Malaysia is blessed with teeming seas with
natural resources and fertile soils that are suitable for the
cultivation of vegetables. Highland areas such as the Crocker Range and
Cameron Highlands even produce temperate-climate vegetables. Freshwater
fish is plentiful in its rivers and lakes, while the alluvial plains in
the lowlands have been turned into orchards that produce luscious
tropical fruits such as durians, mangosteens, pomelos, jackfruits,
rambutans and other juicy delights. Combine these with the amazing array
of Malay, Chinese, Indian and Straits cuisines, you have arrived at a
veritable food paradise, where Asia's greatest cuisines meet.
Visitors to Malaysia (Malaysian government
have declare year 2007 as Visit Malaysia Year) will be able to enjoy a
myriad of mouth-watering food and fruits when the Malaysian Food &
Fruits Fiesta kicks off. What exactly is Malaysian food, you may ask?
The answer is simple enough. Malaysia is the biggest melting pot of the
world and here, a delicious mix of Malay, Chinese, Indian, Straits and
other indigenous fare vie for your attention. The trick is not to
compartmentalize it but to savor every lip-smacking morsel. And if there
is one recognizable Malaysian food, it surely must be the cheap and
easily available hawker fare.
Arguably the most popular Malaysian hawker
food is
satay. A Malay dish, satay consists of meat threaded through
ribs of coconut fronds and grilled over a charcoal fire. Satay is served
with sliced cucumbers and onions and a heavenly dip made from crushed
peanuts and chili paste. Ketupat or rice cake wrapped in coconut leaves
complement this dish.
Nasi Lemak is another Malaysian
favorite that is enjoyed by all races, especially at breakfast. At its
simplest, the dish consists of rice cooked in coconut cream and served
with cucumber slices, a dollop of sambal (chili paste), a sprinkling of
fried anchovies and peanuts and, a slice of boiled egg. However, there
is no stopping you from piling on the condiments, which may range from
chili squids, chicken curry, sautéed kangkung (water convolvulus)
and curried cuttlefish.
For a quick meal that is filling, try
nasi goreng or
fried rice. What started as a clever way to recycle
leftover rice is now a celebrated dish with numerous versions. Just
about anything can be thrown into a wok and fried together with cooked
rice. The result? A delicious meal that is easy to make and simply
delightful.
The list of delectable Malay fare is
almost endless: Mee rebus (yellow noodles served with gravy), laksa (rice noodles in fish gravy), soto ayam (spicy chicken
soup), ikan panggang (grilled fish served with tamarind dip),
roti jala (lacy pancakes eaten with curry) and beef rendang
(beef cubes in dry coconut milk gravy).
The Malays also have a wide variety of
desserts to cool you down after a spicy meal. The most popular is ais
kacang (shaved iced with red beans, rose syrup, creamed corn,
groundnuts and evaporated milk). Bubur Cha Cha is a gruel of
coconut milk and palm sugar with slices of yam, white beans and bananas,
while cendol is a gruel of green sago strips in coconut milk.
For Chinese dishes, try char kway teow
(fried flat rice noodles stir-fried with cockles, prawns, egg, bean
sprouts, chives and Chinese sausage). Hainanese chicken rice
(rice cooked with chicken stock and served with steamed chicken), hokkien mee - prawn mee soup (rice vermicelli and prawns served in
prawn stock), bak kut teh(spare ribs soup) and wantan mee
(noodles with meat dumplings).
Fancy watching your food fly before it
reaches your plate? Then order roti canai. An Indian dish, roti
canai is a flaky bread that is eaten with curry. The theatrics of this
dish begins when the maker punches a ball of dough flat on his work
surface. Then he swings it round and round in ever growing circles till
the dough is thin and transparent. The airborne dough is then brought
back to Earth and fried over a griddle. When cooked, the roti canai is
flipped once again into the air and given one last bashing before it is
served!
Other interesting Indian dishes to try are
pasembut (salad comprising prawn fritters, fried bean curd,
potatoes and peanut gravy), tandoori chicken (chicken roasted in
a clay oven), murtabak (pancake with filling of minced meat and
onions), banana leaf rice (rice served on banana leaf accompanied by an
assortment of side dishes), and putu mayam (string hoppers).
The perfect finale to a Malaysian meal are
the succulent local fruits. A native to Malaysia, the durian is popular
with locals. Small wonder that it is dubbed as 'King of Fruits'. Green
and covered with thorns, its shape ranges from round to oblong. Inside,
you will find seeds covered with yellowish pulp that has an acrid aroma.
You either love it or hate it! Many species are available but the D24
reigns supreme.
For an excellent thirst quencher, few
drinks can beat the coconut. The shell contains a liquid that is sweet
and refreshing. A hole is cut at the top of the shell to allow the
liquid to be drunk through a straw. The tender flesh is then scooped out
using a spoon.
Jackfruit is Malaysia's largest fruit.
Each fruit averages between six to 15 kilogram's! Covered with hexagonal
shaped indentations, it is packed with about 100 seeds in each fruit.
The flesh of each seed is waxy, sweet and emits a pleasant smell.
Star fruit or carambola is unique as it is
five-angled. A piece of this fruit cut across presents you with a pretty
slice shaped like a star. Most clones are yellowish green when ripe. The
honey star fruit is golden yellow when ripe and is extremely sweet.
The furry rambutan is a must-try as it too
is indigenous to Malaysia. It is seasonal and fruits around June and
September. The fruit glows in bunches and is green when young but turns
red as it ripens. The white flesh beneath the hairy skin looks like a
large longan.
Purple in color and called the 'Queen of
Fruits' the mangosteen is as tasty as it is pretty. Each fruit is
covered in a thick purplish rind and contains four to six white
segments. These white segments taste sweet, with a slight sour
aftertaste. Fruiting is from June to August and November to January.
Add to these the many other local fruits
that come in wondrous shapes, tastes, aromas, colors and textures and
you will be truly spoilt for choice. One word of caution through: Ditch
the diet for you simply cannot resist the Malaysian Food and Fruits.