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Home , Burmese salads, Coconut jam, Nasi padang, Nasi ulam, Rice vermicelli, Ulam (salad)

11 Foreword

19 Notes On spelling

20 My Journey To This Book

People, Space Indigenous as Food and the and Place Ingenuity Civilisation Politics of Identity ch. 1 | 22 Setting Sail: ch. 4 | 98 Rustic Trails: ch. 10 | xxx Elok: ch. 14 | xxx Where Monsoons Meet: and their World The Way of the Forager The Aesthetics of An Arena of Cultural Exchanges ch. 2 | 46 , A Nusantara Kitchen: ch. 5 | 122 Rich Harvest, Ocean : ch. 11 | xxx Lyric Flavours: ch. 15 | xxx Mother Culture: The Kampung Gelam Hearth Malay Crops, Livestock and Fishing Food in Verse, Tale and Song Shifting Borders of Malay Cuisine ch. 3 | 76 In Gardens and Lakes of Plenty: ch. 6 | 156 A Repertoire of Techniques: ch. 12 | xxx Symbolism and Mythology: ch. 16 | xxx Epilogue Ecologies of Taste Preservation and Preparation When Tradition Beckons The Future of Malay Food

ch. 7 | xxx Culinary Curiosity Cabinet: ch. 13 | xxx Scenes from Malay Feasts: Tools and Implements Rituals and Observances

ch. 8 | xxx Food As Medicine: The Healing Earth

ch. 9 | xxx Dainties and Delights: More Than A Palate Cleanser

xxx Afterword: On the Power of Remembering

xxx Appendix

Foreword

In February 2002, the Sunday Times Singapore interviewed me for a feature story while I was in town for the World Gourmet Summit. The article’s title, ‘Mad About Malay Food’, perfectly captured my appreciation for the cuisine. My first encounter with Malay food had taken place many years before that, when my friend invited me to lunch at her home. Her chef prepared a wonderful meal, which I have never forgotten. I am most grateful to her for the experience. Malay food reflects the unique geographic advantages of the Malay Archipelago. The tropical clime and rich volcanic soil provide an abundance of flora and fauna for local chefs to experiment on. Not least among its advantages are the spices that motivated Europeans to travel the world. Whereas others had to use these precious spices sparingly in their cooking, the Malays have always had it in relative abundance. These factors have given Malay food the multiple textures and daring flavours I love. Added to this is the advantage that the Nusantara has on the vital sea routes between to the northeast, and India, the Middle East and Europe to the west. This has allowed Malay chefs to add the icing of multiple foreign influences to their already flavourful creations. When tasting a Malay dish, you are tasting a region, and you are tasting the world. While much has been written about the history and culture of the Malays, there has been a gap in the literature about Malay food in its cultural, historical and anthropological context. This book by Khir Johari addresses that gap, and is arguably one of the most comprehensive studies of Malay food. Khir aptly describes Singapore as a Nusantara kitchen, given its position as a key hub of the Archipelago. 11 We see a whole range of Malay food here, from the elaborate and laborious, to the lightly cooked ones, not dissimilar to my cuisine naturelle, with an emphasis on flavour and freshness. Khir shows that Singapore has never just been a recipient of this cuisine. It was – and continues to be – a cosmopolitan innovator, blending ingredients from near and far in new experiments, creating dishes such as the now-familiar favourites, and . Khir’s book provides us a deeper understanding of Malays themselves. It is a story of how an ingenious people have been able to tap into the advantages of their location between mountain and sea, and their maritime connections, to create a cuisine that is typical of who they are as a people – warm and engaging; willing to experiment and eager to please. Khir has written a most interesting book that bridges between the world of cookbooks on the one hand, and the world of scholarship on the other.

