The Most Consumed Breakfast Cuisine in Malaysia

Nasi Lemak

The most consumed breakfast cuisine in Malaysia is not only famous and popular in Malaysia but in Singapore, Brunei and parts of Indonesia and Thailand as well. In Malaysia, this rice coconut milk fragrant rice cuisine is found in every coffee shop imaginable, especially in the mornings. And the most wonderful thing about Nasi Lemak, as it is popularly called, is nobody gets bored with it. We can be eating this fragrant rice everyday and never gets bored with it.

Famous Nasi Lemak

I remember my military days, I would be eating Nasi Lemak every morning in the mess hall but of cause with different side dishes. One day would be curry chicken or beef and the next could be with rendang or sometimes just plain with boiled eggs and sambal anchovies. There will be occasions when we just ate Nasi Lemak with a piece of fried fish. No matter how or what it is combined with, Nasi Lemak always taste good with spicy curry gravy or sambal.

Authentic Nasi Lemak Cuisine

Nasi Lemak is a fairly simple cuisine to prepare and cook. In fact there are all kinds of recipe online. Other than rice, all that are needed would be screw pine leaves, ginger, onions and coconut milk. As for the side dishes, a simple add on would be boiled or fried eggs, slice cucumbers, fried ground nuts, fried anchovies and sambal. More elaborate side dishes would include rendang beef, chicken curry, fried chicken or simply fried fish.

Home Cooked Thick Wuntun Noodle

Thick Wuntun Noodle with Shrimp Wuntun Soup

We ate home cooked thick wuntun noodle soup for breakfast before leaving for work today. My wife woke up early and prepared the noodles and wrapped shrimp wuntun while I was getting ready to leave for work. We had bought some raw thick wuntun noodle from T&T Supermarket a few days ago. So, this morning was appropriate because she wanted to make some shrimp wuntun soup. The sauce used for the wuntun noodle was basically a mix of sesame seed oil, oyster flavoured sauce, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, pepper and chicken broth.

Home Cooked Wuntun Noodle

As for the wuntun, we usually make our own wuntun by marinating shrimps in oyster flavoured sauce and sesame seed oil. And then wrapping them in wuntun skin. The soup is from the same chicken broth we had earlier prepared for the wuntun noodle sauce. We usually add two times of the amount of water per canned of the chicken broth. We prefer to use a canned of T&T Supermarket's chicken broth. In fact the thick wuntun noodle too was purchased from T&T Supermarket. It is so convinient to shop for Asian stuff in T&T Supermarket.

Community Pizza Party

Vegetarian Pizza

I was invited to a pizza party by a neighbour during the weekend and just like any other pizza party there were plenty of pizzas and pizzas of different toppings. The pizzas were actually delivered to the community centre where the neighbour is a member. And I was not the only guest, there were about ten guests in all. Telephone orders are real convenience as no preparation and cooking of any sort is needed. And best of all the food arrives warm and fresh. I love pizzas but could not indulge myself too much into this delicious cuisine as I am lactose intolerant. Consuming too much dairy products causes stomach upset for me.

Pizza with Mushrooms, Peppers and Onions

So, I eat about two slices of pizza and spend more time mingling with the crowd. And the only type of food available during that whole event was pizzas. The concept is so simple. It is so simple to hold an event for a gathering of people. Just order pizzas since everyone or majority of people loves it. Why do we need to bother preparing and cooking, which could take up to several hours for some people. And the result of the cooking is not guaranteed to satisfied the taste buds of every one invited.

Meat and Pepperoni

Pizza party is the solution to people that don't cook and a solution to the different taste buds because pizzas will satisfy all the five taste senses on our tongue. Once the five senses are satisfied, no matter what, the food taste delicious. That is why everybody or most people loves pizza. Putting aside health issues, so long as the crust is not over cooked and there are enough cheese, tomato sauce and pizza toppings, the pizza will turn out to be sensational. No wonder kids loves them more. It is one of the most satisfying foods for our taste buds.

Another Signature Penang Hokkien Cuisine

The Famous Penang Lobak

The Hokkien clan of Penang started immigrating to different parts of South East Asia and some landed in Penang in search of work even before the colonial days. The Hokkiens were predominantly from the Fujian Province in China. But others may have arrived from Guangzhou Province. That was what we were told by our fore fathers but no written records or clues were left behind to proof any of these claims. Most of my early ancestors were either seafarers or small business owners that came to Malaysia looking for a better life. Some has arrived in this part of South East Asia even before the founding of Penang by Sir Francis Light.

