How the Many Foods In Malaysia Can Unite Us As A Country
Author: Ivan Jan En Yu
To be a Malaysian is to have lived your life amongst perhaps one of the most diverse food cultures in the world due to its multicultural cuisines which have been predominantly influenced by an oriental fusion of the trinity of Chinese, Indian and Malay origins. The flourishing amalgamation of these cultures, ethnicities and languages has often led to Malaysia to be affectionately described by its locals as ‘Asia’s melting pot’, the meeting point of cultural integration. Although a quick look at the Malaysian ethnic population will show you disparities between each group such as: the composition of ethnic Malay and indigenous groups being 69.8%, the ethnic Chinese population composition being 22.4% and the proportion of ethnic Indians being 6.8%, it nonetheless remains a fact that each culture’s traditional cuisines and cookery have more than deeply penetrated into the deepest recesses of Malaysian society at its core. Hence, it can easily be agreed by the likes of gourmets, connoisseurs, tourists, locals and food enthusiasts everywhere that the Malaysian food scene is not to be missed out on due to the sheer variety of flavors and techniques that you would be exposed to, all in one nation.
For starters, I will be reviewing and sharing my personal experiences with the largest ethnic group in Malaysia, that of the Bumiputera. As A.H Ainuddin puts it, Malay cooking is easily characterized by spicy flavors, expert usage of herbs and spices, their key component of coconut milk in numerous dishes, and lastly, their method of stewing meats with a viscous and luscious gravy. This includes dishes such as the renowned nasi lemak, ayam percik, beef rendang, tapai, satay and more. Popularity wise, nasi lemak wins the race by a mile due to its exciting flavors and packaging method. Traditionally, the dish consists of rice that has been steamed with coconut milk, creating a rich and scrumptious fragrance which is topped by a variety of sides such as fried anchovies , a hot sauce sambal paste, a boiled egg, slices of cucumber and a cluster of fried peanuts, all of which, is conveniently wrapped up in banana leaves which serves to boost its tantalizing aroma. Nowadays with slightly differing sides, nasi lemak is further topped by proteins of all sorts, from chicken and beef to seafoods and fried eggs. In my opinion, besides different restaurants and kiosks offering differing varieties of nasi lemak with differing sides, what makes the dish so exciting to me is the fact that every household has their own sambal recipe.
This means that certain places might have sambal that has quite a kick to it , while others would have distinct features in their chili paste such as those that are less viscous in nature, those that have more chili flakes in them , those that have onion bits mixed in and so on and so forth. The list goes on! As such, the fact that each sambal is so unique in its own right shows that their recipes have been passed down from generation to generation, up to this day, where it continues to thrive as by far Malaysia’s most common stable dish.
With regards to Chinese cuisine, its numerous dishes carry ancient roots from Mainland China, incorporating with it the many styles which includes and is not limited to Cantonese, Fujian, Hakka, Teochew and Hokkien cuisines. What makes Malaysian Chinese cuisine stand out from its mainland predecessors is that their migrants who have settled in Malaysia have adapted local cultures into their culinary techniques and repertoire. This can be seen in examples such as Malaysian Hainanese rice being enriched with pandan leaves and local spices which creates a unique flavor differing from its origins in the Hainan islands. Not only that, since pork serves as a major component in Chinese dishes, the Malaysian Chinese have frequented chicken as a substitute for their local Muslim clientele to the point that certain Chinese restaurants have even been granted halal-certification. A notable dish that has once been referred to by BBC as ‘Malaysia’s humble king of noodles’, is the Penang Char Kuey Tiaw, which is also one of my personal favorites. Translated from Hokkien, it stands for stir-fried flat noodles which is a noodle dish traditionally made with soy sauce, eggs, Chinese sausages, garlic and shrimp. The perfect blend of sweet, savory and spicy providing a great depth of flavor along with its status as quick, cheap and fast dish makes its immense popularity no surprise. Personally, the fact that it is stir fried on a wok and utilizes soy sauce and eggs as central components makes it reminiscent of fried rice which is probably the reason why I favor it so much, since it can be said to be the noodle equivalent of it.
In terms of Indian cuisine, their dishes can be mainly traced back to South India, due to a majority of the Malaysian Indian community being of South Indian origin. Their staple dishes are characterized by the usage of wheat-based breads such as Chapatis, Rotis and Paratas which are complemented by scrumptious curries and kurmas. Although similar to the Ethnic Malays in that their dishes frequent the usage of coconut milk and aromatic spices, what sets them apart is that Indian dishes tend to enlist the utility of curry leaves to pack a punch in their cuisine. Notable dishes known and beloved by many include chicken tikka masala, nasi kandar, murtabak, nasi briyani and more. A favorite dish of mine which is also a famous snack food throughout all of Malaysia would have to be the roti chanai, which is essentially fried flatbread that is usually served with either condensed milk, daal, or a curry of your choice. Although it can be had as it is, there is also an exaggeratingly innumerable amount of options for fillings that may be stuffed into the roti , ranging from simple ingredients such as eggs, onions and cheese to more wild components such as bananas, canned sardines and even milo powder! The variety of ingredients it may work with allows for an infinite amount of creative possibilities, limited only by the imagination. In my opinion, what makes this dish such a fan favorite is that the roti simply serves as such an ideal medium for the flavors of the rich and mouth-watering curries to shine. They exist in perfect harmony and equilibrium, complementing each other in ways that truly bring out the umami of each imbedded flavor.
As perhaps one of the most symbolic and desired dishes in Malaysia, Laksa is a dish that can be said to be born out of the marriage of cultures between all three ethnicities. Its status as a delicacy is undoubted as seen in the Lonely Planet’s Ultimate Eatlist which has ranked it as the number two food in the entire world. Simply put, it is a spicy noodle dish with a delectable broth that is topped with proteins such as poultry or seafood. The vagueness in this description is due to the several varieties of the dish in several different nations and states, with the only notable constants being the presence of noodles and broth. Its origins can be traced all the way back to when Chinese traders had travelled through the Silk Road to settle in the Malay Archipelago, having been introduced to the influence of Indian spice trades. As the respective peoples of each ethnicity intermingled and settled down together, the ultimate culmination of cultural exchange had occurred when spices, herbs and coconut milk were added to Chinese soups to concoct the by far unparalleled richness of the laksa broth. Its rich savory taste with a spicy kick to it truly represents the embodiment of a national unity of cultures that all happened to come together in Malaysia. In light of these cultural fusions, it can be said that the saying “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach”, applies not only to men, but is also a saying that transcends the boundaries of ethnicities, cultures and languages.
Conclusively, it can be seen that through a mutual appreciation of one another’s cultures and cuisines, can a sense of unity be created. After all, respect in another culture’s food leads to respect towards their culture which further leads to respect for their people and so on and so forth. We may be divided by factors such as religion and beliefs, but we are united in culture and nationality.