Malaysia is Asia's cultural melting pot. Its racial diversity has contributed a lot to the culinary world. It is known for hawker style food and sharing of meals. In this post, I will share my foodie journey during my holidays there.
BANANA LEAF RICE
Indian traditional rice meal which consists of rice, a selection of meat and vegetable dishes, papadum, dried chillies stuffed with salt, yoghurt, dal, rasam (sour spicy soup), chutney all served on a banana leaf. Amazing!
PORTUGUESE EGG TART
My short trip to Malacca introduced me to this delicious egg tart which has been brought by the Portuguese when they ruled the state for 100 years.
STEAMBOAT
No, you don't have it on a boat :) Steamboat refers to a hot pot like vessel which is filled with the broth of your choice (which varies according to the restaurant you visit.) It can be Tom Yum, Chinese herbal chicken soup, seafood soup, etc. You can then add vegetables, meat, seafood or noodles of your choice to the hot pot, wait for it to cook, then eat it! That's what I call cook your own food and eat what you want. There is also a variety of condiments and sauces that accompany your steamboat.
SAMBAL PETAI
Sambal is a sauce base made of shallots, garlic, shrimp paste, dried chilies, tamarind juice, sugar ground to a paste consistency. It is then used to make individual dishes using any vegetable, meat or seafood of your choice.
Petai is a type of local vegetable (also known as twisted cluster beans) which has a peculiar smell that stays till you visit the toilet the next day! It contains natural sugars, high in fiber, iron and low in potassium. A few of it's numerous amount of health benefits include controlling blood pressure, sugar levels, blood count, treat heartburn, etc.
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| Raw Petai |
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| Sambal Petai with Anchovies |
Nasi Lemak should be declared as Malaysia's national dish due to its popularity among the locals. A basic nasi lemak consists of coconut rice, sambal, fried anchovies, cucumber, boiled egg and peanuts. It is traditionally wrapped in banana leaf, which contributes to its wonderful aroma and taste. Of course, there can be a more advanced version of Nasi Lemak which can include seafood and meat side dishes.
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| Picture courtesy of www.seasaltwithfood.com |
These are just few of the variety of food available in Malaysia. It is probably not THE ultimate guide to Malaysian food and I might have missed a lot of other important dishes such as the Penang Char Kuey Teow, Chicken Rendang, Hainanese Chicken Rice, Roti Canai, etc. But when you travel to Malaysia, do try as much as you can while gaining a few kilos on your weight! :D
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