malaysia (asian cuisine)

Capital: Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia has always been pivotal to trade routes from Europe, the Orient, India and China

warm tropical climate abundant natural

blessings

Hindu-Buddhist- temple sites of the Bujang Valley and Merbok Estuary in Kedah in the north west of Peninsular Malaysia

The spread of Islam, introduced by Arab and Indian traders, brought the Hindu-Buddhist era to an end by the 13th century.

In 1511, the Portuguese captured Malaka and the rulers of the Melaka Sultanate fled south to Johor where they tried to establish a new kingdom.

The Portuguese were in turn defeated in 1641 by the Dutch, who colonized Melaka until the advent of the British in the Dutch exerted any profound influence on Malay society.

The British acquired Melaka from the Dutch in 1824 in exchange for Bencoolen in Sumatra.

From their new bases in Malaka, Penang and Singapore, collectively known as the Straits settlements, the British began the process of political integration of the Malay states of Peninsular Malaysia.                            

Nonya– traders with the Malaccan natives brought along their cooking styles and ingredients

Chinese traders married also natives

Placing great contrasts in flavors, textures and flavours

Pungent chili hot character of Sze Chuan cuisine shows the great influence

Cooking or recipes from wives of Chinese traders

Mixed both Malay and Chinese cooking

Blending of bean curd, soy sauce, preserved soy beans, black prawns paste, sesame seeds blended beautifully with Malay herbs, spices and roots

Use of curry and coconut milk as a sauce

Roti canai – Indias best contribution, flattened bread

Served with a curry gravy

Very strong influence especially in their vegetarian dishes

Malaysian cuisine has spawned many individual cuisines mainly : 1. Kelantanese2. Kedah3. Nyonya

Similar to Thai cuisine for example

It has a sweet taste due to liberal use of coconut milk and sugar

Use of tangy sauces such as tamarind, limes, kaffir lime leaves

Kedah cuisine is spicier due to the influence of Indians who arrived here centuries ago during the spice trade

Sometimes follow strict dietary laws of Indians

Use of curries, spices and a lot of coconut milk 

A unique blend of Malay and Chinese cooking styles. It is characterized by sweet, sour, spicy and pungent flavors.

It originated from the Straits of Malacca over 400 years ago.

Galangal, turmeric and ginger with aromatic leaves like pandan leaf, fragrant lime leaf and laksa leaf

Candlenuts, shallots, shrimp paste and chilies. Lemon and tamarind add a tangy taste to many dishes.

lemongrass, ginger, garlic, shallots, kaffir limes and fresh chilies

Sambal- chili paste Santan- coconut milk Assam Jawa- tamarind paste Rempah- spice paste

Nasi Kosong› plain rice

Nasi Kunyit› turmeric rice

Nasi Minyak› ghee rice

Nasi Kerabu or Nasi Ulam› rice is tinted bright

blue from petals of flowers called bunga telang

Satay - It generally consists of chunks or slices of meat on bamboo or coconut leaf spine skewers grilled over a wood or charcoal fire.

Asam fish› is fish cooked in the

juice of the asam (tamarind) fruit.

Roti Canai - The dough is a mixture composing copious amounts of fat, egg, flour and water that is flattened, oiled and folded repeatedly, allowed to proof and rise and the process is repeated.

The ideal roti is flat, fluffy on the inside but crispy and flaky on the outside.

Laksa › Noodles in Tangy Fish

Soup - Thick rice noodles are served in a tangy fish soup/gravy.

› The key ingredient is tamarind, used as a souring agent, giving it a tart tangy taste.

Char kway teow › "stir-fried ricecake

strips"

› made from flat rice noodles stir-fried over very high heat with light and dark soy sauce, chilli, a small quantity of belachan, tamarind juice, bean sprouts and chives

Spring rolls made from rice flour is spread out, smeared with a paste of garlic, chilli and sweet soy sauce.

The various ingredients

are loaded onto the centre of the skin, and the skin wrapped to form a parcel, which is sliced into four portions.

Nasi Lemak- Coconut-flavored Rice Meal - is rice cooked in coconut milk made aromatic with pandan leaves [screwpine leaves]. It is typically served with Sambal Ikan Bilis.

Sambal Ikan Bilis - fried dried anchovies cooked in a dry sambal sauce, and garnished with cucumber slices, hard boiled egg and roasted peanuts.

Beef Rendang› Malay Spiced Coconut

Beef 

› This hot, dry spiced dish of tenderly simmered meat offers the typical Malaysian taste of coconut, balanced with robust, tangy spices

Belachan or Belacan› dried shrimp paste

Sambal Udang› Spicy prawn dish

Ayam Masek Merah› Red-cooked chicken,

pan-fried chicken pieces in a spicy tomato sauce

Sambal Sotong› Spicy squid dish› Cooked in

Belachan

Ikan Pari Bakar› BBQ Stingray or

Skate Wing

Sup Kambing› Mutton Soup - mutton

bones, shanks or ribs are slow simmered with aromatic herbs and spices

Sayur Lodeh› Coconut Vegetable

Stew -  Sayur Lodeh means a variety of vegetables in coconut gravy.