In a world filled with Thai restaurants popping up on every corner, I have had a tough time trying to describe Malaysian food to those who aren't in the know. I have started to call these restos "McThai" as they have become as plentiful as fast food outlets. Unfortunately, they are run by people from other countries. But I digress.
Malaysian Food: A Melting Pot of Flavours
If you don't know where Malaysia is, please check out a map right now. I mean it. (or check the CIA Fact Book) It's squished somewhere between Thailand / Vietnam and Indonesia. West Malaysia is the peninsula that contains Singapore and abuts southern Thailand while East Malaysia (where I am from) shares the island of Borneo with Indonesia.
In Malaysia, I am known as being someone from the "ulu" or rather, jungle - similar to a country hick - because I'm from Borneo. I take that as a compliment.
Malaysian food is bursting with intense flavours
Malaysia benefits from a mixing of cultures: Malays, the influx of Chinese during the Ming Dynasty who married Malays and are called "Nyonya," (also "Nonya") and three centuries of Chinese and Indian migrants. The Nyonya are sometimes referred to as the Straits Chinese of Malacca and they've been around for some 400 years. Some typical Nyonya food includes otak-otak - fish marinated in spice, wrapped in banana leaf and grilled and, itik tim - duck with salted vegetables.
Spicy, Spicy Food
Malaysian cuisine uses fragrant herbs and roots such as lemongrass, ginger, shallots, coriander, fennel, kaffir limes and fresh and dried chilies, usually ground into a sambal, or chili paste. There's usually a sprinkling of mustard seeds, star anise, cardamom and cloves in Malaysian recipes. Some lesser known ingredients include bunga kantan (wild ginger flower buds), turmeric root, galangal and pandan, or screwpine leaf. Coconut milk and tamarind paste are also native to the cuisine.
As in many Asian cuisines, stir fry is an oft-used technique.
Also, a crucial ingredient that I can not fail to mention is belachan (pronounced "blah-chan"). It's prepared from fermented, sweet baby shrimp, fried and hard-pressed into blocks. Add some fresh chilis and lime, and it's a topper for all meals. Mix it with minced garlic, chilis, shallots and sugar and you have sambal belachan -- a key ingredient in many dishes and often used like relish. Versions of belachan are found in Thai, Vietnamese and Indonesian cuisine.
By the way, if you're wondering what kind of liquor to pair with this food, Alan Boehmer has a great article on wines for Asian foods.
Some distinctive Malaysian dishes:
- Nasi Lemak- coconut-flavoured rice, simmered with pandan leaves and usually served with ikan bilis, fried dried anchovies, egg and roasted peanuts.
- Beef Rendang - a chilli-hot dish of fall-apart meat simmered in coconut and a legion of spices.
- Sambal Udang - spicy prawns cooked in chilis, shallots, stewed tomatoes, garlic, tamarind paste and the mother of shrimp pastes, belachan.
- Laksa - My Favourite Dish (pictured here). Plainly described as rice noodles served in tangy fish broth and layered with bean sprouts, shredded chicken, shrimp, clams, egg omelette and topped with fresh cilantro. Many variations exist, I have described Kuching Laksa but most people will have encountered the curry-flavoured Penang or Singapore laksa.
- Malaysian Chicken Curry - Not spicy-hot but slightly sweet and mellow tasting.
- Satay - Marinated meat skewered on bamboo sticks grilled over hot coals and served with peanut sauce.
For a special treat, try my Dad's Malaysian satay recipe
