Thai

THAI CUISINE Rice is a staple component of Thai cuisine, as it is of most south-east Asian cuisines. Fairly bland rice or noodle dishes are accompanied by highly aromatic curries, stir-fries and other dishes, incorporating large quantities of chillies, lime juice and lemon grass. Many Thai dishes use kaffir lime leaves, usually fresh - its characteristic flavour appears in nearly every Thai soup (e.g., the hot and sour tom yam), stir-fry or curry. In Thai cuisine, kaffir lime is frequently combined with garlic, galangal, ginger and fingerroot, together with liberal amount of chillies. Fresh Thai basil is needed for the authentic fragrance. Famous Thai dishes: Tom Yum Gung - hot & sour soup with seafood Tom Yum Gai - hot & sour soup with chicken Tom Ka Gai - hot sweet soup with chicken and coconut Satay - grilled meat served with peanut sauce (originated in Indonesia) Pad Thai - pan-fried rice noodles with various ingredients Red Curry Gaeng Keow Waen - sweet green curry Yellow Curry MALAYASIAN CUISINE Malaysian cuisine reflects the mix of cultures of Malaysia itself with influences from Malay, Indonesian, Chinese and Indian ethnic groups. Rice, noodles, bread, curry, fruit, coconut, seafood and chicken tend to dominate the dishes of this southeast Asian nation. It's not easy to find authentic ethnic Malay food in Malaysian restaurants. However, you can take your pick of Chinese, Nyonya (a local variation on Chinese and Malay food Chinese ingredients, local spices), Indian, Indonesian or (sometimes) Western cuisines. Satays (meat kebabs in spicy peanut sauce) are a Malaysian creation and they're found most everywhere. Perhaps the unofficial national dish of Malaysia is nasi lemak, literally coconut rice, which comes as a platter with curry chicken, cucumber, small dried anchovies, hard boiled egg and hot spicy sauce, among others. For breakfast, the Indian influence comes through -- there is roti canai (also known as roti chennai), which is layered Indian bread served with curry chicken gravy, or dosai, which are thin Indian crepes originating from southern India. Some other notable dishes include fried soybean curd in peanut sauce, sour tamarind fish curry, fiery curry prawns and spiced curried meat in coconut marinade. Muslim Indian dishes have developed a distinctly Malaysian style. The variety of wonderful tropical fruits and fruit juices available is huge, and strange sweet concoctions include cendol (sugar syrup, coconut milk and green noodles) and ais kacang (beans and jellies topped with shaved ice, syrups and condensed milk). An unusual mix can be found with rojak, which is a fruit salad with a topping of thick dark prawn paste.

641.5

K.Rajshekhar.

November- 04.

No.21 (02) BSc H& HA.

Page 1 of 2

There are also localised Chinese cuisine that are found in parts of Malaysia. Examples include: Hokkien fried mee, a dish of thick yellow noodles fried in thick black bean sauce and crispy pig fat and pork Prawn noodles, a meal of thin yellow noodles served in a soup made from boiled prawns, chilli and fried onions with slices of steamed pork and prawns, steam chicken served with broken rice balls Bak kut teh usually served in claypots with pork ribs, sea cucumber, green mushroom and taufu pok (made of bean curd) Asam laksa (also known as penang laksa) a bowl of thick white rice noodles served in a soup made of fish meat, asam, pineapple and cucumber in slices. Hainanese chicken rice is poached chicken served with "oily" rice (cooked with chicken stock) and chicken soup. Char kway teow are stir fried rice-flour noodles, with prawns, eggs and beansprouts. Black pepper crab The best Hokkien fried mee tends to be found in Kuala Lumpur. The best chicken rice with rice ball and bak kut teh served with sea cucumber are found in Malacca and the best assam laksa is found in Penang. VIETNAMESE CUISINE Modern Vietnamese cuisine is heavily influenced by the French colonists. However, traditional Vietnamese cuisine is similar to Chinese cooking, only instead of using soy sauce, they use fish sauce almost exclusively. Vietnamese recipes use a lot of lemon grass, lime and kaffir lime. They also have their own version of Buddhist vegetarian dishes. Famous Vietnamese dishes: Shrimp rolls wrapped in rice paper Pho - beef noodles, a north Vietnam breakfast. However, in the U.S., it is eaten as lunch and dinner too. Grilled pork or shredded pork over rice noodles Extremely strong coffee LAO CUISINE Lao cuisine is the cuisine of the Lao people of Northeast Thailand and Laos. Contrary to the common belief, it is not really similar to Thai cuisine , even though some dishes are common to both. The staple food of the Lao is sticky rice. ****************** 641.5

K.Rajshekhar.

November- 04.

No.21 (02) BSc H& HA.

Page 2 of 2