One of the best things about visiting a new country is trying new foods.  Whether it is brand new ingredients or new combinations, I like to use my sense of taste to get to know another culture.  Part of my preparation for the upcoming Malaysia trip is to try a few Malaysian recipes.

I think that it can be difficult to try cooking a new cuisine because some of the ingredients might be unfamiliar or difficult to find.  To get around this problem, I selected The Malaysian Kitchen as my guide because the ingredient lists have been adapted to a North American context.  After you identify a few key ingredients, the rest you should be able to find at any well stocked grocery store.

Back when it was still cold outside, I started with simple Malaysian chicken soup, which turned out not to be so simple.  It required me to refer to another recipe to make the soup base made from garlic, cilantro and ginger. After grinding these ingredients together in the food processor, the wonderful smell made me forget my annoyance at the extra step.  The rest of the recipe truly was simple, and in short order I knew that I would never go back to my old chicken soup recipe.

Other recipes were great excuses to get out my wok.  I tried a few different fried rice recipes, with pineapple cashew fried rice being my favorite.  One thing that I’m really going to watch for in Malaysia is the technique for adding the eggs to the fried rice.  At what point do they stir and incorporate them into the rice?  At least I know in advance a technique I want to learn more about!

One thing that I know a lot of folks are worried about is the spiciness of the food.  Both Daniel and I have a pretty high tolerance for spice, so we aren’t too worried about it.  The good thing is that when you’re cooking for yourself you get to control the spice level.  Tonight I made another version of nasi goreng, or fried rice.  I added two whole serrano peppers (seeds included), but to our taste buds we couldn’t taste even a hint of spice.

While it is fun to taste new things, cooking is a way of bonding with new people.  In many places the kitchen is still women’s territory, and I’ve found working on a shared task is a great way to fit in.  Even if I can’t understand the chatter of the women around me, it usually isn’t hard to mimic their actions or understand their motions.  If nothing else, everyone gets a good laugh out of watching the newcomer stumble while trying something that comes so easily to them.  I can’t wait to get in the kitchen and pick up a few tips!