Recipes from Kedah

Some great recipes from the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia.

Here's our Simple Ayam Rendang Kedah:

Ingredients
I whole chicken
1 ½ cups santan or coconut milk (freshly extracted from grounded coconut / prepare from 1 cup coconut cream)
1 cup desiccated coconut
3 leaves of limau perut or kafir lime
2 tumeric leaves
2 star anise bunga lawang
5 cloves or bunga cengeh
2 cinnamon stick or kayu manis
5 cardamoms or buah pelaga
2 tbsp brown sugar or gula melaka/merah
Salt to taste

Grounded ingredients:
- 100 gm dried chilies
- 10 shallots
- 10 cm piece lengkuas or blue ginger
- 5 cm piece ginger
- 3 cm piece kunyit or turmeric
- 5 serai or lemon grass

Method
Cut the chicken to bite pieces.
Grind or blend the chilies, shallot, lengkuas, ginger, turmeric and lemon grass with a little water.
Heat oil in a wok/pan/pot. Add the grounded ingredients, star anise, cloves, cinnamon stick and cardamom and fry unit fragrant and the oil surfaces.
Put in the chicken pieces and mix well in the pot. Cook with the lid partially close for about 15-20 minutes. Pour in the coconut milk, kafir lime leaves and turmeric leaves.
Lower the heat and add in the desiccated coconut, sugar and salt to taste and cook for another 5-10 minutes. Ensure that the chicken is cooked and remove the rending from heat.

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Bujang Valley Archaeological Site

Not many visitors from outside Kedah, even Malaysian, have visited this part of Kedah, which is the site of the largest archeological findings in Malaysia. It is located near the town of Merbok, Kedah, about 15 minutes drive from Sungai Petani, Kedah.

The Bujang Valley (Lembah Bujang) is an archaeological area that was an area which is the site of an ancient Hindu-Buddhist kingdom that ruled the region from the 4th century AD.

Over 50 Hindu and Buddhist temples or chandis (or candi) have been excavated from various sites in the valley. Artefacts and relics found at various sites, dating back to the 4th century, includes pottery shards, stone statues of Hindu icons, inscribed stone tablets, Song and Ming Dynasties ceramic wares, etc are on diplay at a museum located here. Some of the chandi have been relocated to the museum area.

This is certainly one place every historian studying about South East Asia should visit.

Read more about about the Bujang Valley here

Tropical fruits of Kedah

Its the start of the fruit season in Malaysia. Its the best time to enjoy many of the tropical fruits - rambutan, langsat, dukong, durians, mango, etc. Kedah is a fruit growing state with fruits orchard scattered in the north, south and east of the state. Baling is onf of the major fruit growing district in Kedah. For those travelling through Kedah (and Langkawi) be sure to enjoy the many exotic tropical fruits of the state.
You can buy cheap local fruits at pasar tani (farmer's market) or at stalls just along the roadside in many towns in Kedah.

If you are preparing to visit Langkawi, which is in Kedah, be sure to book your vacation early, especially if you are travelling around the school holidays of Malaysia and Singapore (check calendar of 2008 holidays here). This is the time when many locals travel or take their holidays.
Enjoy your stay during the months of May - August sampling some of these local fruits:

• Cempedak is oval in shape and contains many seed covered with a rich flesh. It is eaten fresh or deep-fried with batter.
• Durian is an exotic football-sized thorny fruit, also known as the ‘king of fruits’
• Jackfruit or nangka contains many seeds covered with bright yellow and fragrant flesh.
• Langsat and dokong are marble-sized with a yellowish skin.
• Mangoes are commonly grown in Malaysian gardens.
• Mangosteen is about the size of a tennis ball and dark purple when ripe.
• Rambutan (nephelium lappaceumare) is red and hairy, the size of a ping-pong ball.The fruit inside is white and very sweet when ripe.
• Sapodilla or ciku (manilkara zapota) looks like the kiwi fruit on the outside but the inside is brownish, soft and sweet

Learn more about Malaysian food here.

Your help is needed

We appeals to all readers to response to requests for support to assist victims of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar. Go to websites such as:

• Red Crescent Malaysia
• mercy.org.my
• or your country's charity organisations

from myMalaysiabooks

Shopping in Malaysia

Traveller will find Malaysia one of the best places to shop in Asia. You can find many good quality merchandise and food reasonably priced. If you are thinging of getting what is typically Malaysian, shop for:

• Malaysian crafts and textiles such as batik and songket (weaved cloth)
• Local dry food such as keropok (local chips), belacan (shrimp paste), local biscuits
• Local fruits such as rambutan, durians, dukong, mangos
• Crafted items such as pewter, ceramic wares, weaved product
• ...learn more at Shopping in Malaysia

To shop online for local crafts, books, gagets, etc. check out my select online stores