WELCOME TO MALAYSIA ( Cuisine ) Part 3

Assalamualaikum..

Malaysia Cuisine ( Malaysian Food )

Nyonya cuisine:

• 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).
• Asam Laksa (Malay: 亞三叻沙). A bowl of thick white rice noodles served in a soup made of fish, tamarind, onion, basil, torch ginger flower, pineapple and cucumber in slices.

• Ayam pongteh, a chicken stew cooked with tauchu or salted fermented 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.

• Bak Chang. Similar to the original zongzi, or 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. A common Peranakan variant (Nyonya zong (娘惹粽) involves pandan leaves being used as the wrapping instead.

• Cincalok, a distinctly Nyonya condiment made of fermented shrimp, salt and rice

• 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 or jicama, carrot, and cabbage and fried together with thinly shredded dried cuttlefish.
• 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 née (cloud ear 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).
• 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".

• Laksa lemak is a type of laksa served in a rich coconut gravy.
• Laksa Johor is from Johor. It differs from Laksa Penang by having coconut milk added during cooking. It also differs from other laksas by using spaghetti instead of rice-based noodles.

• 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.
• 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.
• Mee Siam is a dish of thin rice noodles (vermicelli) in spicy, sweet and sour light gravy.
• 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.

• 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.
• Ngo Hiang (so called because of the use of Chinese five spice powder to flavour the minced 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.

• 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.

• 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). A classic Penang Nyonya dish.
• Se Bak, pork loin, marinated overnight with herbs and spices, cooked over a slow fire and simmered to perfection.
• 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.

Sarawak indigenous cuisine:

Sarawakians tend to have a distinct cuisine from their Peninsula counterparts. Some of them are part of the traditional cuisine of the natives, while some are influenced by either Chinese or Indian cuisine. Among the cuisine unique to Sarawak are:

• Laksa Sarawak, is a beehoon with aromatic shrimp based gravy topped with shredded chicken, shredded egg, bean sprouts, prawns and chilli paste.

• Sarawak Kolok Mee, is a slightly sweet noodle dish, and often a main component of it is char siew, compliments the dish. Halal-type Kolo mee normally replaces pork slices with beef. Beef stock is used to replace lard.

• Manok Pansoh, is a traditional Iban cuisine. Chicken is briefly cooked in a bamboo until tender and complimented with lemongrass, ginger and tapioca leaves. Another similar to Manok Pansoh but with added rice, is a traditional Bidayuh cuisine named Assam Siok. It can be hardly found in any restaurants in Sarawak as it is normally home cooked.

• Umai, is a traditional Melanau cuisine. It is a raw seafood salad consists of raw sliced seafood (either 'tenggiri' fish, prawn or jellyfish), sliced onions and served with ketchup and chillies. 'Umai Jeb' is a type of umai with no other ingredients than the seafood itself. Normally fresh 'tenggiri' fish is used. It is similar to Japanese sashimi.

• Kek Lapis Sarawak, or Sarawak layer cakes are famous among not only Sarawakians, but Peninsular Malaysians, especially during festive seasons. It is a must have for festive occasions like Hari Raya, Chinese New Year, Gawai and Christmas. Among the most popular ones are Sabok Tun Razak layer cakes, Evergreen layer cakes and Hati Pari cakes.

• Linut, is sticky broiled sago flour, normally complimented with 'sambal belacan' (shrimp paste) or curry gravy. It is popular among Melanau and Kedayan people in Sarawak. The same dish can be observed in Sabah and Brunei with different name, which is 'ambuyat'.

• Tebes or Ti'ong, is a traditional Melanau Baie 'kuih', which originated from Bintulu. It consists of fresh shrimps, wrapped wholly in coconut husk, and wrapped again in pandan or coconut leaves, then toasted.
• Selorot, is a traditional Sarawakian Malay 'kuih'. It is made from palm sugar and rice flour, cooked in a spiraled coconut leaves. It is normally eaten during a tea break, normally between lunch and dinner.
• Midin, is a jungle fern (quite similar to 'pucuk paku' that is popular in the Peninsular, but crispier). Midin is much sought after for its crisp texture and great taste. Midin is usually served in two equally delicious ways - fried with either garlic or belacan (shrimp paste). It is normally eaten with rice.