— Anton Mosimann obe, dl     

THAILAND BURMA SIAM Manila MAP O F Bangkok THE KHMER The Malay Archipelago Phnom Penh A N D VICINITY

Ho Chi Minh Palawan Cebu  

Ligor SOUTH SULU CHINA SEA Phuket Mindanao Pattani SEA S Kudat Zamboanga T R Kedah A Sandakan I SABAH T Penang Terengganu

O Kota F Perak M A L A Y BRUNEI Kinabalu Aceh M A Selangor L P E N I N S U L A A C Kuala Lumpur C Sibu Medan A Negeri Sembilan Malacca SARAWAK Batak Land Manado Halmahera Pulau Kuching Minangkabau Bengkalis Ternate MAP Highlands SINGAPORE Equator Siak BORNEO R INSET RIAU A Pariaman Kutai S Pontianak S KALIMANTAN M A Jambi K Pulau A Pulau Siberut M Bangka O SUMATRA F SULAWESI O

Palembang T CELEBES I L A R Banjarmasin T Ambon INDIAN Bengkulu S U Makassar JAVA SEA C O CEAN (Batavia) BANDA BAWEAN C Banten Cirebon Semarang SEA Madura A J A V Surabaya A Solo Larantuka S LEGEND Bali Sumbawa Labuhanbajo Yogyakarta Lombok Dili Tutuala Port Denpasar Sape Flores Christmas Island Taliwang EAST TIMOR Port City (Australia) Waingapu Timor  Capital  Sumba Kupang

     Setting Sail: The Malays and Their World

These competing definitions of Malayness suggested Republic.22 In 1615, a year before William Shakespeare died, that a sure answer remained elusive, and even led to the Sultan of Aceh – Iskandar Muda – wrote a sumptuous absurd descriptions by the colonial officials like Frank letter to King James I of England in Malay. 23 Swettenham, a Resident-General of the Malay States. By the 17th century, even the historically non-Malay- A ‘real Malay’, to him, had a “kindly” disposition, was speaking courts – like Ternate in the Maluku, and the “polite” and “courageous and trustworthy”, though also Sultanate of Banten in Java – were using the Malay “extravagant” and “very superstitious”.17 It didn’t seem language to communicate with Europeans. In this way, to occur to Swettenham that each Malay was a unique even historically hostile enemies of the Malay courts, such individual with different dispositions. as the Javanese, came to participate in the Archipelago’s But the Malay world was not just a mere figment of the Malay-language-based political network. Europeans’ imagination. It was and remains a cultural In this language, the Malays shared a common literature. region based on some shared elements: a common language, They were acquainted with the same heroes, like Iskandar a shared literature, similar customs, dress and beliefs, and, Zulkarnain (Alexander the Great) from the Sulalatus Salatin as we shall see, a shared cuisine. and the Hikayat Raja Iskandar Zulkarnain. Tales of Seri Rama, Raffles’ perception of it as a ‘nation’ with a common which were Malay iterations of the Indian Ramayana epic, language did reflect some historical reality. Through were widely popular across the Malay world up until the conquest and diplomacy, the 15th-century Sultanate of 19th century.24 The romances of Panji, which originated in Melaka absorbed outlying courts into its orbit as part of Java but became a staple of oral traditions across Southeast a unified “Malay trading system”.18 From the period of the Asia, were widely performed as opera pieces known as Sultanate’s pre-eminence, the of bazaar Malay as a bangsawan, well into the 20th century in the cities of trade language, and the adoption of a more sophisticated Malaya, including Singapore. W.E. Maxwell, a scholar- register of Malay by the royal courts, began. This was a administrator of British Malaya, once observed how “a role Malay continued to play centuries after Melaka’s fall small reward, a hearty welcome, and a good meal await the in 1511, as other maritime sultanates emerged, like Johor Malay rhapsodist wherever he goes, and he wanders among and Aceh. the Malay villages as Homer did among the Greek cities”. 25 The eminent sociologist Syed Hussein Alatas argued The people of the Malay Archipelago also seemed to that the role of Malay as a common language across the have a similar set of customs and traditions, including region can be attributed to the dominance of Malays dress. In the 19th century, male aristocrats in the Malay- in shipping and the power of the coastal Malay trading speaking courts were recorded donning a loose-fitting, states.19 Francois Valentijn, a Dutch historian of the long-sleeved shirt called the baju, long trousers and a East Indies, recorded that the acted as a sarong wrapped around their waist.26 Malay women were lingua franca, comparable to French and Latin in Europe. recorded wearing a buttonless open-front blouse that was 35 In those days, unless one could speak Malay, one was “not long and loose, called the kebaya.27 When the embassy considered a very broadly educated man in the East”.20 of the Johor-Riau Sultanate arrived in Dutch Batavia in Despite the variety of regional languages spoken in the 1822, the Bugis envoys “dressed in the Malay way, with different corners of the Archipelago, diplomatic letters golden waist-belts, golden sheaths and trousers and shirts were mostly composed in Malay. William Marsden, in of mail, with ornaments of gold, each of them having his Grammar of the Malayan Language, described a “striking attendants carrying their betel-boxes and long kerises”.28 consistency in the style of writing, not only of books in Association with a Malay court and culture endowed the prose and verse, but also of epistolary correspondence”.21 Bugis with prestige. This indicates that although Malays So accustomed were these rulers to using the Malay were one ethnic group out of many in the region, theirs language in diplomatic exchange that they adopted it in was the cultural standard which other groups adopted to their correspondence with European rulers. In 1609, the varying degrees. Sultan of Johor – Alauddin Riayat Shah III – sent a letter Still, Malay fashions always changed with the times, written in Malay to Prince Maurice, leader of the Dutch and by the late 19th century, Malay men had incorporated

