduce a wider range of customers
to it.
- Bak Kut Teh
(Chinese : 肉骨茶) (pork ribs soup). A soup cooked with herbs, garlic
and pork ribs which have been boiled for many hours. The city of
Klang is famous for it. In some towns, additional ingredients
include sea cucumber and abalone. Bak kut teh is believed to have
medicinal properties.
- Bak Chang. 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.
- Bakkwa (Chinese : 肉干),
Known also as barbecued pork and it literally means dried meat.
This delicacy is sold everywhere throughout Malaysia and is
especially popular during the Chinese
New Year celebrations period.
- Pao (Chinese : 包) also
known as bao, is a steamed bun made of wheat flour, with fillings
of various types of meat. It is usually a menu item found in Dim
Sum places, although these days it can be seen in most coffee
stalls.
- Bread with curry chicken, chicken cooked in
curry with a covering of bread. Found in the town of Kampar.
- Cantonese Fried Mee. (Chinese : 廣府炒, 河粉, 鴛鴦)
Deep fried thin rice noodles served in a thick white sauce. The
sauce is cooked with sliced lean pork, prawns, squids and green
vegetables such as choy sum. It is one of the common Chinese foods
in Malaysia.
- Chai tow kway (Chinese : 菜頭粿) is a common dish
in Malaysia and Singapore, also known as fried radish cake, it is made of rice flour and white
radish.
- Char Kway Teow
(Chinese : 炒粿條,炒河粉). Stir fried rice
noodles with prawns, eggs (pork or chicken), chives and
beansprouts. Usually, with an option of cockles as well.
- Chee cheong fun
(Chinese : 豬腸粉) 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.
- Curry Mee (Chinese : 咖喱麺). A bowl of thin
yellow noodles mixed with beehoon (rice vermicelli) in spicy curry
soup with coconut milk with dried tofu, prawns, cuttlefish,
chicken, mint leaves and topped with a special sambal.
- Duck noodle soup (Chinese : 鸭腿麺线) is famous in
Penang food stalls, ingredients include duck meat in hot soup with
mixed herbals and slim white noodles mee-sua.
- Fuzhou cuisine
can be found in the Sitiawan area.
Specialities include Kong
piang.
- Ginger Duck Mee (Chinese : 姜鸭麺). Egg noodles
cooked with duck stew. The duck is stewed with ginger in black
sauce. This dish is available only from selected restaurants in
Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley as the duck stew can be
cumbersome to prepare.
- Hainanese Chicken
Rice (Chinese : 海南雞飯). steamed chicken served with
rice cooked in margarine or chicken fat
& chicken stock and chicken soup. The rice is usually served in
a bowl or a plate but in Malacca (a historical town), the rice is
served in the form of rice balls.
- Hakka Ham Cha
(Chinese : 客家 咸茶/雷茶)
- Hokkien Mee Kuala
Lumpur (Chinese : 福建麵). A dish of thick yellow noodles fried in
thick black soy sauce and pork lard which has been fried until it
is crispy. This dish is served only in Kuala Lumpur, Seremban,
Klang and Kuantan.
- Hokkien Mee or Hae Mee or Prawn
Mee (Penang) This is a bowl of yellow mee and meehoon
(rice noodles) served in soup boiled from prawns, boiled egg,
kangkong vegetable and chilli.
- Kaya toast or Roti bakar is a traditional
breakfast dish. Kaya is a sweet coconut and egg
jam, and this is spread over toasted white bread. Traditionally
served with a cup of local coffee/tea and soft-boiled eggs in
light/dark soya sauce & ground white pepper.
- Kway chap (Chinese : 粿汁), Teochew dish of rice
sheets in dark soya soup, served with pig offal, tofu derivatives
and boiled eggs.
- Loh Mee (Chinese : 滷麵). A bowl of thick yellow
noodles served in a thickened soup made from egg, flour, prawn,
pork slices and vegetables.
- Mee Hoon Kor
(Chinese : 面粉粿)
- Ngah Choy Kai (Bean sprouts chicken) of Ipoh
(Chinese : 芽菜雞) is similar to Hainanese chicken rice. The steamed
chicken are served with light soya sauce flavoured with oil and
with a plate of beansprouts. This dish is favourited by all
Malaysians.
- Ngah Po Fan Also known as Claypot Rice/Sha Po
Fan(Chinese : 瓦煲雞飯 or 沙煲饭) is a claypot chicken rice dish. It is
basically chicken rice cooked over high heat in copious amount of
soy and oyster sauce. Dried salted fish is optional but highly
recommended.
- Pan Mee or Ban Mian
(Chinese : 板麺) is a Hokkien-style egg noodle soup, some forms of
Ban mian, comprises hand-kneaded pieces of dough, while others use
regular strips of noodles.