Spice Flavoured Penang Lobak

Over time, with the cultural mix and diversity, many of the unique cuisines that are found in Penang today were actually creations that were developed here on the island, these signature cuisines were never found anywhere on mainland China because Penang was surrounded with the richness of the spices. One of the most unique is the Penang Lobak. A a meat wrapped cuisine that originated from Penang. The soy bean curd sheet is used as the wrapping sheet. And the stuffing is a combination of minced or sliced pork with five spices, taro, carrots and jicama.

The Uniquely Special Cuisine of Penang

Spices were abundance and readily available in Penang. Therefore, it is no wonder that many of the best and tastiest cuisines originated from Penang. And all of which uses some of these spices. The Penang Lobak cuisine is meat base and the meat that is stuffed in the Lobak Roll was marinated over night with five spices. The meat was left over night in the fridge to absorb the flavours and fragrance of the spices. When fried the Penang Lobak acquires a unique taste and crispiness, all of which comes from the combination of the ingredients and spices.

Roti Chennai with Curry Chicken

Roti Chennai

In Vancouver, the Roti Chennai is not a popular main cuisine. But it is in Malaysia and Singapore. This Southern Indian bread was first introduced in Malaysia by the Indian immigrants before and after the second world war by the British to work in the rubber plantations. They brought with them a new range of recipes and cooking styles that were previously not known in Malaysia. Within a couple of decade, the roti Chennai became one of Malaysia's most popular breakfast cuisine.

Curry Chicken

The main reason to the popularity of Roti Chennai was because of cause the cost in making the roti. Therefore, it was the cheapest breakfast to fill ones' hunger. And the name came from the city where most of the Indian immigrants originated from in India. Due to this, Malaysian has become the cradle of cultural diversity with immigrants mainly from China and India. And today, Malaysia has become a popular destination for cuisine lovers. Even the Roti Chennai is being exported.

Roti Chennai

I usually buys frozen Roti Chennai from the Asian grocery stores. I have also found them in Walmart in the Asian foods department in the freezers. The Roti Chennai is never complete with a good bowl of curry. The curry can be fish curry or any meat curry. So, whenever we have curry at home, the following day's breakfast would probably be the Roti Chennai with curry. If we start with the Roti Chennai, I would open a canned of Sardines in tomato ketchup and cook curry with it for the dip. Whichever method, it is a great breakfast.

Another Famous Penang Noodle Cuisine

Penang Hokkien Noodle

We cooked the Famous Penang Prawn Noodle for dinner last night. With the intention of freeing up some space in the freezer of the collection of shrimp skin that were taking up some needed space for some new items, my wife decided to cook the Penang Prawn Noodle again. We usually used up to about six hundred grams of prawn skins to cook the shrimp flavoured broth for the Penang Prawn Noodle cuisine. This noodle cuisine was made famous and popular in Penang by the Penang Hokkien clan.

The Famous Penang Hokkien Noodle

Although, there are Penang Hokkien Noodle paste available from the Asian grocery stores, I still prefer to cook my own Penang Hokkien Noodle from scratch. Basically, we boil the shrimp skins in a pot of water for several hours. After that remove the shrimp skins from the broth using a ladle. Once all the shrimp skins are removed, continue to boil the broth with some pork ribs for another hour on slow heat. Before turning off the heat or serve, add three spoons of belacan, two spoons of grounded dried chilli powder, three spoons of dried shrimps, a few pinch of salt for taste, three spoons of fried shallots, and three spoons of brown sugar.

Another Famous Penang Noodle Cuisine

Once the shrimp broth is ready, allow it to continue boiling on slow heat. Prepare the noodle, bean sprouts, slice eggs, slice pork, a few shrimps, slices of char siew yok, and water spinach in a serving bowl. Using a ladle, scoop about five ladle full of soup onto the noodle in the serving bowl. Also, scoop up the pork ribs into the bowl with the soup as well. Then, garnish with fried shallots, prawn sambal and half a spoon of fried lard.