Caption Pide odignisquas volorempore explicti. People, Space and Place Singapore, A Nusantara Kitchen: The Kampung Gelam Hearth

SINGAPORE, A NUSANTARA KITCHEN THE KAMPUNG GELAM Hearth

istory points to the urban epicentre of Kampong Sultanate was locked in a crisis of succession. The death HGelam as the incubator of this Nusantara kitchen. of Sultan Mahmud III threw up two contenders for the Today, Kampong Gelam is known to most of Singapore’s throne – his sons Abdul Rahman and Tengku Long. While residents as the small gazetted ‘Conservation District’ the latter was abroad in Pahang, the former was installed bounded by Arab Street and Jalan Sultan, its outlying as his father’s successor. The aristocracy was divided. The neighbourhoods now lost to urban renewal. But it would Temenggung, an official in charge of policing trade in the be a grave mistake indeed to consider Kampong Gelam maritime Sultanate’s waterways and sea lanes, opposed as merely an exotic, commercialised stop on Singapore’s Abdul Rahman’s ascension. He left for Singapore in 1818.1 02 well-worn tourist trail. Beyond the artificial Middle Upon receiving Raffles, he helped negotiate the treaty that Agnatatempero blacerum net ante vent quam fugitem fugia ilibus onsequatur taquid quia volorer orestii scilit. Eastern veneer, gentrified hipster lanes and gaudy baubles, marked the beginning of British colonialism in Singapore. 48 Kampong Gelam was once the capital of Malay intellectual, Raffles secured his hold by exploiting the succession 49 political and religious life in Singapore. And as the dispute; in return for granting him permission to set up his paper-like bark was once widely used for caulking boats. the more well-known. But where trade within the Malay birthplace of many enduring classics in the Singaporean trading post, Raffles promised Tengku Long recognition as The Orang Biduanda Kallang as well as the Orang Gelam Archipelago was concerned, Kampong Gelam was the Malays’ culinary repertoire, it enjoys unparalleled status as ‘Sultan of Singapore and Johor’, along with an allowance once dwelled in houses in the Kallang basin and by the point of exchange. the most important site in the history of their cuisine. and other privileges. As the years wore on, however, the rivers that flowed into it.2 Sultan would learn that having his purse strings in the grip To house the Sultan and his followers, a palace was built, A Malay Commercial Centre A Royal Precinct of the British meant being at their whim and disposal. and next to it, a mosque. Streets and residential compounds A great impetus for the influx of people from the wider Singapore was a territory of the declining Johor-Riau Tengku Long, now Sultan Hussein Shah, established his radiated from this centre, and gradually a port town took Nusantara to Singapore was the growth of commerce, and Sultanate when Raffles sailed into its harbour in 1819. He court east of the Singapore River, near the estuary of the shape. It contained, until 1825, a walled compound3, which naturally, among the first to arrive were the Bugis. Like the knew well the political context he was up against: the Rochor, Geylang and Kallang Rivers. This was Kampong was referred to as Kota Raja, the royal citadel. Before Phoenicians in the Mediterranean of classical antiquity, territories of Johor-Riau were under Dutch influence by Gelam, so named for the gelam (Melaleuca leucodendron), a extensive land reclamation, the town stood right on the the Bugis had built an extensive commercial empire proxy, so setting up a trading settlement on behalf of the species of tree that grows along the seashore. It belongs in edges of the sea. There were thus twin centres of seaborne based on their network of trading routes connecting the British East India Company would inevitably precipitate the myrtle family (Myrtaceae), which includes the gelam’s commerce in early modern Singapore, with the harbour of dozens of bustling ports across the Archipelago. Sailing a diplomatic crisis. But Raffles found a loophole, for the more well-known cousin – the eucalyptus. The gelam’s the Singapore River – handling international trade – being into the western Malay Archipelago from their ancestral

