The Malays are the people who inhabit the Malayan Peninsula and some of the nearby islands, including the east coast of Sumatra, the coast of Borneo and smaller islands that lie between the area. These tribal proto-Malays were a seafaring people. Present day Malays of the Peninsula and coasts of the Malay Archipelago are "anthropologically described as deutero-Malays" and are the descendants of the tribal proto-Malays mixed with modern Indian, Thai, Arab and Chinese ancestry. Malay culture itself has been strongly influenced by that of people of neighboring lands, including Siamese, Javanese, Sumatran and Indians. The influence of Hindu India was historically very great, and the Malay people were largely Hinduized before they were converted to Islam in the 15th century. For 2000 years, the traffic of traders between the Malayan Archipelago and India resulted in frequent intermarriages especially Tamils and Gujeratis. Some Hindu rituals survive in Malay culture, as in the second part of the marriage ceremony and in various ceremonies of State. Malays have also preserved some of their more ancient beliefs in spirits of the soil and jungle, often having recourse to medicine men called bomohs [shamans] for the treatment of ailments.
In the northern states of Perlis and Kedah, intermarriages with Thais were commonplace. The east coast state of Kelantan still has traces of Javanese culture that date back to the era of the Majapahit Empire of the 14th century. The Sumatran kingdom of Acheh dominated Perak for over a century. The Bugis from Indonesia's Celebes Islands colonized Selangor and fought for rulers in States along the length of the peninsula - from Kedah to Johor. The Minangkabaus from Sumatra had their own independent chiefdoms in what is today the state of Negri Sembilan. This mix of different ethnic groups form what is the modern Malay and can be clearly seen in the lineage of, for example, Malacca's royalty. Sultan Muhammad Shah married a Tamil from South India. Sultan Mansur Shah married a Javanese, a Chinese and a Siamese; the Siamese wife bore two future Sultans of Pahang. It was this diversity of races, cultures and influences that has the given the modern Malay race the rich and unique historical heritage it has today.
Chinese Food
The Chinese brought with them not only their skills, culture, languages and customs but also the various provincial styles of Chinese cuisines. Chinese cuisine in Malaysia is mainly Cantonese, Hokkien, Hainanese, Teochew and Hakka styles of cooking. Chinese cuisine is generally milder compared to Malay or Indian fare. But thanks to the influence from this multiethnic country, Chinese cuisine in Malaysia, has taken on a spicier touch, often reinventing classic Chinese dishes. Many Chinese dishes are unique in Malaysia and not found in China. Chilies are used frequently to bestow fiery hotness to many of it's dishes such as the famous Chili Crab - also known as Singapore Chili Crab in Singapore.
The best known and most popular variety of Chinese food is Cantonese food. The food is quickly stir-fried with just a touch of oil and the result is crisp and fresh. With Cantonese food, the more people sitting at a meal the better, because dishes are traditionally shared so everyone will manage to sample the greatest variety. A corollary of this is that Cantonese food should be balanced: traditionally, all foods are said to be either Yin [cooling] like vegetables, most fruits and clear soup; or Yang [heat-y] like starchy foods and meat. A cooling food should be balance with a heat-y food and with not too much of one or the other.
A Cantonese specialty is Dim Sum or 'little heart'. Dim sum is usually consumed during lunch or as a brunch, popular on weekends. 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. As they come by , you simply ask for a plate of this or a bowl of that. At the end the meal you are billed according to the empty containers on your table. The dim sum has between 10 to 30 items and includes delights such as Steamed Pork & Shrimp Dumplings, Steamed Pork Riblets, Steamed Vegetable Dumplings, Steamed Soft Noodles with shrimp, Steamed Crabsticks stuffed with fish paste, Deep-fried Dumplings with salted eggs, Steamed Red Bean cakes and delicious desserts of Baked Egg Custard to name a few. Cantonese cuisine offers dishes from one end of the gastronomic spectrum - pricey delicacies like Braised Abalone, Shark's Fin Soup, Bird's Nest Soup to meals on the cheap like Mee (noodles) and Congee rice porridge
- on the other end of the spectrum.
- on the other end of the spectrum.
Far less familiar than the food from Canton are the cuisines from the North and the West of China - Szechuan, Shanghai and Peking. Szechuan food is the fiery food of China, where red pepper and chili really get into the act. While food from Canton is delicate and understated, Szechuan food flavors are strong and dramatic - garlic and chilies play their part in dishes like Szechuan Beef, Ma Po Tofu [Chili Tofu] and the ubiquitous Hot & Sour Soup.
