Australian Gourmet Traveller - (02)February 2021 (1)

JIUHUCHAR

Malaysia

JiuhucharmeansfriedcuttlefishinHokkien,but

thisis a stir-frydishfeaturingbothcuttlefishand

jicama.It is a staplefoodformanyChinesefestivals

inMalaysia,includingLunarNewYear.Whenthe

Chinesecommunitysettledin Malaysiacenturiesago,

particularlynorthMalaysia,theyaddedlocalflavours

tojiuhucharsuchasdriedshrimporfermented

shrimp(sambalbelacan).It is usuallyeatenwithrice

orasa wrapwithiceberglettuce.Dishesservedwith

lettuce(sangchoi)arepopularduringLunarNewYear

becausesangchoimeans“toprosper”inCantonese.

Inrecenttimes,familieshavestartedaddingshiitake

mushroomsorporkbellytothedish,sothat it

becomes a crunchy, standalone dish.

NIANGAO

Malaysia,Indonesia,Philippines

Niangaotranslatesto“yearcake”fromMandarinandhasoriginsinFujianand

Guangdong.It is a sticky,steamed,glutinousricecakewithpalmsugarandserved

duringLunarNewYearinIndonesia,MalaysiaandthePhilippines.A commonlegend

is thatfamiliesserveniangaoasanofferingtotheKitchenGodwhowillprovide

a yearlyreportofthefamilytotheJadeEmperor.Sincethedishis sticky,theyhope

it willclamphismouthshutsohecannotbadmouththefamily.Variationsofniangao

canbefoundthroughoutSoutheastAsia,asthedishhasbeenadaptedtolocaltastes

andrenamed.InthePhilippines,it is knownastikoy;inMalaysia,kuekeranjang.

Findit:Niangaois availableasa seasonalproductatTangFoodEmporium, 185

Russell St, Melbourne, or Miracle Supermarkets, at various locations in Sydney.

BAK KWA

Malaysia,Singapore

Bakkwastartedoutasa preservationtechniquefor

leftovermeatintheFujianprovinceonthesouth-east

coastofChina.It is oftencalledporkjerkyinEnglish,

whichis notentirelyaccurate.Jerkyis dehydratedmeat

whilebakkwais a sweeter,air-driedorbarbecued

meat(usuallypork).Bakkwahasa distinctchewy

textureandthescaleofchewinessdependson

whetherit is madewiththinslicesofmeat(crunchy

andchewy)ormincedmeat(smoothandchewy).

WhenChineseimmigrantsbroughtbakkwato

MalaysiaandSingapore,theyuseda charcoal

barbecue,whichgaveit a smokierfinish.It is now

a typicalLunarNewYearsnackinthesecountries,

whichis a throwback to when meat used tobe

anannualluxury.

Findit:Bakkwais soldatOloiya, 188 VictoriaSt,

Richmond,Vic,oratSingaporeFamousBBQPork,

Prince Trade Centre, 8 Quay St, Haymarket, NSW.

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70 GOURMET TRAVELLER