People, Space and Place

Singapore, A Nusantara Kitchen: The Kampung Gelam Hearth

from a coffee shop on the corner of Pahang Street and top layer of the sĕrikaya found in Putĕri Salat, Aliwal Street. Puan Maryulis, his third daughter, founded but the bottom layer of glutinous is replaced with Sabar Menanti, which still stands today on North Bridge a mixture based on Bird’s custard, an egg-free brand of Road. Puan Zubaidah, the youngest of the four sisters, custard formulated by Englishman Alfred Bird in 1837 owned a restaurant on the corner of Muscat Street and to accommodate his wife’s egg allergy. This custard is Kandahar Street – known today as Rumah Minang. then cooked with an equal proportion of cream-of-corn Moving away from savoury to sweet and corn kernels. dainties, one also notices Nusantara-wide elements. Wholly new dishes were created in Kampong Gelam, Among the Nusantaran sweetmeats brought to Singapore too, that have now become the standard repertoire of was Kueh Lompang, so named due to its resemblance Malay street food. These include Mee Maidin, which was to lompang, a palm-sized granite mortar used to pound named after its creator. Food in Kampong Gelam was often and betel quid. The resemblance was identified by its chief architect; that is, whoever had the achieved through the use of Chinese porcelain teacups. honour of inventing or popularising it. This dish consists This is composed chiefly of a sweetened rice- of yellow served in a thick gravy made with krill flour batter savoured with gratings. (known to Malays as udang gĕragau). Of course, many traditional Malay favourites underwent Another dish bearing its inventor’s name is Roti Mariam, adaptation as well. Amongst these was Putĕri Salat, a still on the menu of the iconic house, the Islamic popular double-layered Malay pĕnganan, which can be Restaurant, on North Bridge Road. It began with a lady understood as a ‘’. Yet at the same time, one must named Puan Mariam who prepared her original flatbread be cautious before drawing equivalents across cuisines, especially given how different food cultures arise from social conditions and conventions that vary significantly from place to place. A ‘dessert’ in the Western sense, which is usually eaten after a , cannot be used to convey the social and cultural connotations of the Malay pĕnganan, which unlike can be enjoyed as a snack or even as a item. Anthropologist Jeanne Cuisinier said it best, in her lecture on Malay cuisine broadcast from Radio Paris in 1936: Agnatatempero blacerum net ante vent quam fugitem fugia ilibus onsequatur taquid quia volorer orestii scilit. There are hardly any desserts, not because the Malays 62 do not make any – on the contrary, they know a great 63 come from any and all corners of Minangkabau country. now regularly hosts its loyal patrons from its premises number of recipes for , , fruit gums and However, this is a shorthand owing to the significance of at the corner of Kandahar Street and North Bridge Road. jellies, but all these sweets are normally eaten out of their foremost city. They started their business cooking at home on 10 Pahang meal times.12 The business of Nasi Padang finds its most widespread Street, where the freshly prepared dishes would be loaded form in family-owned enterprises specialising in home- onto a tricycle and faithfully conveyed to their premises. This will be explored in further detail later. Putĕri style cooking. At least four families of Minangkabau The last is headed by Haji Marlian, the patriarch of Salat is known widely in the Archipelago by different descent have established themselves as the undisputed what can be considered Kampong Gelam’s very own Nasi names, such as Sĕrimuka on most parts of the Malay masters in the painstaking, gentle art of preparing Nasi Padang empire. Starting out, his enterprise was located on Peninsula, Pulut Sĕrikaya in and Gading Padang. One of them helmed the kitchen at the Rendezvous, a corner between Kandahar Street and Baghdad Street, out Galoh in Melaka. It is made up of two components: a a restaurant first located next to the Cathay movie theatre. of a makeshift stall. In time, Haji Marlian’s daughters each base of pulut () and a top layer of sĕrikaya, Another of these families operated from a mobile cart at an established their own Nasi Padang businesses. His eldest a Malay custard flavoured with leaves. In Arab Street alley. A third family is that of Haji Israin and daughter, Puan Rosmah Nidar, runs her Nasi Padang eating Kampong Gelam, experimentation resulted in a bold Agnatatempero blacerum net ante vent quam fugitem fugia ilibus Hajjah Rosnah, the founders of Warung Pariaman, which house on Lorong One, Toa Payoh. Puan Ratnasari operated new creation: Talam Jagong. Talam Jagong retains the onsequatur taquid quia volorer orestii scilit.

