Top 4 Malaysian dishes!!!!
Nasi
Lemak is a must! The name itself ” rice in cream” is derived from the cooking
process where regular white rice is literally soaked in coconut cream and then
steamed to give a gorgeous, aroma of coconut-perfumed white rice that is then
wrapped in banana leaf or served on a plate and eaten with the other side
dishes mentioned above. Sometimes a knotted pandan leaf, or ginger or a stalk
of lemongrass is thrown it to make the rice all the more fragrant.
The
Malaysian nasi lemak consists of a hot spicy sauce (sambal), hard boiled egg,
cucumber slices, small dried anchovies (ikan bilis) and roasted peanuts at its
core and to this you may add sambal cuttlefish, fried chicken, cockle, stir
fried water convolvulus (kangkong), pickled vegetables (achar) or beef rendang
(beef stewed in coconut milk and spices).
Sinful
and bad for the heart but incredibly delicious.. If you eat this once in a
while, it’s not so bad!
A mixture
of curry sauces is poured on the rice. Always ask for the sauces to be mixed ,
i.e. fish + chicken + dhal .. let it soak through your rice and just die from
the awesome aroma and taste. This is called nasi ‘banjir’ (flooded rice) and
imparts a multifaceted taste to the rice. Many eat the sauced soaked rice with
their bare fingers and the aroma actually stays with you long after you have
washed your hands. This is part of the appeal of eating Nasi Kandar!
No
Malaysian food lunch spread is complete without the Nasi Dagang.
Nasi
dagang is another fantastically tasty dish, consisting of rice steamed in
coconut milk, fish curry and extra ingredients such as fried shaved coconut,
solok lada, hard-boiled eggs and vegetable pickles.
It is a
well-known breakfast food in the states on the East Coast of Peninsular
Malaysia, such as Terengganu and Kelantan. The most famous Nasi dagang of
Terengganu comes from a place called Kampung Ladang, an area within the Kuala
Terengganu district. I have not tried the one from Kampung Ladang but my
colleague who covers the East Coast says it’s truly the best.
Sentul
Satay.!!!!!! Close analogues would be the Yakitori from Japan, the Shish Kebab
from Turkey, the Sosatie from South Africa.. oh, and my most recent discovery
was the Chuan from China!
Meats on
sticks over a BBQ – basic yet effective. Tapping into that childhood ‘fun’ way
of eating your food. For satay, the “must have” ingredient which gives the dish
its characteristic yellow colour derived from tumeric. Serve it up with a spicy
peanut sauce dip, or peanut gravy, slivers of onions and cucumbers, and ketupat
(rice cakes).. and you have a balanced meal of carbo, protein, fats, and
vegetables but tastes delightfully sinful.. not unlike junk food!
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