Malaysia’s Date Delicacies

 

If you’re fortunate enough to reside somewhere that enjoys an above average climate year round, you must visit Malaysia. Malaysia is amongst the world’s biggest suppliers of dates, particularly durian, persimmons and mangoes are second nature to them as well. They especially like the oily variety of dates. You can also find a wide variety of fruits in Malaysia, and all these varieties are equally popular here as they are in Singapore.

Durian dates fruit is popular all over the country. You’ll find it on the shelves of local markets all over Kuala Lumpur as well as other local markets around the country. It’s not uncommon to be able to pick some at your own front door when you visit a market. If you like a spicy taste, then this could be the choice for you. The locals here love it when they get to taste a bit of this sweet from time to time and enjoy its delicious dessert as well.

Fruits that we commonly find in the local markets of Kuala Lumpur includes Petas Malay (which is sometimes known as Indian Petas), Date Palm and Papaya. The other popular dessert we often find is the creamy coconut ice-cream which has been enjoyed all across the tropics. The locals here serve it with plain or peanut sauce. These tropical fruits make great desserts, and are always available in the local markets where you can get them freshly picked from the farms.

Malaysia is also the home of some of the most popular tropical fruit varieties that we find in our local markets here. These include mango and the ever popular sweet pea, Prawn ari and Chicken peas with rice. All these delicious desserts and tropical fruits are part of the local culture here, and there are hundreds of restaurants where you can easily get them if you are not living or staying in some of the major cities of Malaysia.

Although Malaysia is mainly known for its Delicious Coconut Choc Chip Cookies, but the local people in this country do serve other varieties as well. So if you are looking for something different from the usual choc chip cookies, these are one of your best options. However, if you want to be adventurous, why not try the kuek and satay? It is not uncommon to come across pork and chicken satay in Malaysia, which is made using a mix of spices including lemongrass, ginger and garlic, which gives it the spicy taste we normally associate with the country’s national dish – Charangi. These two delicacies are another reason why you must try out Malaysia’s exotic flavors.

The best way to sample all these delicious tropical delights is to head to some of Malaysia’s more rural areas, where you will easily find plenty of Date Fruit plantations. If you visit East Malaysia, for example, you can find Date Palm trees lining the coastal area and producing thousands of branches of Date fruit every year. East Malaysia is also a great place to explore the local culture, as most residents enjoy eating traditional tropical fruits like the petunias and the papaya, especially when they are made using ripe, plump dates that have been cooked in their own skin. You can also try out the variety of sticky-sweet Malay dishes, like maggi, which is made from a mixture of condensed milk and cooked dates.

The most popular dessert in Malaysia, however, is Laksa. With its heavy coconut flavor, this sweet, milky dessert is extremely popular among young and old alike. Laksa is a dish prepared using a combination of curry powder and thinned coconut milk, and can either be eaten as is or given as a dessert. Although there are a lot of people who prefer to have Laksa as dessert, many others enjoy making it themselves, adding a little sweetness and complexity to the recipe by using date syrup, vanilla essence, sugar, cinnamon stick and various other spices. With a little practice, you can come up with your own Laksa-esque concoction, using ingredients that you may already have in your kitchen.

With growing dates fruit Malaysia, the variety available in your local market will surely surprise you. And what’s better than sampling something different every time? So whether you’re craving for something sweet and fruity on a Sunday morning or need a pick-me-up in the middle of the day, a sweet and sour mix of Malay food is the answer. It has no calories and packs a punch of nutrition with just the right amount of sweeteners. What’s more is that this variety of tropical fruit is easy to grow in your own backyard, without having to wait for the farmer to ship it around.