People, Space and Place These culinary guides were tastefully produced, and targeted They also provided guidance on how to start a for Malay housewives. Many contained not just recipes but cottage industry, making what one would typically also instructions on how to properly manage one’s kitchen purchase from a grocer, from scratch at home. and maintain standards of cleanliness. Im et magnis et officto tatur, quaturitis mo corepta epeditae odi tem comnihit quaepre vollori bla cumquam, quas aliquatur maxim re num con es qui omnisqui ulpa desciisquiam qui cum fugitius. It ommodiciunti comnis illabor simendi coresequunt omnit alibus dem expliti nvelit pe ipsaperspiet eoss.

mee siam

400 g rice To grind: For gravy: soak in water till soft and strain 100 g pre-soaked dried prawn At laborei cianimp erundebis eaqui 250 g fresh prawn 100 g pre-soaked dried chilli berspiet alia eum que non con cleaned and with shells on 2 large red porerestium que nus arum que que 200 ml cooking oil 4 aut optios excerem eri ut eum sit et 200 g fermented soybean (taucheo) moluptatur res as expere, optaten 2 tbsp tomato puree For garnishing: 200 g beansprout (tauge) 200 g firm (tauhu) small cubed 150 g Chinese and fried ¾ cup water Hard boiled eggs halved Salt to taste 50 g Chinese chives sliced 50 g limau kasturi () halved

77

Noodle Gravy 1 First we make the vermicelli base. In a wok, heat up the 1 First we make the vermicelli base. In a wok, heat up the cooking oil. When ready, fry the grounded ingredients till cooking oil. When ready, fry the grounded ingredients till fragrant over a medium fire. fragrant over a medium fire. 2 Add in the fermented soybean and tomato puree and mix 2 Add in the fermented soybean and tomato puree and mix well. Dilute it with water, add salt to taste and stir well. Put well. Dilute it with water, add salt to taste and stir well. Put in the fresh prawns and continue to mix well till the prawns in the fresh prawns and continue to mix well till the prawns are cooked. are cooked. 3 Place the vermicelli into the wok and with the help of two 3 Place the vermicelli into the wok and with the help of two spatulas, dig in from the sides and lift up the mixture in the spatulas, dig in from the sides and lift up the mixture in the middle, coating the vermicelli with the base along the way. middle, coating the vermicelli with the base along the way. Repeat this action but ensure noodles breakage is minimal. Repeat this action but ensure noodles breakage is minimal. 4 Finally, add in the bean sprout and chives. Mix gently into 4 Finally, add in the bean sprout and chives. Mix gently into the tender vermicelli. the tender vermicelli. Agnatatempero blacerum net ante quam fugitem ilibus onsequatur taquid quia orestii scilit. Agnatatempero blacerum net ante quam fugitem ilibus onsequatur taquid quia orestii scilit. Agnatatempero blacerum net ante quam fugitem ilibus onsequatur taquid quia orestii scilit. Due to the small extent of the island’s territorial waters, however, the supply for local consumption was low. Its fish markets – then and now – rely heavily on

