Malaysian Fermentation Techniques: Traditions And Mixology Adaptations
Malaysian cuisine brings together diverse culinary traditions and cultures whose flavours seep into the curries, noodles, seafood and vegetable dishes that are part of its food practices. And one of the techniques that is most commonly used while preparing Malaysian foods is fermentation. From brining to pickling to shrimp paste fermentation, a lot of different techniques are used in this culinary tradition to build potent flavours into pastes and curry bases.
These fermentation techniques have caught the eye of many contemporary mixologists who have been experimenting with various culinary processes that are practiced in this cuisine to prepare fermented infusions and fermented base ingredients for cocktails. Fermentation methods have a long history in Malaysian cuisine and their translation into mixology is a reflection of the sheer versatility of a technique which can be adapted into an altogether different craft.
Read on below to know more about some age-old Malaysian fermentation practices and how they are incorporated in mixology for blending cocktails and mocktails:
Fish And Shrimp Paste Fermentation
In Mixology: For Building Umami Flavours
This technique involves bringing together brining – or the process of salting foods – with the seafood that is integral to Malaysian cuisine. Different kinds of fish and small shrimp are salted and left to ferment over weeks and months to produce pungent, salty condiments that are used as garnishes in curries or simply as pickles and sides. This technique is now incorporated into mixology such that fermented shrimp paste or fermented krill are often used for introducing umami flavours in drinks like a shrimp cocktail or shrimp infused bloody mary prepared using 30 ml Ciroc Ultra Premium Vodka or any other premium vodka of choice.
Pickled Fruits
In Mixology: As Garnishes And Flavour Infusions
Another culinary technique widely practiced in Malaysian cuisine is pickling fruits like mangoes, kedondong or guavas in a mixture of vinegar and salt. These fruits are generally used to prepare vegetable curries and appetisers like sambal to add their sweet and sour flavours into spicy recipes. In modern mixology, pickled fruits have rather smoothly carved a spot for themselves as aesthetic garnishes and infusion ingredients that build complex tangy and acidic notes into simple tropical highballs prepared using 30 ml Captain Morgan Dark Rum or any other premium rum of choice.
Vegetable Acar Or Spicy Pickle
In Mixology: Spicy And Sour Shrub Bases
Spicy pickles or veggie pickles form an integral element of Malaysian cuisine and are often used to build a lot of flavour complexity in veggie curries and seafood dishes. Vegetable acar is commonly used in mixology as a spicy-sour shrub base prepared to infuse savoury flavour twists in classic cocktails like a gin and tonic crafted using 30 ml Tanqueray No. 10 Gin or any other premium gin of choice.
Tapai
In Mixology: Syrups And Sweeteners
Tapai, which essentially refers to fermented rice or tapioca, are glutinous rice balls prepared by allowing cassava or sticky rice to ferment with yeast until it turns into a sweet offering. Tapai has found its way into contemporary mixology as a sweet and slightly chewy ingredient added to tropical punches in the form of a syrup. Tapai is often incorporated in the making of flavoured spritzers crafted using 15 ml club soda and 30 ml Ketel One Premium Distilled Vodka or any other premium vodka of choice.
Roselle Fermentation
In Mixology: Floral Kombuchas And Tea Sours
Roselle fermentation essentially refers to a floral fermentation technique that is used to infuse the flavours of the hibiscus flower in different blends. Generally, roselle is incorporated in the preparation of kombuchas and tea sours to add a floral elegance into these blends. A simple gin fizz infused with this floral touch can also be prepared using 30 ml Gordon’s Original London Dry Gin or any other premium gin of choice and about 15 ml tonic water along with a splash of roselle syrup.
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