Why I Love Malay Food, And Why It's Naturally Low in Gluten

Even before I began my unglutening journey, I have always been a big fan of Malay food. So when I found out that I had to cut out gluten from my diet, I was even more pleasantly surprised to learn that the majority of Malay dishes are naturally gluten free or low in gluten. REMPAH IN MALAY FOOD Compared to Chinese food where most dishes are seasoned with soy sauce or oyster sauce (both containing gluten), Malay food on the other hand mainly uses spices or rempah in its cooking. Rempah, is a wet spice blend that forms the backbone of Southeast Asian cooking, especially in the Malay Archipelago. And by understanding the history of wheat in Asia, it is no surprise to know that traditional Southeast Asian diets would be naturally gluten free, as the introduction of wheat and wheat-based products came later from India and China through trade and migration.

There is no one recipe for rempah, as every household would have its own 'secret recipe' for what makes a good rempah. Common ingredients that go into rempah include garlic, shallots, galangal, turmeric, torch ginger flower, lime, curry leaves and of course, chillies. None of these have gluten, thus making most Malay dishes, friendly for a low or no gluten diet.

REMPAH IN NONYA FOOD Having said that, there are some rempah recipes that include ingredients that contain gluten such as soy sauce or fermented soybeans. Such recipes are common in Nonya cuisine and understandably so, as Nonya culture comes from the marrying of Malay and Chinese cultures. Hence, if you do dine at Nonya or Peranakan restaurants, you should ask which dishes use soy sauce, kicap or feremented soybeans, and avoid them if you are unglutening your diet. A quick tip would be to avoid dishes that look dark coloured or brown as those would have used soy sauce in the recipe e.g. babi pongteh, cap chye. The good news is ayam buah keluak is usually gluten free as the black gravy comes from the buah keluak (pangium nut) and not from soy sauce or kicap.

NO OR LOW GLUTEN IN MALAY DIETS

Compared to opening just a bottle of soy sauce, a lot more hard work goes into preparing rempah. This is why Nasi Padang stalls have to charge higher for their dishes as compared to a Cai Fan stall (Chinese mixed rice). It is also the use of rempah that lends the bright colours found in Malay food thanks to the effects of anti-inflammatory spices such as turmeric. The emphasis of using fresh ingredients to make rempah, is another reason why Nasi Padang is generally more expensive than Cai Fan.

Another reason why Malay cuisine is naturally low in gluten or gluten free, is because it features rice as its main staple. Bread and wheat-noodles were only introduced later due to trade and migration.

Overall, traditional Malay cuisine is a great choice if you are looking for a low or no gluten diet.

Low or No Gluten Malay Dishes

• Chicken Curry (Kari Ayam)

• Assam Curry

• Beef Rendang

• Ayam Masak Merah

• Lontong/Sayur Lodeh

• Sambal Sotong

• Sambal Goreng (my favorite!)

• Sambal Eggplant

• Sambal Egg

• Otak

• Bergendil

• Tempeh

• Achar

• Ketupat

May Have Gluten

• Stir-fried bean sprouts or vegetables (following Chinese style)

Definitely Has Gluten

• Mee Rebus

• Mee Soto

• Mee Siam (ask if they use fermented beans in the gravy)

• Ayam/Daging Masak Kicap

• Mee Goreng

• Curry Puff

• Springroll

Although many Malay dishes are naturally gluten-free, they may be high in calories and fat due to the use of oil and coconut milk. My own personal journey in unglutening has shown that eating Malay food in moderation, does not cause weight gain nor bloating. But the same cannot be said when I eat low-calorie food with gluten such as wholemeal bread, or something as 'healthy' as ban mian. I believe that this is due to my body not being able to digest gluten, causing inflammation and metabolic issues, in turn leading to weight gain and chronic pains.

So if you are looking for a good low gluten meal the next time you are out, do consider Nasi Padang and take the curries in moderation.