Malaysian Food

Food

Malaysian food is not only colorful, spicy and eclectic – but also downright tasty .With such a pulsating diversity of food styles, Malaysia is a fabulous place to enjoy the art of eating and drinking. Rice is the staple food in Malaysia. The rice eaten in Malaysia tends to be the local variety of rice (mainly from Kedah) or fragrant rice from Thailand. Rice can be eaten with variety of curries, vegetables and meat. It’s usually eaten for lunch and dinner.

‘Live to eat’ is the National mantra for Malaysians. Dining in Malaysia is inexpensive and there a variety of places from 5-star hotels to local stalls by the road. The variety of food is unbelievable and eating is a national past time for Malaysians because you’ll never run out in trying new food
I will write on the main food of the three races in Malaysia. These are just one portion of the food served, the ones i like There are many, do check this website for more. http://www.malaysianfood.net/
Malay
Satay

The secret of tender, succulent satay is the rich, spicy-sweet marinade made of peanuts and chilies. The marinated meat; chicken or beef, are skewered onto bamboo sticks and grilled over hot charcoals. Now there are new meats like rabbit, deer and also fish. A fresh salad of cucumbers & onions are served together with a spicy-sweet peanut sauce for dipping. Ketupat, a Malay rice cake is also an accompaniment to satay, great for dipping in satay sauce.
And guess what, the ebst place in Malaysia for satay is Kajang and that is where i live!! So yes, i am kind off bored with satay because everytime a visitor comes down, we have to eat there:-( But trust me, the place is always flooded with people and i must admit, it is tasty!!
Laksa

Thick rice noodles served in a tangy fish soup/gravy, made with mackerel and lots of aromatic herbs. Fresh garnishing of shredded cucumber, lettuce, pineapple, onion and fragrant mint leaves finishes the dish. There are slight variations in different parts of the country. The key ingredient is tamarind, used as a souring agent, giving it a tart tangy taste. This version of laksa from the ‘hawker food capital’ – Penang, is especially famous and well known as Penang Laksa or Penang Assam Laksa.
Nasi Lemak

This local Malay food is rice steamed with coconut milk and served with curry chicken or beef, fried anchovies and sambal (made of red chilies and onions). Sometimes pandan leaves are added when steaming rice to give it the fragrant aroma.
This is the best food who people who love spicy food. Though it’s kind off fattening but hey having it for breakfast just makes your day . You can see people sitting in the hawker’s stalls ordering for nasi lemak in the wee hours of the morning. It’s must try food in Malaysia and i am craving for it right now!!
Indian
The Indian food is usually hot and spicy. They eat their food with a variety of curries. As in accordance with their Hindu beliefs, they do not eat beef. Usually Indian food is sold at the various local stalls and often ordered with a glass of teh tarik meaning “pulled tea”. The tea is thick and frothy. The preparation involves passing the tea and milk from one big metal mug to the other with a “pour and pull” action.
Banana leaf rice

In banana leaf rice, white rice (or parboiled rice in authentic South Indian restaurants) is served on a banana leaf with an assortment of vegetables, curried meat or fish, pickles, and papadum (a cracker or flat bread). It is traditionally eaten with the hand.
The banana leaf is used as it is believed that the hot rice will release the coating on the banana leaf, which aids in digestion.
Briyani Rice

A very traditional Indian food where the rice is cooked in goat butter and spices. Briyani Rice refers to the rice only cooked without the meat, and is a choice of to eat with your selection of curries and side dishes. The dish is assembled by layering the flavorful rice with tender pieces of spiced-cooked lamb, mutton or chicken, with a garnishing of slivered almonds and raisins.
Chinese
Chinese food is generally milder compared to Malay or Indian food. But thanks to the influence from this multiethnic country, Chinese cuisine in Malaysia, has taken on a spicier touch, often reinventing classic Chinese dishes.
Dim Sum

Dim sum restaurants are usually large, noisy affairs – the dim sum served in little baskets or bowls and are whisked around the tables on individual trolleys or carts. Traditional dim sum includes various types of steamed buns such as cha siu baau, dumplings and rice rolls (cheong fun), which contain a range of ingredients, including beef, chicken, pork, prawns and vegetarian options.
Bak Kut Teh

A very popular Hokkien herbal soup where pork ribs are long simmered in a ‘tea’ of Chinese medicinal herbs and whole bulbs of garlic, often with dried shitake mushrooms (black mushrooms) added for earthiness. It is usually served with rice and other vegetables made with oyster sauce. It is not only healthy but its good for digestion as well. Bak means pork, now there is also chi kut teh which is chicken for people who don’t eat pork.