Beijing or Peking food is, of course best known for the famous Peking Duck. Beijing food is less subtle than Cantonese food. Beijing food is usually eaten with hot steamed buns, pancakes or noodles, as rice is not grown in the cold regions of the north of China. In Malaysia, the traditional pancakes served with Peking Duck are often omitted, rice being favored by diners in local Chinese restaurants.
Shanghai food is not easily found in Malaysia. Since most of Malaysia's Chinese are from the South, particularly from Hainan and Hakka, it is quite easy to find food from this region. Throughout Malaysia, one of the most widespread economical meal is Hainan Chicken Rice. The Hainanese are also famous for Steamboat, an Oriental version of the Swiss Fondue or Japanese Shabu-Shabu. Thin slices of raw meat, seafood and vegetables are cooked at the table in a pot of soup broth heated by hot charcoals. Nowadays 'electric Steamboats' are more the norm especially in restaurants.
Although Hokkien food is rated on the lower end of the Chinese gastronomic scale, it has provided the popular Hokkien Fried Mee; thick egg noodles fried with meat, seafood and vegetables in a rich soy sauce. Another famous Hokkien treat is Popiah or Hokkien Spring Rolls; a vegetable filling of stewed jicama [sengkuang], carrots and bean sprouts are rolled in a rice paper wrapper with minced prawns, fried shallots and lettuce. A very popular Hokkien herbal soup is Bak Kut Teh [also spelt Bakuteh], which in English is translated as 'Pork Rib [Pork Bone] Tea', traditionally served for breakfast as an invigorating tonic to start the day with Ewe Char Koay [Chinese crullers]. Pork ribs are long simmered in a 'tea' of Chinese medicinal herbs and whole cloves of garlic, often with dried shitake mushrooms added for a rich, earthy flavor. A chicken version Chi Kut Teh [also spelt Chikuteh] is also popular.
Teochew food, from the area around Swatow in China, is another style noted for it's delicate and at the same time robust flavors. This cuisine is famous for it's seafood as well as it's CongeeTeochew Congee is a simple meal; a bowl of rice porridge is served with a medley of small appetizing side dishes, to pick and choose from. The most popular Chinese hawker dish is rice porridge. Char Kway Teow, flat rice noodles fried with fresh shrimp, cockles, bean sprouts, egg, and chives made hot to taste with a smoky chili paste.
Hakka dishes are also easily found in food centers. The best known Hakka dish is the Yong Tau Foo. Soy Bean cakes [tofu], bitter gourd, whole red chilies and various other vegetables are stuffed with a fish or seafood paste, then steamed or boiled in a broth and served with a chili dipping sauce.
Mooncakes are a must during the Mid Autumn or Mooncake Festival, when the moon is at it's brightest all year. Rich and sweet, these special celebratory cakes are made with various fillings of sweet red bean paste, white lotus seeds, lotus seed paste and a whole egg yolk, symbolizing the full moon.
In Malaysia, there are countless Chinese restaurants, hawker stalls and Chinese coffee shops "Kopitiams". Kopitiams typically serve customers coffee and other hot or cold beverages. Independent hawker stalls Hawker Centers everywhere selling noodle type dishes and other local fare. Hawker Centers can range from 3 or 4 hawker stalls together in one spot, to huge Hawker Centers with never-ending hawker stalls offering a bewildering array of food. The only dilemma is... What to eat??! operate in the same way, offering customers a myriad of culinary delights. There are upscale Chinese restaurants offering Chinese specialties and delicacies, many of which are large scale premises; especially in major hotels, that also cater to special celebrations and wedding banquets.
Indian Food
The Malayan Peninsula with it's small kingdoms and chiefdoms had a long history of trade with merchants from India. These traders have come and gone over the centuries bringing with them Hindu influences, seen in the customs and rituals of local rulers. However it was not until the 19th century, after the Portuguese and Dutch colonists were eclipsed by the British, who took control of the Malayan Peninsula that mass Indian migration took place. Rubber seedlings from Brazil were found to grow successfully in this equatorial land, and much needed manpower were recruited from British East India for the burgeoning rubber industry. Road, waterworks as well as railway infrastructure were also breaking new ground in this equatorial jungle nation. 80% of Indians were Tamils from South India employed in the rubber industry, while Sri Lankan Tamils and Malayalees were employed in supervisory and clerical positions. Of the North Indians, the Punjabis were employed in the police force while the Gujaratis and Sindhis were in business, mainly textiles. Despite the mass exodus of Indians returning to India after Malaysia's independence from the British in 1957, many stayed on and today Indians constitute the third largest ethnic group, making up 8% of Malaysia's population of 27 million. Indian food is now not only very Malaysian; unique and new versions of Indian food, not found in India, have ultimately been created. Indian cuisine can be divided into two mainstreams, North Indian and South Indian cuisine.
