Malaysian cuisine (Malay: Masakan Malaysia; Jawi: ) consists of cooking traditions and practices found in Malaysia, and reflects the multi-ethnic makeup of its population. The vast majority of Malaysia's population can roughly be divided among three major ethnic groups: Malays, Chinese and Indians. The remainder consists of the indigenous peoples of Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia, the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia, the Peranakan and Eurasian creole communities, as well as a significant number of foreign workers and expatriates.
As a result of historical migrations, colonisation by foreign powers, and its geographical position within its wider home region, Malaysia's culinary style in the present day is primarily a melange of traditions from its Malay, Chinese, Indian, Indonesian, Thai, Filipino and indigenous Bornean and Orang Asli, with light to heavy influences from Arab, Thai, Portuguese, Dutch and British cuisines, among others.
Because Peninsular Malaysia shares a common history with Singapore, it is common to find versions of the same dish across both sides of the border regardless of the place of origin, such as laksa and chicken rice. The same thing can be said with Malaysian Borneo and Brunei, such as ambuyat. Also because of their proximity, historic migration and close ethnic and cultural kinship, Malaysia shares culinary ties with Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, as these nations share dishes such as satay and rendang.
Because the vast majority of Chinese Malaysians are descendants of immigrants from southern China, Malaysian Chinese cuisine is predominantly based on dishes with roots from Fujian, Teochew, Cantonese, Hakka and Hainanese cuisines. However, although the vast majority of Indian Malaysians are descendants of immigrants from southern India, Malaysian Indian cuisine has a mixture of north-south Indian and Sri Lankan diversity that can be differentiated by drier or wetter curry dish preparation.
History
Origins Malaysian cuisine has developed over the region's history. Although the modern state of Malaysia did not exist until 1963, the cuisine can claim traceable roots as far back as the 1400s, during the time of the Malacca Sultanate. Malaysian cuisine is a mixture of various food cultures from around the Malay archipelago, such as India, China, the Middle East, and several European countries. This diverse culinary culture stems from Malaysia's diverse culture and colonial past. The cuisine was developed as a melange between local and foreign. In the 15th century, the region now known as Malaysia became an important passageway for maritime trade. Passing through Malaysia were Arab traders who brought spices from the Middle East, as well as Portuguese, Dutch, and English colonists and traders who introduced food staples such as peanuts, pineapples, avocado, tomatoes, squash and pumpkin. During the 19th century in the period of British colonial rule, many Indian and Chinese laborers were brought to Malaysia, contributing to the diversity of tastes in Malaysian cuisine.
Cultural and regional influences
Being a multicultural country, Malaysians have over the years adopted each other's dishes to suit the taste buds of their own culture. For instance, Malaysians of Chinese descent have adapted the Indian curry, and made it more dilute and less spicy to suit their taste. Chinese noodles have been crossed with Indian and Malay tastes and thus Malay fried noodles and Indian fried noodles were born. Malaysians have also adapted famous dishes from neighbouring countries, or those with strong cultural and religious ties, and in the absence of an established community from said countries have made it completely their own, a notable example being tom yam, one of Thailand's most well-known dishes
After migrating south of the border, Thai tom yam adopts the visual characteristics of a Malaysian Assam gravy, with a flavor profile that is sweet, sour, and spicy. It is thickened with pounded chili paste, which also gives it a vivid orange-red color. Tamarind is often used instead of lime juice as the souring agent, and dried chilies, rather than fresh ones, are used to provide a fiery kick. Malay-style tom yam soup tends to be heavily seafood-based, whereas in Chinese-style eateries, the broth's spiciness is toned down and it is usually served as a base for noodle soup.
Across the sea from Peninsular Malaysia, on Borneo island, lie the states of Sabah and Sarawak. Traditional lifestyles and limited roads still predominate outside of the major cities, especially in Sarawak, where rivers are the only major highways for much of the inland population. The jungles of Borneo are teeming with wild plants, fungi, and fruits, and its sweeping coastlines and many large rivers provide an abundance of seafood and freshwater fish fit for the dinner table. A rich variety of traditional food has been developed by Borneo's many tribes and indigenous groups over the centuries; much of it is healthy food, consisting of foraged (now increasingly cultivated due to modernisation) and fermented foods. Because much of the region was once under the Brunei Sultanate's thalassocracy, the Bruneian Malay people have left a lasting culinary influence, particularly on the cookery of the coastal Muslim communities of East Malaysia. According to the source paper written in 2006, the Malaysian food industrial sector accounted for about 14% of the total manufacturing energy consumption.Ali, M. (2012). Energy and emission analysis in the Malaysian food industries (3rd ed., Vol. 32, pp. 777-83). Wiley Online Library.