Golden Tapioca Parcels

I was told that during World War II, tapioca was a staple diet in Malaya and helped to feed many families at that time. It is no more a staple diet now but tapioca (or “ubi kayu” as what it is known in Malay) remains a favourite snack for tea time. It can be steamed and eaten by dipping it into gula melaka or plain sugar. The adventurous might try honey instead. However, it is more common for it to be found sold in markets in the form of a yellow-tint cake. Not the cake as in cheesecake but more a local delicacy.

The yellow-tint comes naturally from the yellow flesh variety of the tapioca. Unlike the white coloured variety, the yellow flesh variety is harder to find. Grab them from the market if you are able to find them. I suspect the market vendors have taken big orders from the kuih vendors knowing that the yellow fleshed tapioca is in high demand. On its own, the tapioca is pretty much tasteless. It is also odourless and hence, you have to add flavouring to it when cooking.

The tapioca kuih or kuih ubi kayu or “chiu cze kuih” (in hokkien) is one of my favourites when I am in the mood to eat kuihs. I never knew how they were made until mum started making them recently, and regularly. So, there’s a good supply of tapioca kuih at home. I thought it must have taken lots of preparation or work but was I surprised when I found out how easy this kuih is to make. Truly, I don’t see anyone having any difficulty making this good looking tapioca parcels at home, save and except maybe trying to perfect it in texture and taste.

This is mum’s recipe for Golden Tapioca Parcels

Ingredients

• 500 grammes yellow-fleshed tapioca (finely grated)
• 5 to 7 tablespoons sugar (or to taste)
• some water or coconut milk
• banana leaves (cut into A4 size)

Method

Clean and steam banana leaves for 1 minute or until it is slightly softened which allows you to fold it without breaking. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Grate the tapioca into a large mixing bowl. Add sugar and mix well.

Sprinkle some water or coconut milk and continue mixing and kneading until the tapioca forms a dough which you can shape out. Do not add too much water till it becomes runny.

Place banana leave on the table and add 2 tablespoons of tapioca mixture in the centre. Flatten the mixture a little before folding the banana leaf over it to make a parcel. Repeat with the rest of the tapioca mixture.

Bring water to boil in a steamer. Then place tapioca parcels in the steamer and steam for 25 minutes on high heat. Thereafter, turn off the heat and allow tapioca parcels to stand (remain in the steamer) for 10 minutes before serving.

If you don’t have banana leaves, simply place mixture in a baking tin and steam. After steaming, you can choose to place it under a grill to give the upper layer a slightly baked texture.

Mee Kolok Sarawak

Kolok Mee refers to a dry version of noodles originating from Sarawak (I stand corrected). It is sometimes known as Sarawak Kolo Mee or simply Kolok Mee. It takes a few platefuls of this noodles before it grows on you. Perhaps it has to be due to the fact that it is rather plain looking compared to other more colourful noodle dishes. However, once you grow to like it, it can be addictive.

What I have cooked here is my home-made version of the Kolok Mee. Not the making of the noodles but rather, the mixture of sauces which came up with the Kolok Mee taste. It can be a tad saltish to some, so you might want to go easy on the amount of seasoning used here. As for the noodles, I am using dried instant noodles bought from Sitiawan, made by the Foo Chow community. The texture (which is a bit like pasta, but stiffer) is quite suitable for this seasoning…almost like Kampua Noodles. Wantan noodles are also suitable, especially the curly stringy type. Yellow noodles are not suitable. As I don’t have char siew available, I have decided to just have minced pork only for the topping. Try this recipe if you can and adjust the measurements according to your preference.

