PLANNING FOR ASEAN CUISINE

PLANNING FOR ASEAN CUISINE

MARIA JULIA D BELOLO

August 8 2011

A1 Brunei - tiny oil-rich sultanate in Borneo

Food in Brunei is very similar to that of its neighbors Malaysia and Singapore They are rich and spicy with rice and noodles being the staple food Brunei is famous for its diverse and great food

A2 Cambodia - recovering from decades of war and home of Angkor

Khmer cuisine is noted for the use of Prahok a type of fermented fish paste in many dishes as a distinctive flavoring When Prahok is not used it is likely to be kape instead a kind of fermented shrimp paste Coconut milk is the main ingredient of many Khmer curries and desserts In Cambodia there is regular aromatic rice and glutinous or sticky rice The latter is used more in dessert dishes with fruits such as durian Almost every meal is eaten with a bowl of rice

A3Indonesia - the giant of the region with more than 18000 islands and a population of over 240 million

A typical Indonesian meal consists of steamed rice and one or two main dishes made of fish meat chicken or vegetables sometimes including soup all of which are served together

A common side dish is sambal- a spicy condiment made from fresh chilis dried shrimp paste lime juice sugar and salt

A4 Laos - the forgotten but growing country of South-East Asia landlocked by Cambodia China Myanmar Thailand and Vietnam

Its little surprise that Lao food is similar to Thai cuisine given the long interwoven history the two countries share

But while dishes includes liiap (meat salad) and tqm mdak-hung (som tam papaya salad) of Thai food The most obvious of these is khao niaw (sticky rice) which is classed by scholars as being one of the main identifiers of Lao culture

A5 Malaysia - multicultural country covering the skyscrapers of KL and the jungle headhunters of Borneo

The staple food of the Malays is rice boiled to a white fluffy texture It is served with dishes of meat (chicken or beef) fish and vegetables

Meat and fish are usually prepared as sambal (chili paste) or curry dish In fact Most of the Malaysian food can not be eaten without some spices

Malays prohibited from consuming the flesh of predatory animals and predatory birds (ducks are allowed) rodents reptiles worms amphibians (frogs) and the flesh of dead animals Muslims can only eat meat that is halal Halal is a way of slaughtering according to the Islamic rites

Ingredients used by the Malays a Mee rebus typical Malaysian food

b Serai (lemon grass)c Bawang merah (shallotsd Halia (gingere Lengkuas (galangal)

f Ketumbar (corianderg Asam jawa (tamarind)h Kunyit (turmeric)i Saffronj Jintan putih (cumin)k Santan - coconut milk squeezed from the flesh of the grated

coconut

A staple breakfast favorite is nasi lemak It is a simple but very satisfying meal The rice is cooked in coconut milk with fragrant pandan leaves

Side dishes can be sambal ikan bilis (anchovies with chili) omelets or hard boiled eggs peanuts sliced cucumber prawns and fried fish If one Malaysia food can be named as the countries national dish its probably nasi lemak

Famous Malay Foods1 Satay consists of chunks of chicken marinated with a variety of

spices2 Ikan bakar is grilled or barbecue fish3 Rendang Tok is a meat dish (chicken or beef) prepared with

coconut milk chilies onion and other ingredients and the complete ingredients include beef coconut milk onion garlic chilies coriander powder cumin black pepper fennel turmeric root lemon grass and other ingredients

3 Rendang Tok is a meat dish (chicken or beef) prepared with coconut milk chilies onion and other ingredients and the complete ingredients include beef coconut milk onion garlic chilies coriander powder cumin black pepper fennel turmeric root lemon grass and other ingredients

Myanmar (Burma) ndash military dictatorship opens to the adventurous traveler

Famous Cuisines1 Mohingar or Latphet (pickled

tea leaves) or sweetmeats to satisfy the sweet tooth

A general run-of-the-mill recipe will include the following ingredients rice noodles fish (fresh water or marine ) fish or prawn sauce a small measure of salted fish lemon grass tender banana stems ginger garlic pepper onion turmeric powder rice flour dahl (Indian bean) powder dried chili powder cooking oil

Rakhine Mohingar is also famours for its distinct blend It includes a very liberal mix of hot chiller pepper which literally burns your tongue and palate if you are caught unawares So Rakhine Mohingar is popularly known by the euphemism Hot palate hot tongue concoction

Singapore - clean and orderly island-city state

The Singaporean food culture speaks of a fusion of cultures from all over the world This array of choices is representative of cultural diffusion in the local context

Alongside globalization came the entry of different cultures into this small island so it comes as no surprise that in one way or another they begin emulating certain cultures while ethnocentrism helps them in defining what cultures they do not want And so they have decided to take a deeper look at the local food culture and seek to understand why things are the way they are- things they do not usually try to comprehend on an ordinary basis

Thailand - the most popular destination in the regionThai food is well known for it being spicy and hot It is cooked

with the basic ingredients like fresh coriander garlic limejuice lemon grass fish sauce and shrimp paste

Thai food is most popular because it is a wonderful blend of the five basic flavors- hot sweet sour salty and bitter It is best described as the amalgamation of the flavors of the four different regions of the North Northeastern or Isan Southern and Central

Famous Thai dishesRad na- Rice noodles pork chicken shrimp cooked in spicy

gravyPad thai- pan fried rice noodles with sugar fish sauce chopped peanuts lime juice seafood egg combined with chicken and tofuPad see ew- Fermented sausages with fried ricePad kee mao- stir fried noodles with Thai basilKhanom Chin Namya- boiled round rice noodles eaten with a host of curry sauces fresh vegetables and leaves

Vietnam - firmly marching down the long road to capitalism

Vietnamese Cuisine is a mixture of Chinese French and a little Thai influence It is probably one of the best Cuisines in Asia The basic ingredients of Vietnamese cuisine are rice and the famous fish-sauce nouc mam

One of the specialties of Vietnamese cuisine is spring rolls ndash the ingredients and size vary - depending on or within the region of the country The traditional breakfast - chicken soup (pho ga) or beef soup (pho bo) is available at most of the food stalls on the main streets of nearly every city in Vietnam

PHO For Vietnamese Pho is life love and all things that matter In Vietnam Pho is mostly a restaurant food Though some people prepare it at home most prefer going to noisy soup shops

Pho comes with a variety of toppings including rare beef well-done beef and slices of brisket tendon tripe and even meatballs If yoursquore a novice try pho Tai Chin which includes the rare and well-done beef combination

NEM One of the best Vietnamese foods The Vietnamese Version of the egg roll Cha Gio is a seasoned mixture of eggs ground pork and sometimes crab or shrimp rolled tightly in rice paper and deep-fried It is served accompanied by lettuce cucumber and Nuoc Mam

The proper way to eat these delicacies is to roll them in a piece of lettuce with a slice of cucumber and dip it into the Nuoc Mam

BANH CHUNG Banh Chung or square rice cake is a Vietnamese traditional dish most commonly found during the ldquoTETrdquo New Year celebration Every Vietnamese family must have ldquoBanh Chungrdquo among their offerings to be placed on the ancestors` altars

One or two days before Tet the family gathers to prepare and cook the rice cakes around the warm fire ldquoBanh Chungrdquo is made of glutinous rice pork meat and green bean paste and is wrapped in a square of ldquoDongrdquo leaves (rush leaves) giving the rice a green color after boiling for ten hours

During ldquoTetrdquo New Year the rice cakes are served with ldquogio luardquo or lean pork pie and ldquohanh muoirdquo or salted sour onions