the catch from regional waters. A REPERTOIRE OF TECHNIQUES Preservation and Preparation

n one sense, food is as much a complex science as it is through seasoning and mixing is known variously as Ia delicate art. The technical aspects of Malay cooking, kĕ rabu, anyang, or tĕ rĕ ncham. Nasi is often like those of all other food cultures, have their origins in rendered as a ‘rice ’, but in reality it is more correctly the pragmatic need for preservation, such that one’s food considered a kind of herbal rice; the ulam, after all, serves 06 supply can be sustained over a longer period of time. Gradual as a secondary addition to the main rice meal, to which the refinement and adaptation, over centuries of changing herbal slivers are added. 174 economic circumstances and technological advancements, In many cases, it is better for food to be served and eaten have given birth to the arsenal of preparation techniques raw. Flavours and nutritional value may be compromised that avails itself to the Malay gastronome today. as a result of processes that take place during cooking. At the most basic level, there are Malay dishes For example, exposure to heat can result in denaturation involving no cooking whatsoever. As a ‘non-process’, raw or impede the efficacy of some ingredients. For this consumption of food involves no handling that alters the reason, usually a dish may be the result of combining raw physical or chemical composition of its ingredients. This is ingredients. Jĕnganan is one such instance: an largely the case with ulam: shoots, fruits, herbs and foliage ensemble of uncooked ingredients with the exception of its plucked from their plant and eaten raw. In some cases, the pre-roasted . ulam can consist entirely of puchok (shoots), giving rise to (Javanese: sambĕ l) can be either raw or cooked. the saying, ‘puchok dichita ulam mendatang’ (one wishes They are most often taken as a kind of or , for shoots and receives a salad), which implies a scenario but depending on the preparation method, a sambal can in which one fortuitously obtains more than what was constitute a dish in and of itself. The common factor in all initially bargained for. Ulam that has been transformed sambals is chilli, in various shapes and forms. A ubiquitous

Culinary Curiosity Cabinet: Tools and Implements

Caption Pide odignisquas volorempore explicti. 219

pushing the dough out through the perforations, forming showerhead-like canister made of zinc, brass or plastic. noodles that are cooked in hot water. While still warm, the The action of this implement inspired the name of the noodles are formed into shapes such as coils or figures- dish: ‘kirai’ means to shake out in a spreading action. The of-eight. This is known as chap (pressed laksa); each original name of the dish, however, is Roti Renjis (renjis: to pressing is equivalent to a single serving, as opposed to sprinkle; scatter), an allusion to the old method of dipping thinner, mass-produced laksa, sold by weight. Laksa chap one’s fingers in the batter and then drizzling it over the was widely produced in Siglap, a locality in Singapore’s frying griddle surface from the tips of one’s fingers, creating southeastern coast that was historically home to Malay a Pollock-like effect. As in all tools, Malays are never too far fishing communities. Siglap’s residents had ready access to from the coconut. When holes are punctured in a coconut the fresh catch needed to make laksa’s fishy . It is just shell and batter is poured through them, the same effect a short bus ride from Katong. as roti kirai is attained. When the holes are finer, and the Corong roti kirai is used to make Roti Kirai, a lacy Malay thinner batter drips directly into hot oil, we get the sweet crepe created by dripping batter through a handheld known as -karas.

Caption Pide odignisquas volorempore explicti. Indigenous Ingenuity FOOD AS MEDICINE The Healing Earth