This is my recipe for Kolok Mee (serves 3 portions)

Ingredients

• 3 pieces of instant noodles
• 100 grammes of minced pork
• 1/2 bulb of garlic (finely chopped)
• spring onions for garnishing (chopped finely)
• 6 tablespoons of palm oil

Seasoning (for 3 servings)

• 3 teaspoons of fish sauce
• 1/3 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of light soya sauce
• 1/3 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate
• a couple of dashes of white pepper powder

Marinade (for minced pork)

• 2 teaspoons of fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon of light soya sauce
• a couple of dashes of white pepper powder
• 1 teaspoon of corn flour / potato flour

Method

Marinade minced pork for at least 1 hour.

Bring a pot of water to boil. Add instant noodles and cook till almost done. Remove noodles from pot using a net or colander and run it through cold or tap water. Return noodles to boiling water to heat it up again and thereafter, drain the noodles after 30 seconds. Set aside.

Heat oil in wok using medium high heat. Fry garlic till golden brown. Remove fried garlic and set aside.

Scoop up oil into a bowl leaving about 2 tablespoons of oil remaining in the wok. Increase heat to high and stir fry minced pork till completely cooked (about 2 minutes). Sprinkle some water whilst stir frying to prevent burning. The minced pork should be just moist after cooking and not soaking in gravy. Remove cooked minced pork and set aside.

In a large bowl, add all the seasoning and stir well. Add cooked instant noodles and stir till evenly coated by the seasoning. Separate the noodles onto three serving plates. Add some cooked minced pork and garnish with fried garlic and spring onions.

Recipes Som Tam Thailand

Ingredients

• 8-12 Thai chillies (bird peppers), each cut into 3-4 segments
• 8 cloves garlic, peeled and cut each into 2-3 pieces
• 2 Tbs. small dried shrimp
• 4 cups julienned peeled unripe papaya - in strips 2-3 inches long and 1/8 inch thick
• 1 cup cut long beans - 1 1/2-inch-long segments
• 1 julienned carrot
• 1/4 cup tamarind juice the thickness of fruit concentrate
• Juice of 2-3 limes, to taste
• 2-3 Tbs. fish sauce, to taste
• 2-3 Tbs. palm sugar, melted with 1 Tbs. water into a thick syrup - use as needed
• 2 small tomatoes, cut into bite-size wedges; or 12 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup chopped unsalted roasted peanuts

Prepare the ingredients as indicated. Make tamarind juice by starting with 1 Tbs. of compressed tamarind in 1/3 cup of warm water. Work the tamarind with your fingers to dissolve the soft fruit; gather up remaining undissolvable pulp, squeeze to extract juice and discard. Add more tamarind or water as necessary to make 1/4 cup of concentrate.

Divide the ingredients into two batches and make each batch as follows.

Using a large clay mortar with a wooden pestle, pound the garlic and chillies to a paste. Add the dried shrimp and long beans and pound to bruise. Follow with the green papaya and carrot. Stir well with a spoon and pound to bruise the vegetables so that they absorb the heat and flavor of the chillies and garlic.

Add the tamarind and lime juice, fish sauce and palm sugar. Stir and pound a bit more to blend the vegetables with the flavorings and seasonings. Taste and adjust flavors to the desired hot-sour-sweet-and-salty combination. Then add the tomato pieces, stir and bruise lightly to blend in with the rest of the salad. Transfer to a serving plate and sprinkle with peanuts. Serves 6-8.

Notes and Pointers:

Green papaya has a very mild, almost bland, taste, but it is the medium through which robust flavor ingredients take body and form. It picks up the hot, sour, sweet and salty flavors, giving them a unique crisp and chewy texture unlike that of any other vegetable. When made into salad, you wouldn't know that it was mild and timid; you remember it only as bold and spicy.

Unripe papayas are readily available in various sizes and shapes during the summer at many Asian markets. Select one that is very firm with shiny green peel suggesting that it is as freshly picked as possible. Any very firm unripe green papaya can be used for the recipe, ranging from the small Hawaiian papaya to the huge Mexican variety. The important thing is that it should be unripe - the flesh still light green, almost white, in color after it is peeled. Select the firmest one you can find. Even green fruits will eventually ripen and turn soft if allowed to sit around for some time.