Best Tuna Burger and Sandwich in Burnaby Mountain

Tuna Burger with Salad

I joined my co-workers for lunch at Club Ilia up at the Corner Stone in Simon Fraser University's Burnaby campus several days ago. We have dined here several times before and were pretty much familiar with their menu items. So, we were kind of choosy when placing our orders. This time, I ordered the Tuna Burger with salad and it was awesome. I have been trying to maintain a small portion diet for lunch and have been successful with the change in my diet plans for several weeks already. The Tuna Burger was so delicious and it came in large portion. So, in spite of my intention of a small portion diet, I ate everything in the plate in that one meal. One other person in our party also ordered a similar tuna burger cuisine. And he too finished whatever was in his plate.

Tuna Sandwich with Salad and Fries

I should introduce this diner to my family and friends. I think they will like it. They will be pleased with the cuisines served at Club Ilia. I don't think there is a Club Ilia anywhere else outside SFU's Burnaby campus. At least not that I know of. Club Ilia has a wider choices than most other eateries up in the SFU. Besides the Tuna Burger that I had ordered, my co-workers had the Caesar's Salad, Personal Pizza, Reuben Sandwich, Tuna Sandwich, and the Club Sandwich. Like mine, their portions were really large and at the end the meal was heavy.

Caesar's Salad 

Even the Caesar's Salad was a heavy meal, with the chicken, bacon and two slices of toast. I guess this is one of the diners where my co-workers and I prefer to go for lunch. That is when we decide not to bring lunch to work and plan to go out for lunch with fellow co-workers. The place is not too far off our work place and parking space are plenty. Besides Ilia Club, Corner Stone housed other diners and eateries, from Subway to a Chinese Fast Food Joint. We have a lot of choices here.

Fried Mackerel in Preserved Black Bean Paste

Fried Mackerels with Black Bean Paste

We usually buy the canned sardines in preserved black bean paste but yesterday I fried two pieces of medium size mackerels and cooked them with fresh black bean paste. I could have eaten the mackerels as fried fish but I wanted to try the fish with some added flavour. It smelt really good after frying and I was tempted to eat them then. My family likes eating fish. So, I usually stock up on several types of fish in the freezer. And I have mackerels, pomfrets, sea bass, hasa-hasa, basa fillets and female capelins any time I want to cook. Otherwise, certain types of fish are better when cooked fresh, like salmon and trout which I don't stock up.

Fried Mackerels with Black Bean Paste

Once I am done frying the mackerels, I set them a side and start with preparing the black bean sauce. Using the same cooking oil that was used to fry the fish, add two spoons of black bean paste (preserved and salted black bean paste). Simmer for several minutes and add one spoon of finely chopped ginger. Add about four spoons of water and then throw in the fried mackerels. Turn and mix the mackerel with the black bean sauce then transfer to a serving plate.

Hainanese Chicken Cuisine with Sesame Seed Sauce

Home Cooked Chicken Rice

Just had Hainanese Chicken Rice a couple of days ago with some friends in Richmond and I am already thinking of cooking my own version of chicken rice and the boiled chicken with sesame seed oil. So, I did just that for dinner yesterday. Took a dozen chicken drumstick out from the freezer in the afternoon to thaw. When I got home in the evening, the chicken drumsticks were ready to be cooked. Nowadays, cooking the chicken rice is easy. Just use any of the Hainanese chicken rice mix available in the asian supermarkets.

Hainanese Chicken Rice

Therefore, I will focus on the Hainanese Chicken cusines. Start with boiling a pot of water and then throw in the chicken drumsticks once the water is boiling. Leave the drumsticks in the boiling water for about five minutes and then transfer the drumsticks into a pot of cold water. Let the drumsticks cool down in the cold water for about five minutes. Then, reintroduce them into the hot water again. This process will allow the gluten to form or granulate underneath the skin. This is a trick I learned from my mum to make the chicken meat taste better. After two minutes in the hot water, transfer them into a serving plate.

Boiled Chicken Drumsticks with Sesame Seed Sauce

A proper chicken rice will not be complete without the chilli sauce and the sesame seed sauce. The chilli sauce is a mixture of garlic paste, chilli paste, sesame seed oil, salt, lemon juice (or vinegar) and chicken stock. Many chicken rice vendors would not share this chilli sauce recipe and will only hand down from one generation to the next. The sesame seed sauce is the gravy used to flavour the boiled chicken meat when serving. It is a mix of sesame seed oil, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, chicken broth and salt.

