Malaysia-Singapore Food Fight

[Julian Teoh]

Malaysia says its local dishes 'hijacked': report

(AFP) – 19 hours ago

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia will lay claim to its signature dishes like laksa and chicken rice which are being "hijacked" by other countries, the tourism minister said according to a report Thursday.

Those on the list include the fragrant coconut milk rice 'nasi lemak', spicy soup noodle 'laksa' and pork ribs herbal soup 'bak kut teh', Tourism Minister Ng Yen Yen said according to the Star newspaper.

"We cannot continue to let other countries hijack our food. Chili crab is Malaysian. Hainanese chicken rice is Malaysian. We have to lay claim to our food," she was quoted as saying.

"In the next three months, we will identify certain key dishes (to declare as Malaysian). We have identified laksa... all types of laksa, nasi lemak and bak kut teh," she added.

I was born and raised in Malaysia for the most part, and I don't recall ever being told that chilli crab or Hainanese chicken rice were of uniquely Malaysian origin. As far as I can recall, nasi lemak has always been proclaimed as our main national dish, but we were not so bothered with claiming originators' rights for other dishes. This may have been due to the fact that the mud crabs used in the original chilli crab recipe are not halal and therefore (in theory) could not be consumed by the majority of the population who are Muslim. Chicken rice may have suffered the same stigma due to its Chinese origin.

Singapore, on the other hand, has put forth its official version of who invented the chilli crab. The official Singapore Story (the chilli crab one, that is) is that Madam Cher Yam Tian invented the dish in 1956 at her seafront hawker stall where the East Coast Seafood Centre now stands. While I do not doubt the veracity of this account, I can put this down to a couple of factors:

1. The Singapore Tourism Board have latched on to food as one of Singapore's main tourist drawcards and have plugged chilli crabs and chicken rice like crazy. So it makes sense to expend resources to discover the "creation myths" or stories behind your signature dishes. Certainly, Malaysia's authorities have not been anywhere near as efficient or effective. And I suspect Malaysia will find that "being first" is not all that matters, but safeguarding your rights and making your voice heard.

2. Singapore's national pastime is eating and there is no better way to create a sense of national unity than to proclaim the primacy of Singaporean contributions to world gastronomy.

I don't think there is or should be a debate on bak kut teh ("BKT") because the Malaysian and Singaporean versions are completely different – the only thing they have in common are that they are both "pork bone teas" stewed with herbs and spices. The Singaporean version is the Teochew version, which is a light and very peppery broth, whereas in Malaysia, when we think BKT we think of Klang BKT, which is a much darker, sweeter and richer broth. Even the meat cuts that we use in Klang BKT are different – I recall distinctly fatter and more cartiligenous cuts, as well as intestines and fried taufu pok. I have never encountered the Teochew/Singaporean version in Malaysia.

That said, this is an interesting development because Malaysia has always been content to rest on its own laurels, smug in the knowledge that any sensible person (including Singaporeans) accepts that Malaysia has vastly superior quality local / hawker food. I am not disputing that Singapore has great hawkers, but Singaporean hawker food has the potential to be truly dire, whereas in Malaysia, it is (still) difficult to have a genuinely bad hawker meal. But under the revitalised "1Malaysia" regime of Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, it seems that Malaysia is willing to up the ante in this sensitive area of diplomatic relations; certainly, it will be interesting to gauge Singapore's reaction because I do not recall there ever having been a push from this high up in Malaysia for recognition of these foods as being of Malaysian origin.

Personally, I think that Singapore has pushed the art of great Hainanese chicken rice and chilli crabs to a new level. But "doing it better" is a totally different matter from "doing it first", as Tim Henman and Andy Murray are undoubtedly aware of.

[Pan]

Malaysia is fighting over who invented Hainanese chicken rice? Is that idiotic or what?

Interesting that mud crabs are not halal. Why not?

[Julian Teoh]

Hi Pan,

Well, Singapore claims to have invented Hainanese chicken rice as well. The dish was invented by Hainanese immigrants to either Malaysia or Singapore. However, the Hainanese maintained a distinct community in these countries post-immigration, hence the dish took their name. In a similar way, Hokkien fried noodles are named after the dialect group of the people who it, even though the two distinct dishes that now bear the name were invented in Malaysia (fat yellow noodles with dark soya sauce) and Singapore (yellow noodles cooked in a light seafood gravy).

As far as I know, Islamic law does not allow the consumption of mud crab because it lives in "two worlds" i.e. it is amphibious. Certainly, I have met many Malay Muslims who do not eat mud crabs for this reason. Crab recipes in Malay cookery utilise flower crabs / blue swimmers; by consensus, these do not have the culinary merit of the muddies.