There are many ways to make green papaya salads, with varying degrees of hotness, sourness and sweetness. The hottest salads are probably made in northeastern Thailand and Laos where they are eaten with barbecued chicken and sticky rice as a staple food of the populace. There, the salads are made by bruising julienned green papaya with garlic and very hot bird peppers in a large clay mortar with a wooden pestle, then seasoning with lime juice, fish sauce and other flavorings.

Nasi Lemak Malaysia

As a self-proclaimed Malaysian home cook, it’s a shame that it took me so long to prepare nasi lemak, the de facto national dish of Malaysia. In my opinion, a truly remarkable nasi lemak is not to be taken lightly; it should fulfill a few requisites: quality, texture, flavors, and, of course, the right ingredients. This past weekend, I finally found the time and dedication to make this legendary dish…

The difference between a good nasi lemak and an exceptionally marvelous nasi lemak lies in the use of pandan leaves/screwpine leaves. Possessing highly fragrant floral smell, these leaves are used abundantly in Malaysian cuisine to infuse rice dishes or desserts with the signature aroma; a nasi lemak will not be a true nasi lemak without their presence. The other main ingredient of nasi lemak is dried anchovies, or known locally by ikan bilis. These little salted fish are used in the sambal.

As sambal is of the essence when making nasi lemak, I was extremely zealous when preparing it. I shun away from electrical appliances. Nasi lemak deserves better, it deserves to be prepared the traditional way, that is, with mortar and pestle.

I gathered all the ingredients for my rempah (spice paste), patiently and gracefully pounded away just like any traditional Malaysian home cooks do. This very exercise brought back a flood of memories. As a child, I loved observing my grandmother, my mother, and my aunt when they prepared their rempah with batu giling (a flat surfaced granite grinding stone); I would always volunteer to help them with the chore as it was pure fun playing real life masak-masak (cooking). As I reminisced back those childhood days in my family’s kitchen, I came to realize that it was probably the beginning of my life-long passion for cooking.

So, here I present you nasi lemak, a truly Rasa Malaysia dish.

Recipe: Nasi Lemak Ingredients:
Coconut Milk Steamed Rice
2 cups of rice
3 screwpine leaves (tie them into a knot as shown above)
Salt to taste
1 small can of coconut milk (5.6 oz size)
Some water
Tamarind Juice
1 cup of water
Tamarind pulp (size of a small ping pong ball)
Sambal Ikan Bilis (Dried anchovies sambal)
1/2 red onion
1 cup ikan bilis (dried anchovies)
1 clove garlic
4 shallots
10 dried chillies
1 teaspoon of belacan (prawn paste)
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of sugar
Other ingredients
2 hard boiled eggs (cut into half)
3 small fish (sardines or smelt fish)
1 small cucumber (cut into slices and then quartered)
Method:

1. Just like making steamed rice, rinse your rice and drain. Add the coconut milk, a pinch of salt, and some water. Add the pandan leaves into the rice and cook your rice.
2. Rinse the dried anchovies and drain the water. Fry the anchovies until they turn light brown and put aside.
3. Pound the prawn paste together with shallots, garlic, and deseeded dried chilies with a mortar and pestle. You can also grind them with a food processor.
4. Slice the red onion into rings.
5. Soak the tamarind pulp in water for 15 minutes. Squeeze the tamarind constantly to extract the flavor into the water. Drain the pulp and save the tamarind juice.
6. Heat some oil in a pan and fry the spice paste until fragrant.
7. Add in the onion rings.
8. Add in the ikan bilis and stir well.
9. Add tamarind juice, salt, and sugar.
10. Simmer on low heat until the gravy thickens. Set aside.
11. Clean the small fish, cut them into half and season with salt. Deep fry.
12. Cut the cucumber into slices and then quartered into four small pieces.
13. Dish up the steamed coconut milk rice and pour some sambal ikan bilis on top of the rice.
14. Serve with fried fish, cucumber slices, and hard-boiled eggs.