North Indian cuisine - A typical North Indian meal would consist of breads - made from wheat flour such as Chapatis or Rotis [unleavened bread], Parathas [unleavened bread fried on a griddle] - served with vegetarian and non-vegetarian curries. North Indian cuisine boasts of a diet rich in meat. Grilled meat kebabs, koftas, spicy roasts of lamb, chicken and quails, are served alongside rich curries and kormas. North Indian curries are luxuriantly spiced with distinctive aroma and taste of ground and whole spices. The curries are not particularly hot - rather it's intricate use of various blends of spices together with yogurt and ghee [clarified butter] makes for sophisticated Indian dishes - as in it's Mughlai cuisine. Mughlai cuisine is the cuisine that comes from the kitchens of the ancient Indian aristocracy of the Moghul Emperors.
South Indian cuisine - is mainly fish and vegetables, often cooked in coconut milk, an important ingredient in South Indian cooking. Rice is a staple in South India and served with seafood, mainly fish and vegetable dishes. Fish, prawns, crabs and squid are cooked in a variety of ways, most commonly in coconut milk, chilies and spices. Breads are lighter, made with rice flour instead of wheat - Dosas (thin rice pancakes), Vada (made from fermented rice and dhal), Appams (rice pancake) and Idli (steamed rice cakes). Idli, with it's soft spongy texture, is especially ideal to eat with Sambar (also spelt Sambhar). Sambars are stews made from pulses, usually dhal (lentils) cooked with vegetables - peas, potatoes, carrots, eggplant, okra, drumsticks and cabbage. South Indian cuisine boosts the very best fish and vegetarian meals.
Spices are the heart and soul of Indian cooking. The quantity and proportions vary with each geographical boundary. In true Indian cooking, curry powder is almost never used. Spices are freshly grounded and added in many different combinations, giving each dish a unique and distinct taste. Spices commonly used are coriander, cumin, turmeric, fennel, mustard and fenugreek. Other fragrant spices added are cardamom, clove, cinnamon and star anise. Both fresh and dried chili peppers are used in varying degrees for different curries - from mild sambars to fiery hot curries such as Vindaloo and Madras curries.
There are numerous Indian restaurants in Malaysia serving authentic Northern and Southern Indian cuisine. Many cater to specialized regional Indian cuisine and customary needs. Indians in Malaysia come from different religious sects - Hindu, Sikh, Christian, Muslim and other religions. The most widespread local Indian stalls, eateries and restaurants you will find in Malaysia, are Indian-Muslim. Affectionately referred to by locals as Mamak stall or Mamak restaurant, they serve an extraordinary cuisine of Indian-Muslim food - a culinary assimilation of Indian and Malay cooking styles. The curries and entrees are unmistakably Indian, yet unlike those found in India. Mamak means 'Uncle' in Tamil. In spite of the equatorial climate, a hot beverage of Indian-style tea is very popular, called teh tarik. Teh is tea in Malay and tarik means to pull or to jerk or to tug. The milky tea is prepared by using out-stretched hands, pouring [pulling] the piping hot tea from one mug to another several times. The higher the pull, the thicker the froth, the thicker the froth, the yummier - kind of like a 'frappe'. Many of these Mamak stalls and restaurants are open 24 hours, much appreciated and well-loved by late-night owls! Good eats to be had at these round-the-clock joints are Tandoori Chicken, Murtabak and Roti Canai [pronounced Chan-nai]. Roti Canai is also called Roti Prata or Paratha [the original Indian name. Roti Canai is now well-known as a popular 'Malaysian' appetizer - on menus in Malaysian restaurants all over the world. It is served with a side of curry, usually a Malaysian Chicken Curry. There are curries and there are curries... a Malaysian Chicken Curry, however, with it's unique formula and blend of spices - is distinctly 'Malaysian tasting'.