- Popiah (Chinese : 薄饼),
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").
- Rojak (Malay
Influenced: 水果囉喏). A fruit salad with a topping of thick dark prawn
paste and some sliced fried 'yau cha kwai'.
- Sin Chow (Singapore) Fried Mee Hoon (Chinese :
星洲米粉). Rice noodles stir fried with various ingredients such as
barbecued pork, fish cake, carrots etc. Some restaurants may use
different ingredients but the noodles should have the distinct Sin
Chow Fried Rice Noodle taste. Popular in Kuala Lumpur and
surrounding areas. The American Chinese version uses curry powder.
Interestingly, this dish did not originate from Singapore.
- Tau foo fah or Dau Huay
(Chinese : 豆腐花 or 豆花) is a curdled version of soya bean milk and is flavoured with syrup. It
looks much like Tau Foo but it is very tender. Sold in many places.
It is a popular dessert among Malaysians and Singaporeans.
- Tong Sui (Chinese :
糖水), Chinese dessert with a lot of variety. Basically a sweet drink
with different ingredients such as black beans, sea coconut, yam,
sweet potato, longan and others.
- Vegetarian dishes
(Chinese : 素食, 斎) In some towns in Malaysia, there are vegetarian
restaurants that serve vegetarian dishes which resembles many meat
dishes in look and even taste although they are made solely from
vegetarian ingredients. You can get vegetarian roast pork, steamed
fish with skin and bone, chicken drumstick complete with authentic
looking bone, etc.

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- Wantan Mee (Chinese : 雲吞麵), 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.
- Wu Tau Guo (Chinese : 芋頭糕), is yam cake that
is made of mashed yam and rice flour. It has deep fried onion and
shrimp on top, and usually served with red chilli paste.
- Yong tau foo
(Chinese : 酿豆腐) is a soup dish with Hakka origins but is accepted
by Malaysian all races. Brinjals, lady fingers, fried tofus,
chillies are stuffed with fish paste, rice flour and
flavourings.
- Yau Zha Gwai or Eu Char
Kway or You Tiao (Chinese : 油炸鬼 or 油条) is Cantonese doughnut, a
breakfast favourite eaten either like a doughnut--with coffee, or
as a condiment for congee. It is shaped like a pair of chopsticks,
stuck together. The name itself amusingly translates into "greasy
fried ghosts".
- Zuk or zhou (Chinese : 粥) is
congee, a rice porridge that comes with such
ingredients as fish slices, chicken breast, salted egg, century
egg and minced pork. Mui is the teochew
version of rice porridge, and is usually more watery with visible
rice grains. It is often cooked with sweet potato and served with
an assortment of Chinese dishes like vegetables, meat and salted
egg.
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 (Malay: 亞三叻沙).
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.
Cross-cultural influence
Being a multicultural country, Malaysians have over the years
adapted each other's dishes to suit the taste buds of their own
culture. For instance, Malaysians of Chinese descent have adapted
the Indian
curry, and made it more dilute and
less spicy to suit their taste.
Chinese
noodles have been crossed with
Indian and Malay tastes and thus Malay fried noodles and Indian
fried noodles were born.
Desserts
Desserts in Malaysia tend to make use of generous amounts of
coconut milk. Some common desserts include:
- Cendol. Smooth green rice noodles in
chilled coconut milk and gula melaka (coconut palm
sugar).
- Ais kacang (also known as air
batu campur or just ABC. "'air batu' is ice in Malay") Sweet
corn, red beans and cincau (grass jelly) topped with
shaved ice, colourful syrups and condensed milk.
- Pulut hitam. Black glutinous rice porridge
cooked with sago and served hot with coconut milk.
- Bubur cha cha. Yam and sweet potato cubes
served in coconut milk and sago, served hot or cold.
- Pengat (Tapioca and Banana) a thick brown
sugar mixed together with coconut milk,
the fruits mentioned and boiled.
- Sago Gula Melaka (Sago, Coconut Cream and Palm
Sugar) Cooked translucent sago with coconut cream topped with palm
sugar syrup.
A huge variety of tropical fruits are commonly served as desserts
in Malaysia. The most famous is possibly the
durian. Other popular fruits local to Malaysia
include
mango,
pineapple,
watermelon,
jackfruit,
papaya,
langsat,
rambutan,
star fruit,
banana
and
mangosteen.
Some of the foods are similar to the food of its neighbouring
countries. Due to its diversity in cultures, there is a wide
variety of different foods available.
See also
References
- Wai Yee Hong - Chinese Supermarket - Malay-English
Food Glossary