Southeast Asia is home to more than 655 million people, hundreds of languages, most of the world's major religions, and remarkable cultural diversity. The diverse cuisines of Southeast Asia have some notable similarities: the relatively liberal use of spices, herbs and seasonings, distinct influences from Indian and Chinese cuisine , and the traditional preference for rice and noodles as staple foods.
- Roti canai , Malaysia
Roti canai also known as roti canai and roti cane, is a flatbread dish of Indian origin found in several countries in Southeast Asia, especially in Brunei, Indonesia, especially Malaysia. It is often served with dal or other curries, but can also be cooked in a variety of sweet or savory variations made with a variety of ingredients such as meat, eggs or cheese. Introduced around the 19th century, roti canai has become a popular breakfast and snack, especially in Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia.
Roti canai is a traditional Malaysian pan-fried flatbread made from flour, water, eggs and fat. The dough for roti canai is folded several times so that the final product has a layered texture, soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. The most common fat used in roti canai is ghee, the traditional Indian butter. It is believed that this dish originated in India when Indian laborers who migrated to Malaysia brought the recipe and tradition of preparing this crispy cake abroad. Usually, it is served simply in its traditional round form, as an accompaniment to curries.
- Vietnamese bread
On the world culinary map, Vietnamese bread stands out among other types of bread and sandwiches. Vietnamese bread has also won everyone's hearts with many global awards over the years! Banh mi was officially added to the Oxford dictionary in 2011 as a Vietnamese baguette filled with ham, pate and vegetables. Vietnamese bread is traditionally baked with rice and flour. The bread filling is the most special part of this dish: it is filled with different ingredients that typically include meat, fresh Vietnamese vegetables, chili and pepper.
Initially, bread originated from the French baguette because the French wanted to satisfy their culinary needs. Baguette is a type of bread that can be distinguished by its length and crispy crust. Banh mi was brought to Vietnam during the colonial period, and today it is one of the few happy legacies from that time. The crispy bread, spices and meat are all legacies of French and Chinese colonialism, while the coriander, chili and pickles reflect the Vietnamese taste for fresh vegetables and bright flavours. Originally, most sandwiches contained bread, meat and spices, with no added vegetables.
- Lumpiang Shanhai
Lumpiang Shanghai is the most popular Filipino egg roll, a deep-fried Filipino snack that evolved from Chinese spring rolls. Although lumpia has many variations, the Shanghai version is characterized by a savory filling that combines ground pork or beef with carrots, onions, various spices and (sometimes) shrimp. The basic filling includes ground pork along with minced onions, carrots and seasonings like salt and ground black pepper. This recipe post is all about how to make basic lumpia.
This Crispy Shanghai Lumpiang recipe is delicious even if I keep the ingredients to a minimum. The main ingredient for this dish is ground pork. It is important to ensure that the flavor of the filling is rich. Salt, sesame oil, garlic powder and ground black pepper are simple ingredients that bring great flavor. Lumpiang Shanghai is commonly sold at many street stalls throughout the country, but it is also a main dish served on special occasions and festivals. This delicious crunchy snack is often served with sweet and sour dipping sauce.
- Bubur ayam, Indonesia
Bubur ayam is the Indonesian version of chicken porridge, a thick porridge with shredded chicken and various savory spices. This breakfast dish may have its roots in Chinese rice porridge, but it uses regionally available ingredients and toppings to create an authentic Indonesian dish. The process begins with boiling the chicken (usually darker, on the bones), and the same broth is often used to cook the rice until it becomes thick. Besides rice porridge and shredded chicken, bubur ayam can use countless other ingredients.
Bubur ayam porridge is rice cooked in a lot of water to have a soft and clear texture. Porridge is usually eaten hot or warm. Chicken porridge is served with sliced chicken with some seasonings, such as soy sauce and sweet soy sauce, pepper, salt and sometimes chicken broth. Sprinkle chopped green onions, fried onions, celery, tongcai (salted vegetables), peanuts on top of the fried porridge, cakwe and crispy shrimp chips. Not only eaten in the morning, chicken porridge is now also easily found in the afternoon and evening. This soft porridge dish is truly suitable to eat to nourish and warm the body. In addition to shredded chicken, chicken porridge is also often served with soybeans, sliced sponge cake, tongcai, thinly sliced green onions, fried onions and not to forget crackers or French fries.
- Siomay, Indonesia
Siomay is an Indonesian dish consisting of steamed cone-shaped fish dumplings, eggs, potatoes, cabbage, tofu and bitter melon. It originates from the Chinese Shumai. The snack is considered a type of Chinese Dimsum, but has a cone shape. Siomay has been included in Indonesian cuisine for a long time and the most famous type is Siomay Bandung. Traditionally, this dish is made from pork but is often replaced with tenggiri fish (Spanish mackerel). Sometimes other types of seafood such as tuna, mackerel and shrimp can also be used by Indonesian people to make siomay.
After steaming Siomay, all the ingredients are laid out on a plate, cut into bite-sized pieces and drizzled with spicy peanut sauce. The final touch of the dish is a drizzle of sweet soy sauce and chili sauce, along with a drizzle of lime juice. Siomay is cut into bite-sized pieces and topped with peanut sauce, sweet soy sauce, chili sauce and a little lime juice. In Indonesia, siomay is a daily dish that is especially loved by students. It is a popular staple at hawker centers (traditional Indonesian outdoor food courts).