Making Vietnamese Salad Rolls

Vietnamese Salad Rolls

We made our own Vietnamese Salad Rolls yesterday. It wasn't that difficult once you get all the necessary ingredients together. We have bought some rice paper from T&T Supermarket earlier in the day, which is the wrapper used for the Vietnamese salad rolls. Other ingredients that we already have were cucumbers, rice noodle, carrots, avocado, lettuce, and fresh shrimps. Since we have a bit of every one of the ingredient, making the Vietnamese salad roll was a pretty good idea.

Vietnamese Salad Rolls

First, the rice noodle was blenched in hot water and allowed to rest in a bowl with cold water. The shrimps too have to be cooked. So, blench them in hot boiling water for a minute. Next, we cut the vegetables into fine strips. Then, mix a little of each item with the rice noodle and wrap in the rice paper. The rice paper has to be blench in water to soften. Otherwise, it would be too crisp to roll. I have seen fried ones but we were making the non-fried Vietnamese salad rolls.

Fried Rice with Shrimps and Egg

We have some leftover rice from the day before. So, the wife fried rice with shrimp and eggs to complete our dinner. Just a simple dinner, enough to fill for the rest of the night. Normally, if we don't go out for dinner on a weekend, we would settle for a simple dinner like this. We usually use the weekend to catch up on our work and mostly spend quality time with the kids. We enjoy home cooked cuisines as much as we do restaurant cuisines. In fact, sometime home cooked meals taste even better.

Hainanese Chicken Rice

Hainanese Chicken Rice

I went out for Hainanese Chicken Rice rice with some of my cari makan (looking for food) friends. We rendezvoused at the Aberdeen Centre's food court. There are some Asian food outlets in the food court that serves real authentic cuisines. We especially like the Hainanese Chicken Rice stall which serves authentic Chinese Malaysian Hainanese Chicken Rice and Curry Laksa Noodle. They call the Curry Laksa, Singapore Laksa. Whatever it is, I prefer the chicken rice over the laksa because the chicken rice is authentically how it is cooked and prepared in Malaysia.

Singapore Laksa

The curry laksa is authentic too, but there are other type of laksa noodle that is found in Vancouver in other Malaysian eateries which can be as good and authentic. For example the Sarawak Laksa and the Penang White Curry Noodle. Other than this stall serving the chicken rice, the neighbour serves really awesome fried chicken wings and the queue for the fried chicken wings are always visible. People just line up for that fried stuff.

Fried Chicken wings

Aberdeen Centre's food court is one of the busiest I have seen. And the beverage and food stalls here are doing well but the two main stalls would be the chicken rice and the fried chicken wing stalls. They nearly always have a queue in front of the stalls. Most of the patrons in Aberdeen are Asians. That's the reason the food court has a variety of Asian cuisines. In the mall, there are several Asian restaurants like Chinese, Japanese and Korean.

Roasted Teriyaki Chicken Drumsticks

Roasted Teriyaki Chicken Drumsticks

I rubbed a dozen chicken drumsticks with Japanese teriyaki, and Korean kalbi sauces, and then left in the fridge to marinate overnight. And took them out from the fridge to roasted them in the oven on four hundred degree celsius for twenty minutes in the afternoon the next day for lunch. Before taking the chicken drumstick out from the oven, I switched from bake to broil. And left it to broil for about two minutes to make the chicken drumstick skin crispy. I turned the chicken drumsticks to the other side for two minutes too.

Beautifully Done

The teriyaki and kolbi sauces can also be used for marinating other meats too. But I often use these only for chicken and fish. I use barbecue sauce for pork and beef. This is a fairly simple recipe. Normally, I prepare the chicken drumsticks in the night and the next morning just pop them into the oven. And this would be the main cuisine. At the meat time while waiting for the chicken to cook, I cook chicken rice and prepare another simple vegetable cuisine. If I am concern with time, I just slice some cucumbers. lettuce or tomatoes to replace the stir fried vegetables.

Stir Fried Lettuce

For the lunch today, I simply stir fried lettuce with chopped garlic. I started with two spoons of cooking oil in the wok and two spoons of chopped garlic. Throw in the lettuce and stir and turn until the lettuce becomes cooked. It took only about two minutes max to cook this dish. There are many other vegetables that can be stirred fried this way. And, there are some restaurants that actually serves this kind of stir fried vegetables which I feel to be too simple for a restaurant cuisine. At home is altogether different. Everything was done within an hour. I like to prepare easy meals which does not take too much of time.

