Exotic Foodstuff @ Malaya

 Rice Paper

Edible rice paper ( bánh tráng ) is used for making fresh salad rolls or fried spring rolls in Vietnamese cuisine.  Ingredients of the food rice paper include white rice flour, tapioca flour, salt, and water. The tapioca powder makes the rice paper glutinous and smooth. It is usually sold dried in thin, crisp, translucent round sheets that are wrapped in cellophane. The sheets are dipped briefly in hot water to soften them, then wrapped around savoury or sweet ingredients.

Pappad

Pappad is a  thin, crisp, round flatbread from India.  It is typically served as an accompaniment to a meal or as an appetizer or snack, sometimes with toppings such as chutneys.

Pappad can be prepared from different ingredients, such as lentils, checkpeas, black gram, rice, flour etc, flavoured with black pepper, chili powder, asafetida, cumin powder.  The mixture is kneaded with salt and vegetable, then flattened into very thin rounds, and dried for later preparation and consumption.

Asam Jawa

 

Asam Jawa is the fleshy, acidic pulp of Tamarind fruit.

Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) is a leguminous tree (family Fabaceae) bearing edible fruit that is indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus Tamarindus is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species.  Yet, Tamarind has been cultivated in the Indian subcontinent for so long that it is sometimes reported to be indigenous there.

Asam Jawa has many culinary uses including as flavoring for curry, acar, sources, picking agent etc.  Sweeter matured Tamarind can be consumed fresh, or made into syrup drink.

Belacan

 

Belacan, a Malay variety of shrimp paste, is prepared from small shrimp from the Acetes species, known as geragau in Malaysia. In Malaysia, normally the krill are steamed first and after that are mashed into a paste and stored for several months. The fermented shrimp are then prepared, fried and hard-pressed into cakes. 

Belacan is used as an ingredient in many dishes. A common preparation is sambal belacan, made by mixing toasted belacan with chilli peppers, minced garlic, shallot paste and sugar and then fried. Sometimes it is toasted to bring out the flavour, usually creating a strong, distinctive odour.

Kerisik

Kerisik is grated, toasted, and grounded coconut.  It is used in Indonesian, Malaysian and Singaporean cooking, such as kerabu and rending.  Although it is common in Malesia region, it should be almost impossible to be found outside the region.

Omum Water

Omum water is made with the distilled oil of the ajwain herb, known as Trachyspermum ammi.  It is well-known digestive aid in Ayurvedic medicine.  

Ajwain  is mainly cultivated in Iran and India.   Both the leaves and the seeds-like fruits are consumed by humans.  Ajwain's small, oval-shaped, seed-like fruits are pale brown schizocarps, which in appearance and taste resemble the seeds of other plants in the family Apiaceae such as caraway, cumin and fennel. 

The fruits are commonly used in Indian cuisine.  it is also sold as a dietary supplement n capsules, liquids or powders.

Covid-19 Man Shopping - Petola

Petola may refer to Petola Segi ( Luffa acutangula ) , Petola Bantal ( Luffa cylindrical )  or Petola Ular ( Trichosanthes cucumerina ).

As the botanical names suggested, Petola Segi & Bantal are not of the same Genus with Petola Ular although they are of the same Family.  After skinned and cooked, they may looks similar, but the taste and texture are definitely different.  

Petola Segi & Bantal tends to be fibrous as they grew older.  In the end, the dried fibrous Petola is used as kitchen or bath scrub.

Petola Segi

Luffa acutangula

 

Petola Ular

Trichosanthes cucumeria

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PLU Codes

PLU ( Price Look Up ) codes have been used by supermarkets since 1990 to make check-out and inventory control easier, faster and more accurate.

IFPS  (International Federation for Produce Standards ) is the global organization that assigns PLU codes to produce items.

The PLU number identifies produce items based upon various attributes which can include the commodity, variety, growing methodology (eorganic or GMO), and the size.

The 4- and 5- digit PLU Codes for produce are randomly assigned within a series of numbers within the 3000, 4000, 83000 and 84000 series.  The prefix of '9' would be placed in front of the 4-digit conventionally grown code for organic produce.

The codes are not intended to convey information to consumers. They are simply business tools for accurate price rings at the cash register, inventory control and category management.

Currently, there are over 1,450  PLU codes​ assigned for fresh produces.

E number

E numbers are codes for substances used as food additives for use within the European Union and European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

Commonly found on food labels, their safety assessment and approval are the responsibility of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

Outside the European continent plus Russia, E numbers are also used in the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Israel.

E number range	Subranges	Description
100–199 Colours	100–109	yellows
	110–119	oranges
	120–129	reds
	130–139	blues and violets
	140–149	greens
	150–159	browns and blacks
	160–199	gold and others
200–299 Preservatives	200–209	sorbates
	210–219	benzoates
	220–229	sulfites
	230–239	phenols and formates (methanoates)
	240–259	nitrates
	260–269	acetates (ethanoates)
	270–279	lactates
	280–289	propionates (propanoates)
	290–299	others
300–399 Antioxidants  and  acidity regulators	300–305	ascorbates (vitamin C)
	306–309	Tocopherol (vitamin E)
	310–319	gallates and erythorbates
	320–329	lactates
	330–339	citrates and tartrates
	340–349	phosphates
	350–359	malates and adipates
	360–369	succinates and fumarates
	370–399	others
400–499 Thickeners, stabilisers  and  emulsifiers	400–409	alginates
	410–419	natural gums
	420–429	other natural agents
	430–439	polyoxyethene compounds
	440–449	natural emulsifiers
	450–459	phosphates
	460–469	cellulose compounds
	470–489	fatty acids and compounds
	490–499	others
500–599 pH regulators  and  anti-caking agents	500–509	mineral acids and bases
	510–519	chlorides and sulfates
	520–529	sulfates and hydroxides
	530–549	alkali metal compounds
	550–559	silicates
	570–579	stearates and gluconates
	580–599	others
600–699 Flavour enhancers	620–629	glutamates and guanylates
	630–639	inosinates
	640–649	others
700–799 Antibiotics	700–713
900–999 Glazing agents, gases and  sweeteners	900–909	waxes
	910–919	synthetic glazes
	920–929	improving agents
	930–949	packaging gases
	950–969	sweeteners
	990–999	foaming agents
1100–1599 Additional additives	1100–1599	New chemicals that do not fall into standard classification schemes