To the uneducated traveler, Malaysia’s vast gastronomic tapestry can seem overwhelming and even intimidating. There are so many things we want to eat, but paradoxically, choosing what to eat becomes even more difficult, especially if we don’t really understand what we’re eating to begin with.
In the new TV series ‘Malaysian Gourmet with Justin Schofield’, Australian food personality Justin Schofield unveils local cuisine as he eats his way through Malaysia, giving gourmets around the world an in-depth insight into local cuisine. Let’s tackle this difficult problem. She also works to demystify local food for foodies around the world who want to try local cuisine.
“I think it’s really good to travel to places where you don’t know much about the cuisine and learn about it, because a lot of tourists go in with their eyes closed and then their eyes open wide.
“I think I wanted to be the eye of a tourist visiting Malaysia for the first time and trying all the main dishes we know, like nasi lemak, laksa, char kway teow, rendang, and really experiencing those things. and really understanding how delicious it is and what’s involved in actually making these very unique dishes in Malaysia,” Schofield said in an exclusive Zoom interview.
passion for food
In many ways, Schofield is the perfect candidate for the job of international food ambassador, given that she is a passionate foodie herself. A former MasterChef Australia contestant (fourth place in the show’s first season), Schofield cemented his status as a successful celebrity chef Down Under on Justin Schofield’s long-running show Everyday Gourmet. I’ve done it. Air for 14 years.
Mr Schofield worked with a number of local culinary experts, including Penang cookbook author Parley Kee (pictured). — Malaysian Gourmet
It was this show and its multiple spin-offs that formed the core of the idea for Malaysian Gourmet.
“Probably about 10 years ago, we decided to start doing a spin-off of Everyday Gourmet, and we decided to go out of the studio and take the show to the world. I’ve been to places, I’ve been to Japan, of course I’ve explored a lot of Australia, and I recently went to France.
“So when we were considering the next place to have a strong influence in the world of food, Malaysia was on the list. Because there’s a strong tapestry of cultures. When you put all this together, I was really interested in that.
“And who doesn’t love laksa and nasi lemak and satay? It’s a classic favorite, but we wanted to take it a step further and learn more about it. That’s when we started making it happen.” she says.
Mr Schofield had visited Malaysia 20 years ago, but his first trip was on a specialized sail fishing expedition, so he never really had the chance to properly see and taste what the country had to offer. She says she couldn’t do it.
“On a big fishing trip on the east coast of Malaysia, we did sail fishing, which is very popular locally.Of course it was catch and release as it is a sacred fish, but at night we also caught squid and other types of fish. I caught it and took it to a local restaurant to have it cooked. And for me, there’s no better authentic travel experience.
“Being able to return to Malaysia 20 years later and explore it more in a different way was a very unforgettable journey, especially as I love food so much, it was a culinary journey. ” she says.
Filming took place over 15 days and traveled to Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Terengganu and Borneo. Part of the show’s appeal is that Schofield goes from eating street food favorites to talking to local culinary masters like cookbook author Parley Kee, and even knee-deep in the trenches cooking. It’s about completely immersing yourself in all the culinary experiences involved, even down to recreating some of them. She eats local food herself, albeit with her own twists.
As for filming, Schofield says everything went very smoothly. Even the 10 domestic flights I had to take all arrived on time and not a single flight was delayed. The only slight hiccup was when I had to think of English words for ingredients with colloquial names.
Schofield said she didn’t have much difficulty putting the show together, except when she needed to translate ingredients such as manikai (sayur manis) and the interpreter didn’t know how to explain it to her. said.
“Everyone speaks English, but it was sometimes a little difficult trying to understand what certain vegetables were and how to cook them. There was a vegetable called manikai (sayur manis).
“It’s a very green leaf that withers, so you can especially add it to soups and stir-fries. So one interpreter said this, and the other said something else. So I… I thought, “What?”
“I think it was the first episode where I actually cooked this, and it was delicious.Of course, as a chef, you want to put your own spin on something you haven’t used before, so I scrambled it.” I made it with eggs, but I still don’t know if I was right.
