|
Chinese Food
 When people in the west speak of Chinese food, they
probably mean Cantonese food. It's the best known and most
popular variety of Chinese food. Cantonese food is noted for the
variety and the freshness of it's ingredients. The food are usually
stir-fried with just a touch of oil to ensure that the result is
crisp and fresh. All those best known 'western Chinese' dishes fit
into this category - sweet and sour dishes, won ton, chow mein,
spring rolls.
With Cantonese food the
more people you can muster for the meal the better, because dishes
are traditionally shared so everyone will manage to sample the
greatest variety. A corollary of this is that Cantonese food should
be balance: traditionally, all foods are said to be either Yin
(cooling) - like vegetables, most fruits and clear soup; or Yang
(heaty) - like starchy foods and meat. A cooling food should
be balance with a heaty food and too much of one it would not be
good for you.
Another Cantonese specialty
is Dim Sum or 'little heart'. Dim sum is usually consumed during
lunch or as a Sunday brunch. Dim sum restaurant are usually large,
noisy affair and the dim sum, little snacks that come in small
bowls, are whisked around the tables on individual trolleys or
carts. As they come by , you simply ask for a plate of this or a
bowl of that. At the end the meal you are billed is the amount of
empty containers on your table.
 Cantonese cuisine can also offer real extremes - shark's
fin soup or bird's nest soup, expensive delicacies from one end of
the scale to mee (noodles) and congee (rice porridge) on the
other end.
Far less familiar than
the food from Canton are the cuisines from the north and the
west of China - Szechuan, Shanghai and Peking. Szechuan food
is the fiery food of China, where pepper and chili really get into
the act. Where as to food from Canton are delicate and understated,
in Szechuan food the flavors are strong and dramatic - garlic and
chilies play their part in dishes like diced chicken and hot and
sour soup.
Beijing (Peking) food is,
of course best known for the famous 'Peking Duck'. Beijing food are
less subtle than Cantonese food. Beijing food is usually eaten with
hot steamed bun or with noodles, because rice is not grown in cold
region of the north. But in Malaysia, it is more likely to come with
rice.
Shanghai food are not
easily found in Malaysia. Since most of Malaysia's Chinese are from
the south, particularly from Hainan and Hakka it is quite easy to
find food from this region. Throughout Malaysia one of the most
widespread economical meal is the Hainanese Chicken Rice which cost
around the figure of RM3.00. The Hainanese also produced steamboat,
sort of Oriental variation of the Swiss Fondue, where you have a
boiling stockpot in the middle of the table into which you deep
pieces of meat, seafood and vegetable.
Although Hokkien's food is
rated way down the Chinese gastronomic scale, it has provided the
Hokkien fried Mee (thick egg noodles cook with meat, seafood and
vegetable and a rich soya sauce. Hokkien spring rolls (popiah) are
also delicious.
Teochew food from the area
around Swatow in China is another style noted for it's delicacy and
natural favorite. Teochew food is famous for it's seafood and
another economical dish - Char Kwey Teow (fried flattened noodles)
with clams, beansprout and prawns.
Hakka dish is also easily
found in food centers. The best know hakka dish is the Yong Tau Foo
(stuffed seafood beancurd) with soup or thick dark
gravy.
|
Indian Food
 Indian influence in Malaysian cuisine started in the 19th
century when large arrivals of Indian migrants were brought into the
country as contract laborers to work in rubber estates and on the
railways. Some did take the opportunity to set up trade in the
textile and food industry. Indian cuisine can be divided into two
mainstreams, Northern and Southern Indian cuisine.
North Indian cuisine boasts of a diet
rich in meat and uses spices and ingredients such as yogurt and ghee
in dishes that are elaborate without being overly spicy. Here, bread
and chapati (wheat-flour pancakes) replaces rice, which is the
center of most South Indian meals. Coconut milk, mustard seeds, and
chilies are also widely used in the Southern province.
Spices are the heart and soul of Indian
cooking. But the quantity and proportions vary with the geographical
boundaries. Curry powder is almost never used. Spices are freshly
grounded and added in many different combinations. Spices commonly
used are coriander, turmeric, cumin, chilies, fennel, and fenugreek.
Other fragrant spices added are cardamom, clove, cinnamon and star
aniseed.
In Malaysia, there is an abundant of
Indian restaurants and food stalls to wet your appetite. They are
traditionally served on a thali, a circular metal tray on which a
number of small bowls called katori, also made from metal, are
placed. Eaten with fingers, rice or bread are placed directly on the
thali while curries and other dishes are served in the bowls. For
South Indian cuisine, banana leaves are often used as plates where
rice is served in the center, followed by various curries and
accompaniments around it. These include dried fish, pappadams
(lentil wafers), fresh chutneys made from herbs, coconut, and acid
fruits among others.
Local Indian hawkers have created unique
versions of local dishes, which are not found in India. For example,
"mee goreng" is a combination of fresh Chinese yellow noodles, tofu,
bean-sprouts, and dried shrimp paste. Malaysia also abounds with
shops offering "Nasi Kandar", which is basically a combination of
Malay and Indian cuisine - hence very Malaysian - although the taste
is more robust. This concept came about when "nasi" (rice) hawkers
would previously "kandar" (balance a pole on the shoulder with two
huge containers on both ends) their wares.