The Famous Malay Curry Puff

Curry Puffs

The Malay Curry Puff is popular throughout Malaysia and Singapore. Evolved from a simple tea time or breakfast snack to becoming a signature delicacy served as dessert among cakes and puddings. Curry puffs can be found in different occasions and celebrations in Malaysia. There are even business establishments that became known for making and cooking the best curry puffs. The curry puffs have become a commercialized item. That is how popular this snack food has become.

Home Cooked Curry Puffs

At home, the curry puff is just another common Malaysian cake or kuih as we call it. My wife and kids often when they have some spare time, gather in the kitchen to make the curry puffs. I would usually prepare the fillings for the curry puff which is mostly potatoes. Sometimes, we even switch to sardine. But still, potatoes remained the main component in the curry puff fillings. My kids would usually help their mum knead the dough for the curry puffs and then hand craft the curry puffs.

Freshly Fried Curry Puffs

It is fun when the family prepare and cook together. Not only do the kids learn a skill but the togetherness helps in building bonds. We will involve our kids in the kitchen as much as time permits and when chores are done. This time, we made about three dozens of curry puffs and took them with us for a picnic with friends. The curry puffs were all gone within minutes when we served them. Most people would not be satisfied with just one piece but can eat as much as three on the average.

Affordably Simple Satisfying Cantonese Cuisine

Stir Fried Beef Strips

After that meal in the Chinese restaurant in Vernon, I took the family to HONS for a better and tastier Cantonese cuisine. No matter how simple the Cantonese cuisines may seem to be in HONS, they taste any time better and more authentic than many Chinese restaurants serving the same cuisines. HONS may not be the best Chinese restaurant in terms of taste, flavour and cuisine creativity but their cuisines satisfies the taste buds of those that are familiar with Cantonese cuisines.

Yong Chow Fried Rice

Without one of the kids who is still in summer camp with us, we ordered a simple Cantonese dinner combining the Yong Chow Fried Rice, the Stir Fried Beef Strips, and the Clay Pot Seafood Tofu. We arrived near closing time and the kitchen was able to dish out some of their best cuisines still. HONS were always reliable to satisfy our taste for Cantonese cuisines. And our favorite HONS is still the outlet nearest to our home in New Westminster. We were in the diner until closing time.

Clay Pot Seafood Tofu

Like always, HONS serves real fabulous Cantonese cuisines. And the service has been fast and friendly. We never have to wait long for our meals to be served. Until today, having dined here so many times before, we were still unable to complete the list of cuisines listed on their menu. Partly because we seem to like certain cuisines and keep ordering the same ones each time we dine here. Even when we bring friends here, we recommend the same cuisines we like.

Asian Avenue in Vernon

Sweet and Sour Pork

Travelled to Vernon to visit one of my kids in summer camp and dined at one of the three Chinese restaurant in the city. We looked up the reviews for each of the restaurants that were listed before deciding which to dine in. The best was not open until like four o'clock so we drove to the next in the list. When we got there, the place looks really old and rustic. Like nobody would come here to dine, so we cross over the road to the other Chinese restaurant that appeared to be new and was not mentioned in the list of the Chinese restaurants reviews.

Kongpo Chicken

The Asian Avenue, offered Chinese buffet and there were a good crowd in the restaurant. We do not expect much from this Chinese restaurant, just a decent meal because my kid who was attending summer camp wanted Chinese food. He has been eating Western type cuisines for the past three weeks and craved for some Chinese food already. Furthermore, Vernon is not a big city and Kelowna is about forty plus kilometre away. So, there were limited choices when Chinese food is concern.

Honey Garlic Chicken

Instead of just going for the buffet, we decided to order the special cuisines from the menu. So, we left the selections to the kids. And they ordered the honey garlic pork ribs, sweet and sour pork, ma po tofu, and kongpo chicken. In general, the serving portions was good but on the hand the Cantonese cuisines lacked authenticity, taste and flavour. In my opinion, they will not do well with diners that were familiar with Cantonese cuisines. But we have already expected that we will not be satisfied and they should not be compared to the many restaurants serving Cantonese cuisine in Vancouver.