Nasi Ayam Penyet Batam

When I went to Batam during CNY holiday, I really can't stop eating their nasi ayam penyet. So I decided to cook my own. After cooking, I found the taste is same with the Indonesian one. Here I would like to share the recipe with all of my friends!

Bahan-bahan untuk sambal belacan
5 biji cili merah hidup- digoreng 15minit
5 biji cili api- digoreng 15 minit
2 inci belacan yang dah dibakar
segenggam assam jawa[buatkan jusnya dengan sidikit air,biar pekat lagi bagus].
limau kasturi masa dihidang

Cara- caranya
1. Seperti biasa bahan tadi kecuali air asam dikisar, jgn sampai lumat. Barulah dimasukkan air asam tuuu. Kacau sedikit.
2. Sampai sebati semua bahanya, siap dan dihidangkan.

Ayam goreng
1 kilo kepak ayam
2 sudu besar serbuk kunyit
1 sudu serbuk kari
secukup garam
segengam tepung beras

Caranya;
Gaul semua bahan bersam ayam hingga sebati dan perapkan 30minit. Panaskan minyak dan goreng hingga garing.

Dihidangkan bersama nasi putih, daun salad, timun, tempeh goreng (optinal), kacang botto (optional), sambal belacan dan sup daging.

Resepi Nasi Ayam Penyet Johor

wahhh..my feberet ni tau. tapi kalau tanya orang KL, ramai masih kurang kenal nasi ayam penyet ni. search kat google pun tak ramai yang post..so saya nak kongsilah resepi nasi ayam penyet ni. Tapi awas, kalau korang jenis tak tahan sabar bahaya makan ayam penyet ni.

Kenapa bahaya? sebab sambalnya mesti pedas dan ini akan menambahkan ketidaksabaran korang. Yang lagi penting ialah, korang takkan sabar nak tunggu restoran tu bukak nak beli ayam penyet. Dah ramai yang kena penyakit ni, mujurlah saya kena sikit je..hehe
Apa specialnya nasi ayam penyet ni sampaikan saya membawanya sebagai menu tengahari untuk seminar blogging pada 18 oktober ni? haaa..rahsianya pada ayam yang diperap dan digoreng garing beserta sambal yang cukup membuatkan orang menangis mengalahkan sedih tengok filem hindustan. Tapi yang bagusnya nasi ayam penyet ini ialah kekadang anda akan berpeluh-peluh lepas makan macam baru balik jogging..hehe
Ok..kembali ke resepi ayam penyet:

1- Ayam:

1/4 ayam tua (pencen)

2- Bahan untuk perap ayam:

4 ulas bawang putih
5 ulas bawang merah
2 sudu besar ketumbar
* semua bahan ni dikisar

3- Cara menyediakan ayam penyet:

1. Ayam diperap 30 hari minit dengan barang yang dikisar tadi tu (bahan untuk perap ayam) dengan sedikit garam
2. Rebus ayam tadi sehingga empuk sebelum digoreng garing
3. Kemudian hidangkan bersama hirisan timun, salad, kobis dan ulam-ulam yang anda suka

4- Menyediakan sambal

1. Bahan-bahan ialah 20 biji cili api, 5 biji cili merah, 3 biji tomato dan 3 inci belacan.
2. Semua bahan ini digoreng terlebih dahulu sebelum ditumbuk (nak blend pun boleh).

5- Cara nak makan:

1. 1 pinggan nasi putih (beserta nasi tambah)
2. 1 pinggan ayam yang telah siap digoreng tadi pada step 3
3. 1 mangkuk sambal
4. 1 mangkuk sup
5. 1 jag gelas air suam

*kalau nak rasa nikmatnya dan malas nak masak, saya sarankan pergi je kat Restoran Ayam Penyet Pinang di hadapan Apartment Melana, Tmn Universiti, Skudai ni..memang tip top. Kalau datang silap masa (biasanya pukul 7-8) memang korang takkan ada kerusi nak duduk sebab penuh.