Malaysian Chinese cuisine

Malaysian Chinese cuisine is derived from the culinary traditions of Chinese Malaysian immigrants and their descendants, who have adapted or modified their culinary traditions under the influence of Malaysian culture as well as immigration patterns of Chinese to Malaysia. Because the vast majority of Chinese Malaysians are descendants of immigrants from southern China, Malaysian Chinese cuisine is predominantly based on an eclectic repertoire of dishes with roots from Fujian, Cantonese, Hakka and Teochew cuisines.

As these early immigrants settled in different regions throughout what was then British Malaya and Borneo, they carried with them traditions of foods and recipes that were particularly identified with their origins in China, which gradually became infused with the characteristics of their new home locale in Malaysia while remaining distinctively Chinese. For example, Hainanese chicken rice is usually flavoured with tropical pandan leaves and served with chilli sauce for dipping, and tastes unlike the typical chicken dishes found in Hainan Island itself. Some of these foods and recipes became closely associated with a specific city, town or village, eventually developing iconic status and culminating in a proliferation of nationwide popularity in the present day.

Chinese food is especially prominent in areas with concentrated Chinese communities, at roadside stalls, hawker centres and kopitiam, as well as smart cafes and upmarket restaurants throughout the nation. Many Chinese dishes have pork as a component ingredient, but chicken is available as a substitution for Muslim customers from the wider community, and some Chinese restaurants are even halal-certified.

List of dishes found in Malaysian Chinese cuisine

Bak Kut Teh
Fish ball with rice vermicelli
Curry mee.
Pan Mee as served in Malaysia.
Tau sar pneah, also known as Tambun pneah, from Penang
Wonton Mee
The tossing of yee sang

Chinese guo

Chinese kuih, written as "guo" (粿) or sometimes as "gao" (糕), are usually made from ground rice flours. Many of the kue are made especially for important festivities such as the Qingming Festival or Chinese New Year, however many others are consumed as main meals or snack on a daily basis. Example of these kue include:[6]

A dish of Chwee Kueh 
Cantonese pan-fried brown-sugar kueh 
Chai tow kway stir-fried dark (with dark soy and molasses) or light (salt and fish sauce) 

Many Chinese kue require the use of a Kue mould similar to that use in mooncakes, which is either carved out of wood or made of plastics. Kue moulds with turtles are ubiquitous, though moulds of peaches are usually quite common. Red coloured turtle kue are known especially as "Ang ku kueh"/"Red Tortoise Cake" (紅龜粿). Since many Chinese no longer make kue at home, these moulds have become less common in many kitchens.[7]

Desserts and sweets

Vegetarian cuisine

Over 80% of Malaysian Chinese identify themselves as Buddhists, and some follow a vegetarian diet at least some of the time. Some Chinese restaurants offer an exclusively vegetarian menu (Chinese : 素食, 斎) featuring Chinese dishes which resemble meat dishes in look and even taste, like "roast pork", fried "fish" with "skin" and "bones", and "chicken drumsticks" complete with a "bone". These vegetarian restaurants are run by proprietors who abstain from consumption of animal products as well as strong tasting vegetables and spices as way of life for religious reasons, and are essentially vegan. The meat analogues used are often locally produced as opposed to imported, and are made solely from ingredients like soy, gluten, mushrooms and tuber vegetables. Buddhist vegetarian restaurants are likely to be found in areas with a high concentration of Chinese, and tend to be especially busy on certain festive days where many Buddhists temporarily adopt a strict vegetarian diet for at least a day.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Lydia Koh (2 December 2014). "Sabah noodles (and more) right here in Petaling Jaya". Malay Mail. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  2. Philip Lim (23 February 2013). "Old favourites at Sun Sun Nam Cheong". New Straits Times. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  3. King Kong (8 October 2012). "Tawau (Maps)". Axian.my. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  4. "Penang’s iconic ‘dragon balls’ and other biscuit treats | Eat/Drink | Malay Mail Online". www.themalaymailonline.com. Retrieved 2017-03-18.
  5. [Ref : i-weekly issue 669 26 Min Daily 15 February 2003 Page 24 Lian He Wan Bao 17 February 1996 Page 34 YUAN publisher = Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations date = 1 February 2003]
  6. "臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典:粿" (in Chinese). 中華民國教育部. Retrieved 17 December 2008.
  7. "粿印" (in Chinese). 國立宜蘭傳統藝術中心. Retrieved 17 December 2008.
  8. Sangeetha Nair (20 January 2008). "Cooling sensation". The Star. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  9. Eu Hooi Khaw (13 September 2013). "Mooncakes to love". The Malaysian Insider. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  10. Swee Har (24 January 2014). "山打根美味攻略". Air Asia (in Chinese). Travel3Sixty. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  11. UFO on Astro on YouTube
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