Stir Fried Shrimps with Curry Leaves

Stir Fried Shrimps with Curry Leaves

We had shrimps for dinner yesterday. At least one of the cuisines was stir fried shrimps with curry leaves. Curry leaves is an important ingredient in Baba Nyonya cooking and many of the recipes in South East Asia. It is the special aroma that we want from the curry leaves. The leaves don't usually emits any smell when they are fresh but the aroma is really wonderful when the leaves are cooked. And we use the curry leaves in nearly everything that is spicy or curry. But for the beautiful aroma.

Black Pepper and Curry Leaves

This plant don't really grow in the wild but mostly are cultivated or grown domestically in homes. I would usually buy a bunch of the curry leaves from any Asian grocery store and dry them at home by the window where there is a lot of sun. It normally takes about two to three days to properly dehydrate off the moisture. Then, I would store the dried leaves in a bottle and kept in the cabinet. That way, I have a lot more use for the curry leaves and store them for longer periods.

Aromatic Curry Leaves

As for the stir fried shrimps with curry leaves, start with a hot wok or frying pan. Make sure the shrimps are dried of access liquid. Once the wok is hot, add three spoons of butter or margarine. Followed by throwing in the shrimps (unpeeled but heads removed) into the wok. Start stirring and continue to avoid burning. Throw in the curry leaves (a handful), sprinkle some black pepper and a pinch of salt in the wok. The shrimps will turn to red when cooked. But only transfer to a serving plate when there are some burned marks on the skin of the shrimps. The curry leaves will provide the nice aroma to the shrimp cuisine.

Stir Fried Marmite Chicken Nuggets

Marmite Chicken

Yesterday was one of the quiet Sundays where we spend the day at home and watching television. So, since everyone were at home, I cooked up something that we do not frequently have during busy work days. I cooked the marmite chicken which was one of my kids favorite cuisines when we dined at Malaysian restaurants back in the days. Simple cuisine to cook but required the vegetable yeast extract or marmite.

Sweetened Marmite Chicken

I started with frying some chicken meat which I have cut into strips. Once the chicken meat turns golden brown, stop the heat. With the chicken meat still in the wok or pan, add one spoon of the vegetable yeast extract and a spoon of sugar. Then, mix everything together until the chicken meat are evenly coated with the marmite and the sugar has dissolved completely. Transfer to a proper serving plate. For better presentation, garnish with mint leaves or cilantro. Restaurants in Malaysia usually will garnish this cuisine with fried prawn crackers.

Stir Fried Yam Leaves

I also prepared a simple vegetable cuisine and a soup cuisine for dinner. The vegetable cuisine was stir fried yam leaves. One of our favorite vegetable cuisine. Simple with garlic, and fish cake. I used to grow my own yam leaves in my vegetable garden back in Malaysia but because of the different seasons we have in Vancouver, the yam leaves would not survived through the colder weather in winter. And the soup for the day was spare ribs with radish. A good remedy for the hot summer days. A lot of liquid would be good for the body.

Hot Spicy Sambal Petai

Sambal Petai with Anchovies

Petai or famously known as the bitter bean is one of the most favoured bean in South East Asian cooking. There are a variety of recipes that require this authentic bean but its taste is one which has to be acquired to like. Even after consuming the bitter nut, the taste, flavour and smell lingers on for a few hours. When cooking the petai, the smell of petai lingers in the kitchen and anywhere closes to the kitchen for hours. The better the petai, and the tastier of the petai, the stronger the smell. And for those who don't like the smell of petai, that is not the end.

Sambal Petai

The smell of the bitter bean stays in the stool and urine of the person consuming the petai. So, get ready for the smell in the toilets. There is no where to hide the cooking and eating of petai. But in spite of the smell and bitter taste of the bean, Malaysians love eating petai. There are many ways how people eat the petai. Some like it raw. Just peel the bean from the pod and throw it into the mouth. Chew the bitter bean with a spoonful of rice. Simple and fastest way to cook would be with fried anchovies, tamarind juice, chopped cucumbers, chopped onions, and chopped chillies.

Sambal Anchovies with Bitter Beans

I have also grilled the petai pods with the beans still in the pods. And then, peeling the beans off the pods, consuming them like chew gums. Then, there is also sambal udang petai which is another famous Malaysian petai cuisine. My mum would always prepare sambal dried shrimps with petai for me when I was living in Malaysia. Some people like to eat petai with egg plant because they believed that egg plant can absorb the petai odor when eaten together. I found that to be a myth. When I eat petai, everyone around me would know because of the smell. So, let it be known.