• Nasik Aruk is a traditional Sarawakian Malay fried rice. Unlike Nasi Goreng, Nasik Aruk does not use any oil to fry the rice. The ingredients are garlic, onion and anchovies, fried to perfection with very little oil and then rice. The rice must be fried for longer time (compared to frying rice for Nasi Goreng) for the smokey/slightly-burnt taste to absorb into the rice. It is a common to see Nasik Aruk in the food menu list at Malay and Mamak coffee shops and stalls throughout Sarawak.

• Tomato noodle is a variation of the popular fried noodle or kueh tiaw (thin, flat rice noodles), with tomato gravy, meat (usually chicken pieces), vegetables and seafood (usually prawns). Sometimes crispy noodle is used.
• Foochow bagel is a traditional Foochow Chinese food. It is normally addressed as kompia. This pastry can only be found in Sibu, Bintangor or Sarikei where ethnic Chinese of Foochow clan formed a majority.

• Bubur Pedas (or transliterated as 'spicy porridge) is unlike many other porridge that we know. Bubur Pedas is cooked with a specially prepared paste. It is quite spicy thanks to its ingredients, which include spices, turmeric, lemon grass, galangal, chillies, ginger, coconut and shallots. Like the famous Bubur Lambuk of Kuala Lumpur, Bubur Pedas is exclusive dish prepared during the month of Ramadan and served during the breaking of fast.
• Tuak is a type of liquor, unique to Iban and Bidayuh communities in Sarawak. It is made from either fermented rice or sugarcane although the former is more popular. It is normally served as a welcoming drink to guests, or during festive occasions like Gawai or Christmas.
• Manok kacangma is a type of traditional Chinese-influenced dish, consists of a tender chicken parts cooked with lots of garlics and 'kacangma' herbs. Non-Muslims normally cook 'manok kacangma' with some Chinese wine or 'tuak' of their choice.

• Kelupis is similar to 'ketupat', but wrapped in spiraled pandan leaves. The rice used is glutinous rice, unlike ketupat which normally use plain rice.

• Pulut panggang is a type of traditional Malay kuih in Sarawak, which is a glutinous rice wrapped in pandan leaves then cooked over a fire. Unlike 'pulut panggang' in Peninsula, Sarawakian pulut panggang has more tastes in its glutinous rice and no filling.
• Murtabak corned beef is a type of traditional Indian-influenced dish. It is similar to murtabak in Peninsular Malaysia, but with corned beef filling. It is unique to Sarawak and Brunei Malays.
• Terubok Masin is a salted 'terubok' fish (or American shad fish), a type of oily fish with lots of scales and Y-shaped bones. The fish can be either freshwater or seawater, local or imported, but local seawater 'terubok' fish costs more than other types.

• Cerodet is a type of traditional Indian kuih which is very popular in Kuching.
• Kuih Jala is a type of traditional Iban kuih which is quite similar to kuih karas in Kedah.

• Suman is a traditional food of Malay in Pusa. It is a sea fish cooked in a banana husk and wrapped in banana leaves. It is almost the same with tebes and ti'ong in Bintulu.
• Wonton 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. Variations of this dish are usually in the accompanying meat servings with the noodles. They include roast pork (siew yok), braised chicken feet, and roast duck. 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.
• Yau Zha Gwai or Eu Char Kway or You Tiao (Chinese : 油炸鬼 or 油条) is variation of the deep fried Chinese crueller, a breakfast favourite eaten either like a doughnut—with sweeten local black 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". Some commercial outlets have started serving them with an option of either savory congee or hot sweetened soy milk.
• 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.
• Roasted Duck (Chinese : 烧鸭): A popular Malaysian delicacy that is not crispy like the roasted duck in China. The famous duck roaster is located at Lunas, Kulim.