Journey to Malaysia with our author Oz as he shares a visit in Langkawi, Malaysia. He loved studying in regards to the native delicacies, and he shares it with you at this time!

Langkawi – The Island Of The Snake

British navy officer Sherard Osborne, who was concerned within the Kedahan-Siamese warfare round 1838, as soon as recorded a peculiar story about Langkawi, an island positioned in present-day Malaysia.

The legend tells of Ular Besar, a large creature that had the type of an ideal snake.

Because the custodian of Langkawi Island, the nice snake demanded that each king who wished to ascend the throne or go to warfare should sacrifice a younger girl from the royal household. Solely after the sacrifice would the vicious beast defend the Sultanate from the specter of enemy navies and go away the native Malay inhabitants in peace.

When Islam entered Langkawi and locals transformed to the brand new faith, they stopped the sacrifice ritual. The nice snake, livid, went on a rampage and ate many individuals and livestock.

After a very long time of inciting the snake’s anger, a clever cleric from Arabia was despatched to the island.

He calmed the locals and defined that the beast’s wrath was Allah’s technique to take a look at their perception in Him.

Then, the cleric headed to the nest of Ular Besar. He held the Koran proudly and prayed that the massive snake would die or be expelled from the world.

The snake, in flip, attacked and swallowed the cleric.

All of a sudden, Ular Besar squirmed in ache, fled in the direction of Mount Raya, and by no means bothered the individuals of Langkawi ever once more.

The island of Langkawi was lastly peaceable.

My journey in Malaysia – Langkawi

I didn’t journey to Mount Raya throughout my keep in Langkawi (fortunately, maybe). Nonetheless, the serenity of The Island of The Snake certainly captivated me from the second I arrived. The colour of the water, the inexperienced hills, the luxurious rice fields, and above all of the numerous heat and hospitable individuals.

It jogged my memory of a perfect world of peace and coexistence.

I spent 5 days on the island, with daily proving to be extra shocking and thrilling than the final.

The island consists of three “rings”, or layers. The internal ring is the famend Mount Raya with its wild jungles. Surrounding this can be a ring of pastoral rice fields. Lastly, the shoreline space makes the exterior ring.

As I used to be staying close to the port, I might begin daily with a stroll alongside the seashore. Then, I might get pleasure from a cup of Teh Tarik (Malaysia’s model of the Indian Masala Chai) at a neighborhood breakfast hub. This was often alongside roti, curry, or one other native dish that drew my consideration.

Subsequent, I might set off to discover areas across the island, visiting the rice fields, appreciating native Hindu and Buddhist temples, mountain climbing to hilltop viewpoints, and exploring Langkawi’s distinctive culinary heritage in moist markets and famend eating places.

Exploring native Malaysian meals in Langkawi

It was my first time in Malaysia, and lots of nationwide Malaysian dishes, like Char Kway Teow and Nasi Lemak, felt new and thrilling to me.

But, I had a sense that Langkawi has its personal distinctive tradition, and would possibly provide some gastronomical delights not discovered elsewhere in Malaysia.

Fortunately, I wasn’t mistaken. By exploring the island’s historical past, tradition, delicacies, and nature, I managed to bask in conventional delicacies that even locals admitted are exhausting to search out today.

Langkawi was once part of the Kedah Sultanate, a monarchy that dominated Northwestern Malaysia, and Satun, a province in Southwestern Thailand.

Kedahan delicacies is basically based mostly on rice, native herbs, seafood, and coconut. You’ll find coconut in lots of dishes and in numerous varieties – both contemporary, roasted, pounded, or squeezed into milk.

For me, probably the most great factor about it was that it by no means coated different substances or flavors in a dish. They integrated it into the delicacies in such a fragile and harmonious manner.

Discovering the numerous makes use of for coconut

Gulai Panas, as an illustration, is a well-spiced fish curry, tempered by a contact of coconut milk. It’s not a creamy or oily curry, but the slight addition of coconut milk tempers the extraordinary spices of the dish and provides a candy contact to it.

Moreover, Gulai Panas is historically served with Pek Nga, a kind of pancake that has contemporary shredded coconut in its batter. And certainly, there’s a great distinction of texture and a contemporary coconutty aroma to it.

One other Langkawi specialty that you simply can’t ignore is Bronok.

Bronok is a spicy salad product of roasted grated coconut, contemporary herbs, and sea cucumber (a seasonal ingredient thought-about a neighborhood delicacy).

I have to confess that I attempted it for the primary time with out realizing what I used to be consuming. I preferred it a lot that I got here again twice within the following days, even after discovering out what the dish was product of.

It proved to me that totally different cultures might understand issues so distinctively, that if we maintain onto our prejudices, we’d miss out on great issues in life.

Seeking genuine world flavors

We reside in a world world, the place you’ll find Thai, American, Indian, and Ethiopian eating places in most main cities. You’ll find dishes like Pad Krapao and Inexperienced Curry on each Thai menu from New York to Berlin. And I don’t know any abroad Indian restaurant that doesn’t have Butter Rooster as certainly one of its bestsellers.

Globalization is an excellent factor in some ways, it opens up individuals’s minds to new concepts, cultures, and gastronomy. But, a few of these cuisines could also be oversimplified due to it.

As a lot as I loved my Nasi Lemak in Langkawi, I might absolutely return only for the natural Bronok, the spicy Gulai Panas, and the addictive Pek Nga.

My journey to Langkawi, Malaysia confirmed me that conventional regional cuisines can preserve themselves in opposition to all odds, discovering their technique to coexist with modernity and globalization.

We simply need to know the place to look.

Keep tuned for genuine recipes from Oz’s journey to Langkawi, Malaysia to present you a style of the journey!

Sarah is certainly one of Curious Cuisiniere’s founding duo. Her love for cultural cuisines was instilled early by her French Canadian Grandmother. Her expertise within the kitchen and in recipe improvement comes from years working in skilled kitchens. She has traveled extensively and enjoys bringing the flavors of her travels again to create easy-to-make recipes.