Malaysian Fruits and Desserts

                                                                    
                                 

           FRUITS OF MALAYSIA OR WE CALL IT AS OUR TROPICAL FRUITS 

Wherever you travel in Malaysia, you are bound to come across some stalls that sell fruits of the country. The rich Malaysian soil allows many of these fruits to grow in abundance and throughout the year.

DURIAN ( THE KING OF FRUIT) 
    
                                  

Durian is often called the "king of fruits" by those who love it.For instance, it has a smell that can be "over-powering" to those newly introduced to it. It has a thorny appearance and could hurt if you allowed it to fall on your feet! It is even quite difficult getting at the fruit inside. Good durians have pulp that are neither watery nor hard to touch. It is kind of the in-between that is considered most delicious.

MANGOSTEEN


                                      

The mangosteen is considered to be a choice tropical fruit and like the durian, native to Malaysia. While the durian is seen as " heaty" for the body, the mangosteen is "cooling". Shaped like round berries, the size of tennis balls, it has a thick fibrous outer layer that is usually maroon in color. It is easy to open by merely pressing between the palms.

RAMBUTAN

                       

The rambutan season takes place twice a year. The egg-shaped fruit has a reddish-yellowish color, or a combination of colors, as its outer skin. The skin and seed are discarded, but the flesh is usually white, sweet, and juicy.

PINEAPPLE

                                
The pineapple is known as nanas locally. There are two pineapple commercial varieties in the country. For canning, they are known as "nanas merah" (red pineapple) or "nanas hijau" (green pineapple). For eating raw, the nanas Sarawak (Sarawak pineapple) and nanas Moris (Moris pineapple) is used. The nanas Sarawak is usually minimum in size with pale yellow flesh. The nanas Moris is usually smaller with a bright yellow flesh.

PAPAYA

                 
The papaya is a fruit with its origins in South America. But it has grown well in this region and is considered almost native. This fruit is noted for its flavor and the flesh is usually orange to reddish in color. The fruit can be eaten fresh or chilled. Just add a squeeze of lime or lemon for added taste.       

CIKU

                            

The Ciku fruits are produced in frequent intervals throughout the year. The fruits are round or oval, about 5 - 10cm long. Mature fruits have a dull pale to rusty brown thin skin. When ripe the flesh is yellowish to pinkish brown, soft, sweet and delicious. Unripe fruits are hard and unpleasantly astringent. Each fruit has 2- 3 seeds about 1.5 - 2 cm long which are hard, black, shiny and somewhat flattened. They are easily separated from the flesh.  

STARFRUIT
                                        

Another local fruit that is highly recommended is the starfruit, or sometimes called the "belimbing". It has a greenish to yellowish color, appears translucent, and has a star-like shape with refreshing taste.

JACKFRUIT

                        

Those who have never seen a jackfruit, or Nangka, are often surprised when they see these hulking, yellow-green fruits for the first time. They can weight up to 20 Kg, and inside are many bright yellow segments. They taste lightly sweet, with a very enticing aroma. 




MALAYSIAN DESSERTS AND HAWKER DISHES

ONDE - ONDE

Coconut Poppers - small round balls made from glutinous rice flour with pandan [screwpine] leaves essence, filled with palm sugar and rolled in fresh grated coconut. A delight to eat as it pops in your mouth with a sweet sensation of oozing palm syrup!

                                                   

KUIH TALAM

Steamed Coconut Pudding - this 2 layered pudding made of rice flour, sago flour and coconut milk is cooked by steaming. Pandan [screwpine] leaves lends essence and the green color to one layer. A white coconut layer goes on top. A not too sweet and light dessert!

                                                

PULUT INTI

Glutinous Rice with Coconut Topping - a kind of 'dry' rice pudding made from glutinous rice & coconut milk. It is cooked by steaming. The dessert rice is topped with fresh grated coconut sweetened with palm sugar. It is traditionally wrapped in banana leaves folded into a pyramid shape.

                                                   

PULUT HITAM

Black Rice Pudding - a rice pudding made from black glutinous rice sweetened with brown palm sugar. A surrey of creamy coconut milk is swirled over the rice pudding before it is served.

                                                        

AIR BATU CAMPUR (ABC)

Fulfill your thirst on hot afternoon, with ABC which is well known as thirst quencher. ABC is beautifully served in a bowl filled with shaved ice and extras such as red beans, groundnuts, corn and fruits. Condensed milk and sugar syrup will be added to provide the sweet taste which fulfills your thirst.

           

CENDOL

Cendol has a noodle-like strips made from green flour. It is served in a combination mixed with shaved ice and coconut milk. Brown sugar syrup is added to bring the sweet flavor that completes cendol cycles.    

                                  

                         

ROJAK

Vegetables are shredded with curried squid served with spicy sauce. There are various alternative rojak such as ‘rojak buah’ a fruit salad mixed in a sauce made of fermented shrimp paste. The sauce is also mixed with mee to be served as ‘rojak mee’.  

                         

TEH TARIK

Teh tarik (literally "pulled tea") is a hot Indian milk tea beverage which can be commonly found in restaurants, outdoor stalls and kopi tiams in southeastern Asian countries like Malaysia. Its name is derived from the pouring process of "pulling" the drink during preparation. It is made from black tea, condensed milk and evaporated milk.

         

POPIAH 

Steamed Spring Rolls - a vegetable filling of stewed jicama [sengkuang], carrots and bean sprouts are rolled in a rice paper wrapper with minced prawns, fried shallots and lettuce. A sweet & hot chili sauce is served on the side. It is sometimes deep fried.

                                                    

LOK LOK

Chinese Fondue - fresh seafood like shrimp, squid, cuttlefish, fish balls and other delicacies are skewered on bamboo sticks. Diners help themselves, by dipping the skewers into a cauldron of rapidly boiling hot water to cook. Different sauces from sweet to tangy to hot are served.

                                                   

LOR BAK

Deep fried Pu-Pu Platter - homemade minced pork sausage [wrapped in dried bean curd sheet], prawn fritters, soy bean cakes, preserved egg and cucumber wedges are served with 2 kinds of dipping sauces - one, a dark soy gravy-like sauce and the other a sweet chili sauce. Metal hair bobby pins that were once used as picks, are nowadays replaced with toothpicks.

                                                    

SOTONG KANGKUNG

Cuttlefish Salad - an usual salad of dried cuttlefish and Kangkong [Water Convolvulus also called Water Spinach]. The dried cuttlefish is first reconstituted and served together with Kangkung, cooked by blanching in boiling water. The salad is then dressed with a special sweet and hot sauce and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds.

                                                   

                                                       

PISANG GORENG

Pisang Goreng or banana fritter is a popular snack food mostly consumed in the morning and afternoon due to its warm nature in serving. A hot and crispy Pisang Goreng is best complemented by a hot cup of coffee or tea.

                                                   

MASALODEH

Masalodeh or yellow bean fritters is the all time favourite Indian food infused with traditional spices for a delightful treat.