“But that’s pretty much the only challenge. And by the way, you get that no matter where you travel, that’s the beauty of travel and that sometimes gets lost in translation,” she said. I say.
food
Throughout the show, Schofield sampled a variety of delicious local dishes, from char kway teow to nasi lemak, roti canai and popiah. She said she literally went into making the show knowing nothing about the vast amount of food on offer in this country and had only a passing knowledge of what Malaysian cuisine was.
“There are a lot of laksas here in Sydney and in Australia, but being able to actually go behind the scenes and learn how to make them from scratch was quite an eye-opener. It’s not as easy as opening a bag and pouring boiling water on it.
One thing that surprised Schofield was the variety of laksa that existed locally. The photo shows laksa from Sarawak. — Malaysian Gourmet
“And I learned that not all laksa is equal, and that different regions do very different laksas: some are creamier, some are not, some are more sour, some use a certain lemon-lime, Some are not used.
“And I had the best rendang of my life in Penang, made by a guy named Talina who cooked in a tropical spice garden, and it takes forever to make because you have to toast the coconut and boil it slowly. I think I ate too much and felt sick afterwards!
“Then I realized that there are so many layers and efforts involved in creating so many of the great Malaysian dishes that we all know and love,” she says.
Schofield also collaborated with local culinary experts and chefs to share tips, tricks, and recipes. But brave Schofield has come up with many recipes of her own, inspired by everything she learned during her trip to Malaysia. Discover her take on chicken rice, sticky wings, sambal calamari, and even crudités with curry mayonnaise.
“I’m not an expert on Malaysian food – in fact, I’m far from an expert on Malaysian food – but that’s why I’m so glad I went to learn. It was my job to learn about Malaysian food. I… I took what I know, used my cooking skills and techniques, and injected a lot of Malaysian flavors and ingredients into it.
While some of the recipes featured on the show, such as char kway teow, are from culinary experts, Schofield also contributed many recipes that put her own spin on classic dishes.
“For example, I made honey soy chicken, but I gave it a Malaysian twist and added sambal and different ingredients. And I made a quick chicken rice that usually takes a long time to make. Ta.
“And I come from a French background, so I like to put a little twist on things and do things a little bit differently. So when I made calamari sambal, I actually cooked calamari the French way. I did, but I made my own sambal using belacan, local chili peppers and lime.
“And some of the locals were trying it and they were like, ‘Wow, the calamari is so tender!'” That means using Malaysian ingredients and using French techniques. “It was cooked in a bowl,” she said with a laugh.
Is it another season?
One of the challenges of introducing, marketing and talking about Malaysian cuisine to people who are unfamiliar with Malaysia is that Malaysian cuisine is so diverse and multi-layered, incorporating so many different influences. It’s about being there. One of the challenges is that on a global scale, this concept is completely unknown and very difficult to summarize or explain. I mean, it’s hard to get people to know this, let alone understand it, unless you actually understand it. Come here and experience it for yourself. This is exactly what Schofield is aiming for with Malaysian Gourmet.
“I mean, even after everything I’ve been through in Malaysia, I feel like I’m even more confused because Malaysia is a place where people come from different regions and have their own histories. There’s not just Malay influences, but Chinese and Indian influences, and indigenous flavors, and sometimes it’s all intertwined. So I think it’s going to take years to understand that history. It’s an amazing place.
Will she make another season focused on Malaysian food? Schofield says she really wants to do that.
“I love the rich tapestry that makes up Malaysian cuisine. It’s not just one thing, it’s all of them. I guess that’s life, right? When food comes together, people come together.
“So if people who are thinking of going to Malaysia but haven’t been able to actually book a ticket and see the show actually book a ticket after the show, my job is done and that’s it.” “I think that’s going to be the most exciting thing for me,” she says.
Given that Schofield only had a few days to explore the diversity of Malaysian cuisine, she says the possibility of another season of the show is definitely something she welcomes.
“Well, I think I can do 10 more chapters! I want to go back to some places and learn more, so I want to go back to Malaysia and do part 2. And there are still so many places to explore and things to eat. ” she says with a laugh.
Justin Schofield’s Malaysian Gourmet will premiere on Monday 19th August at 7.30pm on BBC Lifestyle, UnifiTV Channel 512 and Astro Channel 717.
