Malay Cuisine

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Of course, the origin of Malay cuisine is from Malaysia itself. But how tempting is Malay Cuisine could be?

As a Malaysian, we knew that Malay food is strong, spicy and at the same time aromatic by combining the rich taste and scent of the many herbs and spices where you can found in Southeast Asia. Malay cuisine is considered as one of the three big major cuisine in Malaysia together with Chinese and Indian cuisine.

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The Malays are friendly, easy-going and relaxed which strongly inform their cooking. During major festive seasons, you can see the Malays gathered around with other neighbors especially in kampong areas stirring a big pot of beef rendang or chicken curry. For them, food preparation can be a communal affair among the Malays.

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The common culture for the Malays are their food is often eaten with hands. You can see no cutlery when they are going to dine in. They’re just scoop a mouthful of rice mixed with curry, meat or vegetables onto their palm and then into their mouth with the back of their thumb. For foreigners and non-Malays, you will find this extremely challenging when you are trying to imitate their eating culture. It’s surely an art to prevent the rice from escaping through the fingers but who knows? Practice makes perfect. I would suggest my fellow readers to try eating with their hands and get this culture mastered when you visit Malaysia.

Just like many other Southeast Asian Cuisines, rice is a must in a Malay meal and it is also eaten together with other dishes such as meat, vegetables, condiments like sambal sauce and curry. During a typical Malay lunch or dinner, these dishes will placed in the center of the table and it will be shared by other diners.

 

Source: Malay Cooking and Culture