y late grandmother once said, in her usual tender most potent formulae to combat illnesses. According to Mway, “Kenapa makan obat? Kenapa tak makan anthropologist Penny van Esterik, tonics “coexist makanan yang jadi obat?” – why take medicine when you with allopathic pharmaceuticals as a parallel system, can eat food that serves as a remedy? Not that she shunned rather than as replacements”. In other words, individuals 08 the uses of Western pharmacopeia; this conviction that our who imbibe jamu for its health benefits or as remedies also cuisine is itself an apothecary goes back to the wisdom of subscribe to scientifically informed modern medicine. 242 the ancient Greeks. Hippocrates, the renowned physician, Ingredients used to concoct jamu are the same ones once declared, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be found in the kitchen cabinet, such as , , thy food.” Malays not only developed their own system of (kunyit asam), chillies, along with specifically traditional medicine for healing the sick; one’s daily diet medicinal herbs. It is no wonder that the line between the was also seen to quietly but surely maintain health. Food – health benefits of herbal tonics and cooked dishes can its ingredients, how it is prepared and consumed – is itself a seem indistinguishable. The turmeric-based Jamu Kunyit preventive measure against potential illness. Asam, for instance, has anti-inflammatory, anti-infection and detoxification potencies. Jamu Bĕras Kĕnchor (rice The Nusantara Pharmacopeia flour with ) is known for bolstering the Within the category of explicitly medicinal , there is immune system and soothing fatigue, while the ginger- the jamu tradition: an ancient system of herbal healing in based Wedang Jahe is capable of aiding digestion and the Nusantara that has its roots in Java. Jamu collectively keeping the flu at bay. refers to herbal tonics that reflect native understandings In Java and other localities in the Archipelago, it is sold by about which combinations of ingredients produce the jamu ladies (mbok-mbok jamu). In Singapore the ingredients Malays not only developed their own system of traditional medicine for healing the sick; one’s daily diet was also seen to quietly but surely maintain health. Food – its ingredients, how it is prepared and consumed – is itself a preventive measure against potential illness. Food as Medicine: The Healing Earth

for concocting jamu can be found at the Malay market at home, grandmothers in Singapore’s Javanese households The following is a small sample of such ingredients that have efficacious properties Geylang Serai. The jamu purveyors there run Malay health used to prepare jamu in small quantities for their family when consumed.1 stores that carry jamu in loose powder form and vegecaps, members to occasionally imbibe in shots. Medicinal herbs as well as loose dried ingredients for making medicinal and other organic ingredients were also used on their own brews (ubat pĕriok). These apothecaries relocated from as natural remedies for particular symptoms. Malay Name Eng. Common Name Scientific Name Uses Method earlier shops on Arab Street in old Kampong Gelam. But at Tree bark boiled into a Asam Jawa Tamarind Tamarindus indica Relieves asthma decoction and drunk

Eliminates sea-sickness, Leaves boiled into a decoction Ati-ati Coleus atropurpurea diarrhoea and drunk and heartburn

Pounded with rice and applied Bawang Merah Allium cepa Relieves swelling and nausea to swollen areas; pounded and added to water and drunk

Relieves asthma, coughs and Crushed bulbs mixed with Bawang Putih Garlic Allium sativum stomach ulcers; improves honey and sugar, then immunity when eaten raw swallowed

Bĕlimbing Buloh Lowers hypertension Fruit eaten directly

Relieves stomach discomfort Leaves boiled into a decoction Bĕtek Carica papaya and high fever and drunk

Rhizome boiled with other Chĕkor (Java: Kĕnchor) Kaempferia galanga Post-natal tonic roots

Chĕngkeh Eugenia aromatica Post-natal tonic

Boiled with other leaves and Daun Kari leaf Murraya koenigii Regulates menstrual cycle shoots to make ubat periok

Post-natal tonic; relieves Leaves boiled into a decoction Dĕlima Pomegranate Punica granatum 246 stomach aches and drunk 247 All parts of plants boiled into Antidote to poisons; Dokong Anak Gale of the Wind Phyllanthus niruri a brew eliminates kidney stones and drunk

Leaves boiled into a decoction Bĕlanda Soursop Annona muricata Relieves headaches and drunk

Relieves cough and symptoms of Roots and leaves boiled into a Ekor Anjing Plantago major diabetes; ensures normal urination decoction and drunk

Rhizome and leaves pounded, Relieves stomach aches Halia Ginger Zingiber officinale boiled into a decoction and burping and drunk

Andrographis Lowers hypertension; treats Boiled into a decoction, Hĕmpĕdu Bumi paniculata tonsillitis, flu and chest pains strained and drunk

