A bite of Malaysia

A melting pot of culture, Malaysia is home to the whole gamut of eastern ethnic groups, from native Malayans, to Chinese, Indians, and even small Thai, Indonesian, and European communities. It shares a colonial past with many other Asian countries, having been controlled by Great Britain in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

With such a wide mix of peoples and a colorful history, it’s no surprise that Malaysia has such a diverse culture. This diversity is reflected in Malaysian food – literally, culture served on a platter. The large Chinese and Indian populations have greatly influenced the national cuisine.

One of the most famous dishes in Malaysian cooking is even an adaptation of the Indian roti, or bread. There are several variations of roti in Malaysia, the two most common ones being the roti canai, which is part pancake, part crepe, and the roti jala, which is thinner and net-like. Both types of roti are typically eaten with curry.

Lamb curry with just the right amount of kick.

Native Malaysian food being on the spicy side, the curries brought by the Indian laborers who came to British-controlled Malaysia to work on rubber and palm plantations were easily made part of the local cuisine. Because most Malaysians are Muslim, and Islam forbids eating pork, it is not typically used in curry dishes. However, lamb is widely curried, in addition to the usual beef, chicken, and seafood.

Another Indian contribution to Malaysian cooking is tandoori, which is food cooked with a tandoor, an Indian clay oven. A spicy dish, tandoori is usually made with chicken and served with spicy mint sauce.

Indian food is commonly sold in sidewalk eateries called Mamak (Indian-Muslim) stalls. These popular hangouts start serving at around 5pm, and stay open until the wee hours of the morning.

Mamak stalls make up a large portion of the hawker food shops in Penang, an area most famous for its food.

Penang is also one of the centers of the Chinese-Malaysian cuisine called Nyonya food. A “nyonya” is a female Chinese-Malay, the offspring of Chinese immigrants who settled in the Malaysian state of Malacca and the local Malays.

Nyonya cooking, just like the nyonya it was named after, is a marriage of Chinese and Malaysian flavors. It is characterized by the heavy use of prawn paste and long marinating of meats.

Nyonya fried rice is a refreshing, but at the same time, oddly familiar take on fried rice.

Vegetables and rice are also cooked in the Nyonya style. Fried rice is given a slight kick with the addition of prawn paste and various herbs. It tastes similar to the typical Chinese fried rice, and is made with much of the same ingredients.

Hainanese chicken is another specialty. Though it is of Chinese origin (the tropical island of Hainan), it is famous in Malaysia and Singapore. The Hainanese chicken dish is a full meal, with steamed chicken, and ginger and chili sauces for a viand, and rice made with chicken broth on the side.

Hainanese chicken is a very versatile dish - you can choose how you want it to taste by deciding which sauce
to use.

The use of salted egg is also a part of Chinese cooking that was adopted by Malaysian cuisine. It is added to congees (rice porridges), dumplings, and is made into sauce.

Prawns, squid, and pork are cooked with salted egg sauce. This gastronomic wonder has just the right balance of saltiness and other flavors.

Salted egg prawns are very flavorful bites of heaven.

Much of Malaysian cuisine is a combination of Chinese and Indian influences. However, the smaller communities have also contributed to it. The Thai hot and sour shrimp soup, or Tom Yum Goong, sells just as well (maybe even better!) in Malaysia as in Thailand. Satay, cooked in the Indonesian style, is also hawked alongside roti and Nyonya food.

Really, do you have do wonder if it's tasty? The name speaks for itself - Tom YUM Goong!

Malaysian food proves that you are what you eat. The diversity of its people translated into diversity in cuisine. The country made good use of the variety of cultures on its shores, and made a smorgasbord of Asian culinary masterpieces. Oddly enough, the United Nations of flavors it serves up has only made Malaysian food more distinct. Like their tourism advertisement says, Malaysia is truly Asian.

In the Philippines, a taste of Malaysia can be found at Penang Hill, a chain of restaurants which serves as-close-to-authentic Malaysian cuisine. There are branches at the Greenhills Promenade, Robinsons Midtown, and The Podium. For any questions, contact Penang Hill at 7253527 or +639223384377.