Culture Tuesday: an Exploration of Malaysian Cuisine - Best of Vegan (2024)

Culture Tuesdayis a weekly column in which Best of Vegan EditorSamantha Onyemenam explores different cultures’ cuisines across the globe through a plant-based and vegan lens. In today’s column, she is taking a closer look at vegan Malaysian cuisine.

Culture Tuesday – Malaysian Cuisine

Malaysian cuisine is a powerhouse of cultural cuisines. It features elements of indigenous Malay, Chinese, Indian, British, Portuguese, Dutch, and Middle Eastern culinary practices as a result of trade, colonialism, and migration between Asian countries.

The British, Portuguese and Dutch colonizers brought some fruits, vegetables, and legumes from other countries they colonized (especially those in North and South America), they also brought laborers from British-ruled Hong Kong and India. These laborers brought their culinary practices to Malaysia, but recipes were altered due to ingredient availability and adapted to suit the tastes of the people (who were of different cultures).

Malaysian Chinese cuisine, although influenced by the laborers, was also brought about by Chinese people who migrated to Malaysia with their families to start a new life in the country.

These migrants were mostly from southern China. Thus, Malaysian Chinese cuisine has its roots in the wide range of dishes found in the Guangdong and Fujian provinces of China (mainly, the Cantonese, Teochew, Hakka, and Fujian cuisines).

A large proportion of the Malaysian Chinese population practice Buddhism. Therefore, there is a vegetarian lifestyle followed by those who abstain from consuming animal products. However, the dishes found amongst Malaysian Chinese vegetarians closely resemble that of non-vegetarian meals due to the use of realistic-looking meat substitutes made from soy, gluten, blossoms, heart of palm, and/or mushrooms although their flavors might differ as a result of the exclusion of pungent ingredients such as onions and garlic (for religious reasons).

Paranakan cuisine, also known as, ‘Nyonya Cuisine,’ is the cuisine, and culinary practices, of the Straits Chinese (the Peranakans) who are descendants of the migrants from Southern China who settled in maritime Southeast Asia – mainly in Malaysia (mostly Penang and Malacca), Indonesia, and Singapore. They married local Malays, or other settlers in Malaysia and merged their cultures thus creating a cuisine that fuses Chinese, South Indian, and Malay cuisines in a unique, yet also reminiscent, manner that blends the ingredients and cooking techniques of all influencers.

Peranakan Cuisine across Malaysia varies. For example, in Penang, sour ingredients, such as tamarind, are used more liberally while in Malacca, coconut milk is incorporated into dishes more. This can be seen in the regional variations of dishes such as laksa, a spicy noodle curry soup, which can be found in two forms: laksa lemak (a spicy coconut milk-based laksa made in Malacca), and asam laksa (a sour gelugur or tamarind broth-based laksa from Penang).

The greatest influence of Malaysian Indian cuisine lies in South India, and mostly, the region now known as Tamil Nadu. The cuisine of this region is also linked to vegetarianism although the entire population does not adhere to a vegetarian lifestyle. This is due to Hinduism and people’s personal interpretations and beliefs in regards to specific ancient texts that deal with life, violence, and digestion. These texts recommend abstaining from involvement in violence towards animals and adhering to a diet that promotes good/easy digestion. Thus, Hindu vegetarians, and vegans (as some are), have lifestyles that they believe are compassionate towards other beings and a diet that includes a range of fresh and/or fermented vegetables, grains, and legumes

A typical (vegan-friendly) Malaysian Indian meal consists of rice, or a wheat-based flatbread, with green vegetables, stews consisting of whole and/or ground aromatic herbs, leaves, and spices, and, in some cases, tamarind and/or coconut milk. They are cooked with vegetable oil or refined palm oil (it should be noted that ghee is often used when the dish is identified as just vegetarian and the palm oil varies from that used by West Africans).

The term, ‘Malay Cuisine,’ refers to the cuisine of the native people of the Malaysian Peninsular (as well as those from other coastal nations or islands in the Malay region).

Malay cuisine is notable for its extensive, and heavy-handed, use of spices, lemongrass, and galangal, as well as coconut milk which renders a rich flavor and creamy consistency to dishes. Almost every meal is served with rice as it is a staple food for Malays, and also, with sambal (an aromatic chili sauce/paste).

Most Malay dishes revolve around a spice paste known as, ‘rempah.’ Rempah typically contains onions (or shallots), garlic, ginger, and chili peppers which are combined and ground together using a mortar and pestle. The paste is sautéed in oil and used in the same way as a curry paste to enhance the flavor of dishes.

Ancient records of the development of Malay cuisine show a spice trade between the Malay people of Malacca, and the Chinese, Indians, and Middle Eastern people and the adoption of culinary techniques from the countries/regions they traded with. This also influenced other Malaysian cuisines such as Peranakan cuisine.

Some Noteworthy Malaysian Dishes

Malaysian cuisine features a wide range of dishes including those made from rice, noodles, beans, and so on. These dishes show the various ways cultures have been blended to create beautiful and flavorsome dishes.

Nasi Lemak, which means, ‘fatty rice,’ is a fragrant dish of rice infused with coconut milk and pandan leaves that is served on a banana leaf with a range of side dishes, such as cucumber slices, roasted peanuts, sambal, and acar (pickled vegetables). It is a Malay dish that is usually served as an important part of a Malay-style breakfast (although it can be eaten at various times of the day) and it is renowned as the national dish of Malaysia.