Indigenous Ingenuity Dainties and Delights: More Than a Palate Cleanser

Malays do not quite use ‘kaya’ to describe flavours the same way English speakers talk of a particular food’s ‘richness’.

origin, ‘sĕrikaya’ is not one of them. One also does not find In the four centuries since, sĕrikaya has never ceased to a spreadable ‘’ quite like the Malay sĕrikaya be the object of gastronomic desire, as amply attested in in . Egg-based abound in Europe, and court annals, folktales and poetry. The Hikayat Hang Tuah the Portuguese pasteis de nata are world-renowned. But (from the 1700s), for instance, records a comparison of an similar egg-custard tarts are ubiquitous in England and the exceptionally sweet coconut’s flesh to ambrosial sĕrikaya: Netherlands too, undermining further suggestions that the egg-based custard is a distinctly Portuguese invention. Puluh depa tingginya dan pada sama tengah nyiur itu dimakan Then there is the telling case of the Malay name for the oleh anai-anai. Syahadan buahnya pun setandan dan airnya fruit Annona reticulata. Malay philologists would proclaim terlalu manis seperti serbat rasanya dan isinya seperti serikaya. that when the people of the Nusantara first encountered Maka nyiur itulah yang hendak disantap oleh tuan putri. Maka this New World fruit, it reminded them of something that seorang pun tiada berani naik nyiur itu. Maka tuan putri pun was long familiar to them: their custard. And hence they menangis hendak makan nyiur itu juga. named this fruit ‘buah sĕrikaya’ – the custard that grows 281 on trees. And not ‘buah nona’, the name ascribed by the It was ten fathoms high and termites ate right into Spanish and Portuguese. This suggests that the term pre- its core. And its fruits grew in a cluster, and its juice dates the Columbian exchange. Meanwhile, its English was so exceedingly sweet; it tasted like sherbet, and name is ‘custard apple’ – hardly a coincidence! its filling was like sĕrikaya. That was the coconut so With intense contact between Portugal and the Malay desired by the princess. Now no one dared to climb world beginning in the 16th century, one must question up that palm. And so the princess wept, for she so why food writers have been so resistant to the notion that yearned to eat that coconut. perhaps the Portuguese sericaia took the Malay sĕrikaya as inspiration for its name after all. By the time of Portuguese contact, sĕrikaya was likely already a staple of Malay royal households. It is first attested in a manuscript of Cerita Kutai (The Chronicles of Kutai, 1620), but could very well have been around much earlier.

Agnatatempero blacerum net ante quam fugitem ilibus onsequatur taquid quia orestii scilit. Indigenous Ingenuity

A. Kueh Basah Non-Talam 018 - 058 These are so named for their high moisture content. For this reason they do not keep well; before the Kueh made without the use of a talam mould are prepared in other types of moulds or receptacles, advent of refrigeration they would spoil easily and were typically consumed within a day of being made. or wrapped in leaves to give them form.

001 - 017 Talam Sweet One type of kueh basah is the talam, which is not a specific kueh (as commonly mistaken), but a category. 018 Apam Kampong 019 Apam Telor ‘Talam’ refers to the shallow tray moulds in which batter is steamed. 020 Awel-awel 021 Kueh Bakar One layer with toppings Two layers with fillings (Bolu Kemboja) 001 Dang Anum 014 Talam Jagong 022 Bingka Ambon 002 Koleh-koleh 015 Talam Kĕladi (Bolu Suri) 003 Talam Bĕrlauk. 023 Kueh Choro [manis] Three layers with fillings 024 Cucur One layer without toppings 016 Talam Asmarani 025 Kueh Dadar 004 Bingka Ubi 026 Kueh Dangai 005 Lambang Sari Multiple layers 027 Dĕram-dĕram 006 Serimuka 017 Kueh Lapis Beras 028 Kueh Gandus 029 Rĕndang Kasturi Two layers without fillings 030 Gĕtas-gĕtas 007 Jiwa Mĕlayang 031 Janekek 008 Putĕri Salat 032 Jĕmput-jĕmput 009 Talam Banjar (Cĕkodok) 010 Talam Beras 011 Talam Sari 012 Talam Suji 013 Taman Ubi

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