Followers

Wednesday 17 October 2012

malay in millennium

Back in the old days, Malay people follow exactly what their ancestor do. For example their tradition and their custom. Along with modernization, Malay people has open up and accept the west culture into their life and make it apart of them. for example, in wedding tradition. although the wedding clothes are still but they have improvised the wedding custom to become more modern than before. In the past, the people wedding custom is just simple. they wear Songkets and other accessories to look beautiful. And the cost of the wedding is much more affordable compare to nowadays.

However, they tend to forget where they belong because of the west culture. This is because the modern Malay people now has totally change. For instance, their lifestyle, clothes, behaviour, attitudes and many more. youngster nowadays rarely wear traditional clothes because it does not follow the latest trend. example of the traditional clothes are kain sarung, baju kurung, baju melayu, baju kedah, kebaya and so on.

Talking about attitudes, people nowadays are so rude compared to the people that lived in the past. Most of them do not know how to thank people or just pretend like that they do not know how to act accordingly and be polite. That is what happened in our culture nowadays.

To sum up, malay culture have their own spices. We are still preserve our tradition but at the same time we are open to outside and accepting the western culture and face it to make like us. for more information, you may click this hyperlink to see the uniqueness of the malay people http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnnvoS5UO34.

You also may view this hyperlink to get some information about the Malay people and culture :http://www.geographia.com/malaysia/cultures.html and  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_Malays

Monday 15 October 2012

malay traditional food. part 2


Among the popular traditional Malaysian food such as Malay dishes that include many types of rendang such as beef rendang, lamb and chicken in coconut milk, satay a skewered meat in peanut sauce, a various types of glutinous rice cooked inside a banana leaf, ikan bilis a dried anchovies fried in a sauce and served with rice.


Lontong
The lontong is Malaysian food that made of compressed rice wrapped inside banana leaf that is then cut into small cakes as staple food replacement of steamed rice. The smaller size of lontong filled with vegetables such as carrot, common bean and potato. Sometimes it also filled with meat, are eaten as snack.
Lontong is traditionally made by boiling the rice until it is partially cooked and packing it tightly into a rolled-up banana leaf. The leaf is secured and cooked in boiling water for about 90 minutes. Once the compacted rice has cooled, it can be cut up into bite-sized pieces.






Murtabak
The murtabak is popular Malaysian food recipe, but many visitors miss out on this murtabak treat because many eateries promote naan and tandoori chicken over it.
It is basically a plain roti canai, a pan-fried bread with an omelets-like stuffing with eggs and onions with chicken, beef or mutton with either curry sauce or dahl for it sauce.




Penang Mee Rebus
Penang Mee Rebus is just beautiful and rich in colour. It is combination of sour and savoury in taste.
The noodles and bean sprouts are first blanched and the thick sweet potatoes gravy then poured into the noodle.
The toppings consist of fried bean curd, boiled potatoes and eggs then finally garnished with a piece of lime, spring onion and chillies.







Nasi Campur
Nasi Campur is mixed rice in Malay and refers to a plate of white rice that you fill in your plate whatever suits your taste from the counter depend on which area you go.
Nasi campur counter can have up to hundred different dishes covering everything you can think of from vegetables to the fish and types of meat.
People usually add some ulam and Sambal Belacan that has famous aromatic sauce made of a grind mixture of shrimp paste, salt, chilies and lime juice that spice up your meal.





Terengganu Nasi Dagang
Trengganu Nasi Dagang which is said is the rice that was eaten by trader on their business journey.
The dish is mixes of rice and glutinous rice with coconut milk added once it is cooked. The rice is eaten with tuna curry and light vegetable pickles.
Nasi dagang is, perhaps one of the most popular Malaysian traditional food representing food for states of Terengganu.

Wednesday 10 October 2012

traditional food


Malays in Peninsula Malaysia originally come from all over South East Asian archipelago. Intermarriages among these ethnic groups result in a rich food culture. So, each tribe has their own spread of traditional food that is typical to their respective villages.

Once Malaysia was formed, the diversity of its Malay traditional food are recognized mainly by its geographical location, according to the states. On the west coast, the northern states are well known for their hot, spicy food. This is due to heavy influence of neighboring Thailand. The central part by its rich gravy and the southern states by their thick and sour spicy sauces. The east coast states on the other hand, is more associated with sweet, but rich fare with glutinous rice.


However, the true Malay traditional food, in my opinion, should be prepared using only local ingredients. The spices and herbs are grounded manually, the meals are cooked over ancient-styled oven or stove, stirred with traditional utensils, packed or served in tropical edible leaves, eaten using the hand, following Malay etiquette and table manners.



A myriad of kuih-muih (sweet and savory cakes)originally from the Malay people. The Nyonyas
also claim some of these and they are known as "Nyonya kuih" too. Even though they may look alike, there is a subtle difference in terms of colors, taste and also the kind of ingredients used.

Some of the more well known heavy fares are: lemang (glutinous rice cooked in bamboo pole), ketupat (glutinous rice cooked in pandanus, coconut or banana leaves) and nasi dagang (3 part rice to 1 part glutinous rice steamed with ginger, onion and fenugreek).

Breakfast items included pulut inti (steamed glutinous rice with sweet coconut topping), boiled tapioca served with grated coconut, nasi lemak (rice cooked in coconut milk) and various sweet and savory dainty Malay cakes (kuih-muih).


Fish crackers (keropok -- made with sago and fish, prawns or other seafood) are popular snacks.
There are several types of keropok, the more common ones are dried before frying but keropok lekor which originates from the East Coast were boiled before frying. This type of keropok does not have long shelf life (two days at the most).
However, the good news is, unfinished keropok lekor, after boiling, can be sliced thinly and turned into the normal dried keropok by drying the slices in the hot sun

Since most of these tropical products do not last long once they mature or ripen, the ancient cooks created ways to preserve them by drying, fermenting, salting, smoking or turning them into flour and pickles.

And here we are, moaning whenever there is a power cut such that our freezer is not working! So, you see, Malay traditional food mainly use local produce that can grow easily and abundant in this land. Please bear in mind that wheat and its by-products were brought in by the western colonial powers so traditional Malay food does not have them. Therefore, leavened bread is not part of traditional food.

Instead, crepe-like delights like "lempeng" are made with bananas, molasses and garnished with coconut shaving. Tapioca are finely grated and used to make delicious sweet cakes which are baked in a tin over and under smoldering coconut husks. Ahh, what a wonderful smell emanating from those burning, smoky contraptions. I simply love Malay traditional food.

There is still so many traditional food that we did not discover in this Malaysia. Some of it i already share with you guys, and you may share with me if you have the information.

In this modern world, some of traditional Malay food are indeed dying or have already been abandoned. It is up to the Malays themselves to uphold the tradition. One of the ways is to keep on asking your grandparents about the kind of Malay traditional food they ate when they were young. Also, to observe the rituals performed in some ceremonies which are very closely related to traditional food preparation.