[JustKay]

Mud Crab is permissible food in Islam. There were and still are misconceptions that these mud crabs are creatures of 2 worlds but it isn't so. They are not true amphibians. According to our JAKIM website (Malaysia's official religious body) mud crabs cannot live out of water indefinitely, therefore not of 2 worlds, hence not forbidden food.

Edited December 18, 2009 by JustKay (log)

[Edward J]

Uuuhhh, And Bak kut teh? Last time I had it it was pork, like it always has been, not quite Halal...

Does Malaysia recognize "Nonya" cuisine? It is very unique to the area.

Where I think Malaysia should lay claim is to some of the desserts, the kuehs--kueh lapis,etc

[Julian Teoh]

Indeed, Edward J, of course you are correct; I did note that earlier in my post re the pork bones, though I was trying to think of a good reason why you couldn't claim chilli crabs. I did not think that claim would eventually be laid to bak kut teh for the pork content and the fact that some 60+ percent of the population would never get to taste it, though I think it has been added to the list recently?

JustKay, thank you for the correction on the theological point.

[NickLam]

Klang Bak Kut Teh is the best, but saying that Malaysia knows Singaporeans know Malaysian hawker food is better and that its hard to get a bad hawker meal in Malaysia is a bit of statement isn't it? I've had some dodgy meals in Johor and PJ before.

I totally agree that hawker food in Singapore is sliding down to hell, and we really need someone or some group to preserve it and the integrity it once had. Old school chefs reminisced to me about the time they made Mee Reebus by boiling lamb bones for the stock instead of the sweet one dimensional crap they have now. The first thing I will eat upon returning to Singapore will be Hokkien Mee, but shudder at the thought that the few stalls near our flat in CCK are so crap that its not even worth taking the effort to walk a block to it. Having to drive all the way to Geylang, Whampoa or Old Airport Road might be an inconvenience, but worth the trip.

However, if a country's government has to stoop this low to draw Singapore into a fight, its pathetic and betrays the rich cultural and traditional food heritage that Malaysia has.

Instead of trying to fight with Singapore to 'take back' what they think was theirs, why not explore their own backyard for stuff that makes Malaysia unique? I'm sure that somewhere in Malaysia is a killer curry that no one but some villagers have ever tasted. Or is the government gonna go after Thailand to claim Gaeng Masaman as their own?

After all, Singapore does not have the rich history Malaysia has, nor do we have different regions from which distinctive cuisines and dishes can spring forth. This is a rather short-sighted approach that makes it seem like national elections are around the corner, thus a need to stir up national pride.

[Edward J]

I haven't been back to S'pore since 2005, but I did notice a huge change in the hawker food from when I left in the mid 90's.

What I did notice was the appearance of refrigerated display cases for fresh pork and poultry in the wet markets, and the emergence of aircon hawker centers replete with dishwashed dishes and cutlery in such location as Hougang and Ang Mo Kio. Roti was still pretty good, Hiananese chix rice was so-so, but the satatys!! from decent satays to ground (mince) wads of meat on skewers with some kind of a peanut sauce.

But then again, how can you make a buck when you charge Sing.$ 3.5o for chicken rice or mee rebus?

[NickLam]

EdwardJ,

I hear you. It seems like all these 'hygiene' and 'flu' crap is really taking its toll on the quality of the hawker food. But....that is far from the truth, as it is really the passion that has gone from our hawkers, and it is no fault of theirs really. Chicken rice at $3.50.....if they try to raise the price by even 20 cents, Singaporeans start complaining, so its a vicious cycle. Why tediously thread your own satay when you can buy it from the factory in Woodlands? If you've tried the Beef Hor Fun in Geylang recently, it is a shadow of its former self a few years back. Its sad really.

Passion can only go so far if you are not making enough money to justify the long hours in horrible conditions. This is Singapore after all, where its a dog eat dog world and competitive as hell. "Want it cheap and good" is the saying we have, and that scares the hell out of me. Being a cook in a restaurant as compared to some executive is looked down upon (You can never imagine the shame of a secondary school classmate seeing you and saying..."Oh, so now you are a cook".) Can you imagine if you were a hawker? Its fashionable now to be a 'Chef', but that applies only to those with loads of family cash (Yes....I am a tad bitter!).

I feel for the hawkers and hope things can be turned around, but I fear we will lose our street food in the next decade or so and instead be an island of wannabes lusting after the latest high-class restaurant and 'star chef.' Give me Hae Mee over white truffle pasta anyday and I hope to be wrong, but the hawker's days are numbered. On reflection, maybe Malaysia's rant had some reason to it after all....THey smell blood and are coming for the jugular.

If that day comes, I hope that we can all still find great hawker food in Malaysia. We may have that rivalry thing going on, but when it comes to food, who gives a rat's ass if it tastes good.