Magnificent Malaysian Cuisine

February 2005

Magnificent Malaysian Cuisine

By Susheela RaghavanContributing Editor

Baseball might be America's national pastime, but in Malaysia, it's eating. The country's obsession with food is even reflected in its language, with the common greeting of "sudah makan," which asks, "have you eaten?"

Malaysians often make eating an outdoor sport. At hawkers' markets, a cornucopia of food is available anytime of the day or "under the lights" at night. Locals -- and visitors -- enjoy spicy rojak, mee goreng, charcoal-grilled satay or ais kacang. Beyond the traditional hawkers' stalls, Malaysia offers food in every form, from coffee shops (kedai kopi) to haute cuisine and everything in between.

Historically, Malaysia was the focal point of trade and immigration between the East and West. The country's food reflects this, combining variety and flavor, which stem from the cooking influences of the Malays, Chinese, Indians, Portuguese and other Southeast Asians. On a typical day, one might enjoy roti canai (Indian Muslim flaky flatbread) with dal curry or nasi lemak (Malay coconut rice with sambal) for breakfast; char kway teow (Chinese stir-fried noodles) or laksa assam (Nonya noodles in tamarind broth) for lunch; and nasi biryani (Indian spiced rice) or mamak mee (Indian Muslim fried noodles) for dinner. Steamed white rice often accompanies daily meals of chicken, beef, pork or fish curries; vegetable stir-fries and fiery sambals (condiments); a variety of noodle dishes; fresh-cut tropical fruits and juices; and desserts made with palm sugar, coconut and tapioca, sago or glutinous rice.

While many Chinese and Indian dishes still exist in their original forms, distinctly Malaysian versions have evolved, thanks to Malaysia's fusion tradition. Dishes include the flaky roti canai, curry mee (noodles in curry broth), tofu curry, or lamb curry with star anise, tomato paste and soy sauce. In addition, regional influences from Peninsula Malaysia in the west to Sabah and Sarawak in the east create different flavor twists for chicken curry, laksa or sambal. Malay favorites are ayam percik (barbecued chicken), beef rendang and kankong belacan (local spinach with fermented shrimp paste). Chinese dishes include yong tau foo (stuffed bean curd), bakuteh (meat with herbs), chicken-rice Hainan and Hokkien style noodles.

Indians offer masala dosas (stuffed flatbreads), acar (spicy salads) and intensely flavored curries from India and Sri Lanka. Indian Muslim specialties are biryanis, rojak (spicy fruit and vegetable salads with peanut sauce), murtabak (stuffed flatbread) and mamak mee. Nonya/Peranakan cuisine (a fusion of Chinese cooking with Malay and Indian spicing) offers laksa lemak (noodles in spicy coconut broth), asam pedas (fish in chile-tamarind sauce), otak-otak (steamed, puréed fish in banana leaves) and bubur cha-cha (sweet-potato-based dessert). Other favorites include Portuguese (or Cristang) debal (devil) curry and stuffed baked fish; stir-fried fern from the Orang Aslis (indigenous peoples); Indonesian fish curries and pungent sambals; and Thai tom yam soup and pad Thai.  

Susheela Raghavan is president of Horizons Consulting Inc., a New Rochelle, NY-based food-consulting firm, which develops ethnic and "new" American products for the U.S and global markets. Raghavan can be reached via e-mail at [email protected], or by visiting www.SusheelaConsulting.com.

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