Wonderful food from Southeast Asia

What comes to mind when you think of Southeast Asia? Is it the unique style of buildings in Haikou Arcade Street, the colorful costumes in Southeast Asia, or the fragrant and mellow food such as bak kut teh and laksa?

Recently, "Hainan Food from Southeast Asia - Singapore Food Festival" was held in Haikou Arcade Old Street. Let us trace the source of food, through the lines of South Asian food, arouse the memory of the past in Southeast Asia, and feel the Southeast Asian customs together.

Hainanese Chicken rice: a wonderful food for nostalgia

"A bowl of oily rice, with a piece of chicken, looks ordinary, did not expect to eat full of flavor, especially rice, feel can eat several bowls!" Zhang Hua, a tourist from Fujian province, holds a bowl of Hainanese chicken rice and is full of praise. Although it is called "Hainan chicken rice", it has long gone out of Hainan. To say it is the most popular place, outside of Hainan is Singapore.

The ingredients of Hainan chicken rice are simple, but there is great attention to making it. According to reports, the chicken is not cooked with boiling water, but slowly soaked in hot water, so that the chicken is refreshing and tender. The essence of chicken oil rice is to use chicken soup to cook rice, supplemented by garlic oil, cooked rice salty and delicious, oil but not greasy.

As early as the late 19th century and early 20th century, when the Hainanese went to Southeast Asia, they brought Hainanese chicken rice to Southeast Asia. At that time, some overseas Chinese of Hainan nationality could not find a job for the time being, and there was no livelihood. To make a living, they sold chicken rice from their hometown. Streets and alleys appeared in Hainan merchants along the street to sell "Hainan chicken rice" scene. They carry two bamboo baskets, one with Cooked chicken without makeup and the other with rice balls drizzled with chicken juice, which is the original "Hainanese chicken rice".

After more than a century, Hainan chicken rice has evolved from a common local food in Hainan to a characteristic food culture of overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia, and eventually became the national dish of Singapore and Malaysia.

Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb food: Imported products take root locally

Among the distinctive South Asian cuisine, food made from Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb can be said to be a strong highlight. Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb is a tropical green plant that is common in Singapore and Malaysia. Because of its unique aroma and therapeutic value, it is loved by local residents, who often use fresh coconut water mixed with Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb leaves to make various foods.

For example, Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb leaf wrapped chicken, is to use Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb leaves wrapped in marinated chicken pieces into the frying pan. After frying is done, the Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb leaves will become brittle, a light brown color, and the light aroma of the leaves will penetrate the chicken, and the skin will be crisp and the gravy will remain. It is served with a sauce made of traditional Thai ingredients.

For example, adding a Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb chiffon cake will add a layer of rich grass fragrance than the original cake, which will both increase the fragrance and solve the sweet and greasy. The combination of Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb and coconut milk, lemon tea and other drinks also has a unique flavor.

In the 1930s, Wenchang people came to the South Ocean after exposure to Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb food, deeply fascinated by this exotic flavor. Soon they brought the Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb seedlings back to Hainan. Since the climate of Hainan is close to the climate of the original place of Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb, overseas Chinese introduced Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb back to Hainan, and Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb grew rapidly here.

Today, in Chongxing Town, Wenchang City, Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb trees are planted under coconut trees, betel nut trees or rubber trees, and their fragrance permeates the forest, making it intoxicating.

Bak kut Teh: A warm civilian delicacy

The weather is getting cold, at this time to serve a bowl of hot bak kut teh, feel warm. According to reports, there is no tea in bak kut Teh! The reason why it is called Bak kut tea is because the older generation of Chinese people will drink tea to solve the greasy after eating this food, and it is called Bak kut tea over time.

Behind the delicious taste of Bak kut teh is the bitter history of Southeast Asian Chinese. In the early 20th century, Chinese went to Southeast Asia to make a living. In the hot and humid climate of Southeast Asia, they did very hard labor. Many people suffer from rheumatic diseases, unable to work, and their lives are made more difficult.

According to legend, a Chinese doctor used pepper produced in Malaysia, plus Chinese herbs such as angelica, codonopsis, cinnamon, and other ingredients, and braised it with pork chops. A delicious dish that removes moisture and replenishes energy is born.

The majority of people who consume Bak kut teh in Southeast Asia are Chinese. Each Chinese community of different ethnic groups has a different style of Bak kut teh. Just as uncongealed tofu is divided into north and south, there are also several schools of Southeast Asian bak kut Teh tea that compete fiercely, such as the Fujian style of black soup and the Teochew style of white soup.

Today, Bak kut teh has long been a living habit of people in Singapore and Malaysia. The emotion of Bak kut teh in the eyes of the older generation is indescribable, and the young generation is also influenced by it, and the Bak kut teh has been integrated into the genes.

Laksa: Demonstrating the openness and inclusiveness of Southeast Asia

Many people know Laksa from Singapore. Among the many Southeast Asian cuisines, laksa is undoubtedly one of the most thoroughly integrated. Chinese hot soup powder or noodle soup, plus a dozen tropical spices and coconut milk soup base, make it not only the representative food of Southeast Asia, but also the best witness of this immigrant history.

"It's hard to imagine what a dozen spices are like in a soup until you've tried them yourself." Yi Jia, a tourist from Shandong province, said that the first taste is a collection of sour, sweet, salty, spicy and fresh, but under the fine taste, there are hundreds of flavors around the tongue. Because the coconut milk is added to it, it plays a role in harmonizing, and all kinds of tastes are not too prominent, and the whole taste is rich and mellow.

Like most soups, the secret to laksa's taste lies in the soup base. The ingredients of each laksa soup are slightly different, but generally inseparable from the combination of spices and seafood. Boil one or more of the fish, shrimp and shellfish with lemongrass, south ginger, tamarind, shallot, ginger flower and chilli for several hours, until the ingredients are completely integrated into the soup. So laksa's rich, more than any kind of soup powder is more decisive.

Laksa is too complex and too inclusive, just like Southeast Asia, a region of diverse cultures. Tempered by the melting pot of cultures, a bowl of laksa is the best reflection of the inclusive immigrant culture on the table. (Reporter Qiu Jianghua)