Chee Cheong Fun is a flat rice noodle dish of Malaysian-Chinese origin. It is made by steaming a thin mixture of rice and water in a flat pan then rolling, or folding, the steamed rice sheets and slicing them into somewhat thick strips/rolls. The rice noodles are typically accompanied by a sauce made with a fermented bean paste, a curry sauce, or chili paste.

Nasi Kak Wok, or Nasi Kak Wook (as it is sometimes called), is a Malay rice dish which was created, in the 80s, by a Malay lady named, ‘Kak Wook’ who lived on the northeastern coast of Malaysia in a state called, ‘Kelantan.’ This dish became popular in Kelantan and spread across the country, especially to Kuala Lumpur, where it is now enjoyed by a multitude of Malaysians.

It consists of freshly cooked white rice which is accompanied by a gulai (curried stew), sambal, and chopped pieces of a protein source (which, when vegetarian/vegan, could be tofu or tempeh). They could be served as individual parts together on a leaf or wrapped in the leaf to mix each part of the dish together before serving.

Pong Teh is a sweet and savory Peranakan stew made with taucu (a fermented soybean paste), potatoes, gula melaka (coconut palm sugar), a freshly pounded mixture of onions and garlic, and a protein source. It is usually not vegan. However, vegetarian, and vegan, cooks have made a plant-based version of this dish using tofu and/or gluten as meat substitutes.

Pulut Panggang is an aromatic Peranakan grilled glutinous rice dish. It is made by cooking glutinous rice (sticky rice) with coconut milk and pandan leaves, spreading the rice on sheets of banana leaves, filling it with a sambal filling, wrapping the banana leaves to encase the filled rice, and placing it on a grill to further impart flavor and an aroma to the rice.

Tempeh kunyit is a veganised version of the Malay dish, Ayam Kunyit. The tempeh acts as a substitute for meat and it can be substituted with tofu or mock meats. Tempeh kunyit is, essentially, turmeric fried tempeh. It is a visibly yellow aromatic dish made marinating pieces of tempeh with turmeric and other seasonings/spices then frying the tempeh pieces with shallots, purple onions, garlic, and chillies. Some cooks might also include ginger and a bit of sugar to the dish for even more flavor.

Mee Hailam is a Malaysian-Chinese noodle dish made by combining stir-fried noodles and vegetables (such as onions, garlic, ginger, carrots, cabbage, bell peppers, and greens) with a sauce made of soy sauce and vegetarian oyster sauce (to keep it vegan-friendly) or a combination of vegetable/shiitake mushroom stock, soy sauce, sugar, molasses, and tomato purée (for a vegan version with controlled levels of salt and sugar). Other vegan-friendly ingredients that could be added include tofu and slices of reconstituted shiitake mushrooms.

Pindang Utara, also known as, ‘Asam Pedas, is a Malay sour and spicy stew which gets its distinct flavor profiles from tamarind and chillies. Traditionally, it is non-vegan due to the inclusion of fish. However, vegan cooks have developed vegan versions of this dish which include banana blossoms, seaweed, and kombu dashi/stock as substitutes for the fish (in both flavour and texture).

Although the recipe for this dish varies with region, common ingredients include onions, garlic, red chillies, ginger, galangal, tomatoes, okra (ladyfingers), and daun kesum (Vietnamese coriander).

Si Da Tian Wang, also known as, ‘The Four Heavenly Kings Stir Fry,’ is a Malaysian-Chinese dish made from the four heavenly kings – okra, brinjal (aubergine/eggplant), long beans, and winged beans. They are stir-fried with some onions, chili peppers, petai (stink beans), sambal, and vegetarian oyster sauce although some cooks also include vinegar and sugar to the stir fry (and might use salt in place of vegetarian oyster sauce). The final dish is colorful, beautiful, fragrant, and delicious.

Rendang is a Malay and Peranakan dish (originating in Indonesia) made by cooking the main ingredient (usually a meat substitute, mushroom, bean, or vegetable for vegan versions) slowly in an aromatic coconut milk sauce until the sauce reduces, thickens, and becomes relatively dry.

Its recipes slightly differ between regions and households. However, apart from the differences in ingredients, rendang can also be classified as wet although the more common rendang made in Malaysia is the dry version. The difference between both types of rendang lies in its cooking time. Wet rendang is cooked for a shorter period of time than dry rendang resulting in a more sauce-y rendang while the dry rendang would be less sauce-y and oiler (from the fat left behind after the coconut milk evaporates).

Recipe from Vegan Malaysian Cuisine: Mee Rebus by Woon Heng

Mee Rebus is a sweet, spicy, and tangy Malay and Peranakan noodle dish. It consists of yellow noodles drenched in a tuber vegetable (potato/sweet potato) gravy containing a spice paste, lemongrass, ketchup, and taucu (fermented bean paste).

This dish is often not vegan as some cooks use shrimp paste in the gravy and/or garnish the dish with animal products and byproducts. However, the dish can be made vegan through the exclusion of shrimp paste and opting for common vegan-friendly toppings such as spring onions, Chinese celery, chillies, tau kwa (fried tofu), calamansi lime, bean sprouts, fried shallots, herbs, and fritters.

In this recipe, WoonHeng of WoonHeng.com (and @woon.heng on Instagram) shows you how she makes her Mee Rebus.

Click here for the full recipe.

Author: Samantha Onyemenam.

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