Deliciously and truly Malaysian!

2009/10/25

Chai Mei Ling

KUALA LUMPUR: The National Heritage Department has identified several food items as being truly Malaysian.

They are nasi kunyit, nasi tumpang, nasi kerabu, lemang, ketupat and rendang.

The department's culture and art heritage division director Siri Neng Buah said, however, that dishes like nasi lemak was a "shared" favourite among Malaysians, Singaporeans, Indonesians and Thais.

"Malaysia's decision to list local favourites like nasi lemak, chilli crabs and chicken rice as national heritage is not to warrant ownership, but to have them recognised as being nationally important.

"Other countries, from where the history of similar dishes can be traced, have just as much right to gazette them as part of their legacy," said Siri, who is a culture expert.

He said gazetting an item did not necessarily mean it belonged to Malaysia.

The department has so far listed 100 food items as national heritage.

Nasi lemak heads the national food heritage list, but Siri said the dish of sambal served with fragrant santan rice was a shared favourite among several countries.

"And while chicken rice and mango kerabu are in the list, their origins are from Hainan Island and Thailand respectively. They are, however, hugely popular locally."

Similarly, mooncakes, which originated from China, was made a heritage item because it was "culturally meaningful" to the Chinese community in the country.

"We record certain cultural products as our legacy because they are significant to us, not because we own them.

"While some on the heritage list were truly Malaysian, some were chosen for their national importance, cultural significance and popularity among locals.

"It is not a problem if neighbouring countries want to list similar items as their heritage.

"It's our right to gazette what we deem important, and theirs to gazette whatever they want at national level."

Siri was commenting on the recent food fight in the media and blogs over the issue of food ownership in the region.

Questions over the validity of listing food also found in neighbouring countries such as satay, teh tarik and roti canai as national heritage items had also been raised.

On ownership, Siri said there would not be any conflict if countries could prove the origins of a dish.

In instances where the dish had rooted itself into the culture of more than one country, the nations involved could all "lay claim to it", he added.

"If Singapore has proof that nasi lemak has existed for hundreds of years in the republic, and Malaysia has similar proof, then both of us can have that as our heritage.

"There's no need to fight just because we share similar food.

"Singapore, after all, was part of Malaya.

"Culture does not recognise politics and boundaries.

"If there really is a conflict, let the countries' heritage ministers settle it diplomatically. No need to get emotional."

The way forward in solving the crisis of cross-cultural food, said Siri, is to trace the roots of such food items, recognise their origins and promote them collectively.

"By listing them as heritage items, we just want people to recognise that we have a right to these dishes based on the significance they have on our culture, people and nation.

"It was never our intention to contain them in the country.

"In fact, the more widespread they become, the better."


SIX OF THE BEST

NASI TUMPANG is popular in the east coast, especially in Kelantan, from where it originated. Traditionally meant for farmers who had to work long hours in the fields and travellers, nasi tumpang contains rice cooked till it’s soft, tempe (fermented soy bean cake), omelette and sambal, all wrapped up in the shape of a cone with banana leaves. Today’s variations may contain meat floss,
chicken, fish and curry.

NASI KERABU is another dish of Kelantanese origin. Its rice is uniquely blue in colour, which comes from having been soaked and cooked with the extract of the
purplish blue bunga telang or butterfly pea. The kerabu is a salad of any vegetable or edible leaves such as daun kesum (Vietnamese mint), bean sprout, long beans, cucumber and daun kadok (betel leaf). Occasionally, it’s served
with salted fish or fried chicken.

NASI KUNYIT or turmeric rice is historically considered a ‘sacred’ dish, prepared with care as offerings for spirits at sacred sites. Today, the glutinous rice, usually served with chicken or beef curry, is a special dish at
Malay weddings. The Chinese offer this yellow rice, together with red eggs, ginger and ang koo (red koo kuih) to family members and friends to celebrate
the birth of a baby when it turns a month old.

KETUPAT is made from rice or glutinous rice wrapped in a pouch of woven palm leaves, which is boiled for hours. The grains expand to fill the pouch, compressing the rice into soft cakes. It is usually served with chicken curry or beef rendang during Hari Raya. It also acts as an accompaniment to satay.

LEMANG is glutinous rice cooked with coconut milk in hollowed bamboos lined
with banana leaves — a method used by the indigenous people of Malaysia. A favourite during festivities like Hari Raya and Hari Gawai, lemang is eaten with chicken curry or beef rendang, and sometimes with grilled fish, durian or tapai.

RENDANG is a dish mentioned in the Malay classic literature of Hikayat Amir Hamzah, proving its existence as early as the 1550s. Rendang is prepared by stewing beef in coconut milk and spices like ginger, galangal, turmeric
leaf, lemon grass and chilli until the spicy condiments are eventually absorbed
into the tender meat. It can be eaten with rice, ketupat or lemang.


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