Historically speaking, fresh produce is often scarce for hunter-gatherer nomadic tribes around the world, thus it is usually preserved out of necessity for important events and festivals. The tribal peoples of Sabah and Sarawak are no different; most of them have developed techniques for curing, fermenting or preserving their supplies of fresh meat, fruit and vegetables. For example, during festive occasions the Murut people of Sabah would serve tamba (jeruk in the Malay language) made from fresh raw wild boar or river fish, which is stuffed in bamboo tubes along with rice and salt and left to ferment for a few weeks, a technique which is also practised by the Lun Bawang people across the border in Sarawak. Fermented products are also frequently used as a cooking ingredient besides eaten on their own. Dayak households in Sarawak may saute their version of fermented meat with garlic and tapioca leaves (either fresh or pickled), and fermented tempoyak is a popular cooking seasoning.
The production and consumption of traditional liquor play an important cultural role for the non-Muslim peoples of East Malaysia. Alcoholic drinks made from rice is the most common form, as well as the widely available. In Sabah, the Penampang Kadazan lihing is perhaps the most well known. Yet due to the historical lack of a standardised Kadazandusun language used and understood statewide, ethnic groups from other districts in Sabah have very different names for similar fermented rice-based drinks: hiing (certain Dusun languages), kinomol, segantang, kinarung, kinopi, linahas, and even tapai To add to the confusion, tapai proper as understood by most Peninsular Malaysians is a fermented sweet and sour rice paste served as a snack or dessert, although further fermentation of the tapai to produce alcoholic drinks is possible. The preferred party drink of the Murut, made from the tuber of the cassava or tapioca plant, is also called tapai. The Iban of Sarawak call their rice wine tuak, which must not be confused with Sabahan talak, which is a hard liquor made from rice. To the native peoples of Sarawak, tuak may also refer to any alcoholic drink made from fermenting any carbohydrate-rich substance besides rice.
Staples Rice
Rice () is the most important staple food in Malaysia. According to Indonesian-born food and cookery writer Sri Owen, there is some evidence for rice cultivation found in the state of Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo dated 2300 BC, and about 900 years of history for the state of Kelantan in West Malaysia. Today Malaysia produces about seventy percent of the amount of rice it needs to support itself and the rest is imported. This is a matter of policy as the government believes that national resources can be used more profitably instead of attempting to achieve self-sufficiency with rice production; the prevalent attitude is that revenue generated from its industries enables the country to import up to half the rice it needs. Nevertheless, the government is fully committed and involved in planning, allocating resources and managing subsidies for the rice farming industry. The state of Kedah is considered the "rice bowl" () of the country, accounting for about half of Malaysia's total production of rice.
Plain steamed white rice, to be served with side dishes of meat or vegetables, is typically prepared with an electric rice cooker at home. Some households and food establishments prefer to cook rice on a stove top with the absorption method or the rapid-boil method. Compressed rice, called nasi himpit, is another method of preparing and cooking rice: the rice is wrapped with fronds or leaves and compressed into the form of a cylinder, which is then cooked by boiling. The rice would compress and merge during the cooking process. Compressed rice is usually eaten cold with some sort of gravy, although it may be served warm in a broth or soup. A notable variant of compressed rice prepared by the Bugis community is burasak: rice is precooked with coconut milk before it is wrapped in banana leaves and steamed until fully cooked.
Besides the ubiquitous white rice, there are different types of locally grown and imported rice available in the market, and each type has a specific cooking method to bring out optimal results. Glutinous rice () is one example: because of its low amylose and high amylopectin content which results in a sticky texture after cooking, glutinous rice is prepared with different measurements and techniques and is not suitably interchangeable with regular rice. It is typically used for making snacks and desserts, but glutinous rice is also prepared as a savoury staple by indigenous peoples like the Orang Asli as well as the Dayak people of Borneo. Lemang is glutinous rice roasted in a hollowed bamboo tube, and is prepared for festive occasions like Ari Gawai, Hari Raya Aidilfitri, and Hari Raya Aidiladha.
A popular dish based on rice in Malaysia is , rice steamed with coconut milk and pandan leaves to give it a rich fragrance. Of Malay origin, is very popular and frequently referred to as the national dish. It is customarily served with or fried anchovies, peanuts, sliced cucumber, hard-boiled eggs and sambal. Although it is often considered a breakfast dish, it is served in a variety of ways and commonly eaten at any time of day due to its versatility. For a more substantial meal, may be served with fried chicken, curries, or a spicy meat stew called rendang.
Congee is a type of rice porridge or gruel popular among Malaysia's ethnic communities. It is eaten primarily as a breakfast food or late supper. It is also considered particularly suitable for the sick as a mild, easily digestible food.Robert Saunders (1789) "Boutan & Thibet", Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society Vol. 79, p. 101 Congee is called in Malay; 粥 written in Chinese, pronounced as zhou in Mandarin Chinese and juk in Cantonese; and kanji (கஞ்சி) in Tamil. It may be served plain with little embellishment, or cooked with ingredients like fish slices, seafood, chicken, beef, pork, vegetables, and spices. The importance and popularity of congee in the Malaysian diet is such that bubur ayam or chicken congee is a permanent fixture on the menu of Malaysian McDonald's restaurants.
Noodles