Bread is the main item in most meals in
North Indian cuisine. Therefore, a wide variety of bread is offered
at these restaurants. Nann (leavened bread with poppy seeds) is a
popular choice. The bread dough is rolled out and then slapped on
the inside of the tandoori, near the top where it cooks very quickly
in the fierce heat. It is then flavored with onion or garlic.
Paratha or it's localized version of Roti Canai, meanwhile, is rich,
flaky, and flavored with ghee. It can be eaten as an accompaniment
or by itself, filled with potatoes and peas. Chapati is another
leavened bread. It resembles flat discs and has a delightful flavor
and chewy texture. Murtabak is stuffed Paratha based dough, which
has a Meat, vegetables and egg in it. 
Tandoori dishes are the most popular main
courses in North Indian restaurants. Tandoori chicken is always a favorite, where
a whole baby chicken or chicken quarters are roasted in the clay
oven for several hours in advance and then finished off on the
barbecue.
|
|
Malay & Nyonya
Food
Variety
is the spice in Malay food. The traditional culinary style has been
greatly influenced by the long-ago traders from neighboring
countries, such as Indonesia, India, the Middle East, and China.
Malay food is often described as spicy and flavorful as it utilizes
a melting pot of spices and herbs.
Malay cooking incorporates
ingredients such as lemon grass, pandan (screwpine) leaves, and
kaffir lime leaves. Fresh herbs, such as daun kemangi (a type of
basil), daun kesum (polygonum or laksa leaf), nutmeg, kunyit
(turmeric) and bunga kantan (wild ginger buds) are often used.
Traditional spices such as cumin and coriander are used in
conjunction with Indian and Chinese spices such as pepper, cardamom,
star anise and fenugreek. Seasonings play an important role in Malay
cooking as they often enhance the food taste and flavors. Many of
the seasonings are not dried spices but are fresh ingredients such
as fresh turmeric, galangal, fresh chili paste, onions, and garlic.
A combination of fresh seasonings and dried spices are normally
pounded together to make a fine paste and cooked in oil. Fresh
coconut milk is often added.
 Rice is the staple diet in any Malay meal. It is often
served for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and supper too. Most meals are
eaten by using your fingers, and eating utensils are kept to a
minimum. All dishes are served at the same time, accompanied by a
refreshing drink. Fish is popular in Malay cooking, as with other
seafood such as shrimps and cuttlefish. Beef and mutton are very
popular choices but never pork as it is against their religious
beliefs to eat pork. The other popular white meat is
chicken.
One of the most unique
Malay dishes is the "roti jala" (lacy pancakes), which sometimes
replaces the staple rice. Roti jala is an ideal accompaniment to any
dish with lots of rich gravy and is often served during special
occasions. It is made from a mixture of plain flour and eggs, with a
pinch of turmeric powder and butter. Desserts are a must for any
Malay meal. Easily available at most local restaurants and roadside
stalls, Malay desserts are invariably very sweet and include
ingredients such as coconut milk, palm sugar, and flour.
Nyonya food, also referred
to as Straits Chinese food or Lauk Embok Embok, is an interesting
amalgamation of Chinese and Malay dishes thought to have originated
from the Peranakan (Straits Chinese) of Malaka over 400 years ago.
This was the result of inter-marriages between Chinese immigrants
and local Malays, which produced a unique culture. Here, the ladies
are called nyonyas and the men babas.
Nyonya food is also native
to Penang and Singapore. However, over the years, distinct
differences have evolved in nyonya cooking found in Penang and
Singapore than that in Malaka. The proximity of Malaka and Singapore
to Indonesia resulted in an Indonesian influence on nyonya food.
Malaka Nyonyas prepare food that is generally sweeter, richer in
coconut milk, and with the addition of more Malay spices like
coriander and cumin. Meanwhile, the Penang Nyonyas drew inspiration
from Thai cooking styles, including a preference for sour food, hot
chilies, fragrant herbs, and pungent black prawn paste
(belacan).
Influences aside, nyonya
recipes are complicated affairs, often requiring hours upon hours of
preparation. Nyonya housewives of the past would spend the better
part of their lives in the kitchen, but they were fiercely proud of
their unique cuisine, preferring nyonya food to any other type of
food.
It has been said that in
the old days, a Nyonya lady seeking a prospective bride for her son
would listen to the pounding of spices by the maiden concerned as it
denoted the amount of attention she would give to her
cooking!
Nyonya cooking is also
about the blending of spices, employing pungent roots like galangal,
turmeric and ginger; aromatic leaves like pandan leaf, fragrant lime
leaf and laksa leaf, together with other ingredients like
candlenuts, shallots, shrimp paste and chilies. Lemon, tamarind,
belimbing (carambola) or green mangoes are used to add a tangy taste
to many dishes.
For dessert, fruits are
seldom served and are instead replaced by cakes. Nyonya cakes are
rich and varied, made from ingredients like sweet potato, glutinous
rice, palm sugar, and coconut milk.
|
