The best of Asia (and parts of Europe) is what you get in Malaysian food, thanks to its location just south of Thailand, north of Singapore and east of Indonesia across the Straits of Malacca, and to the colonisers including the Portuguese who arrived in Malacca in 1511, the Dutch in 1640 and then the English. The spice traders brought fragrant goods from the Middle East, the Chinese brought their particular tastes when they came to work in the tin mines and the Indians brought their favourite condiments and seeds when they arrived to tap rubber in the rubber estates. The Malays had their own take on food and added to the exciting mix of cuisines. Now you get teh tarik by the roadside, noodles at hawker stalls and in the restaurants, and spicy food everywhere.
My family, when they migrated from the Punjab in northern India, were already experts at making rotis, parathas, dhalls and curries, but quickly added Malay, Chinese and other smells to the kitchen that we hovered around pretty much all the time.Today we are going to make a typical Malaysian dish called curry laksa, which is essentially noodles in a fragrant coconut curry. We will cook it with seafood or chicken, so you have a choice. Please do say which you prefer so that we can buy accordingly. Enjoy!
