Cincai

Malays traditional food

-many varieties of food

-daily food: nasi lemak, sambal belacan

-food during festive seasons: lemang, ketupat, sambal daging, lontong

-Sambal belacan is a side dish usually eaten with fish or vegetable. Sambal belacan is genereall made of pepper/ chilli pounded with shrimp paste, salt and sugar.

-most famous dishes: lemang is made of glutinous rice and coconut milk, and cooked in a hollowed bamboo stick lined with banana leaves in order to prevent the rice from sticking to the bamboo. The cooking method using bamboo container is popular in Iban Dayak tribe of Borneo. Lemang is usually eaten with meat dishes such as chicken curry. The cooking process used in making lemang, also known as "pansoh/pansuh", is adapted by Dayak communities for a wide variety of meats.

Lemang is popular in Malaysia, Minangkabau people and Iban communities of Borneo, Manado usually prepared by using the tapaimethod. Lemang can now be found throughout Indonesia due to the spread of Minangkabau people throughout the country.

Lemang is ubiquitous amongst Malay communities and commonly eaten to mark the end of daily fasting during the annual MuslimMalaysian holidays of Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Hari Raya Haji. The aboriginal communities of West Malaysia (Orang Asli) also practice cooking rice in bamboo.

-Lontong: It is actually rice cakes that are served with a vegetable curry. Vegetables include cabbage, carrot and long beans. The curry is not too viscous as the chicken curry. The rice cakes are like the ketupat that is served with satay. It is made in the same way but the leaves used are from banana tree and it is wrapped into a cylindrical shape. It is so compressed that you cannot find space in between any rice grains. Usually a hard-boiled egg and half a piece of Tau Hu would accompany the dish.

A good lontong is one where the rice cakes are not too hard (because of the compression). The curry should not be too spicy and the vegetables should be cooked...