0:00:31 > 0:00:38I started my journey in Cambodia, a country bought to its knees by the Khmer Rouge in the '70s,
0:00:38 > 0:00:42but like the whole of South-East Asia, it ain't down for long,
0:00:42 > 0:00:44and I felt a sense of resurgence in the air.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48But I was here for the food that I found very simple
0:00:48 > 0:00:52and amazingly fresh tasting, and not nearly as hot as I'd expected.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55And there were masses of freshwater fish and prawns
0:00:55 > 0:01:00from the great lake and provider, the Tonle Sap.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05I went by barge down the Mekong River to Vietnam
0:01:05 > 0:01:09and here I found the food to be chock-full of fresh herbs,
0:01:09 > 0:01:12mainly water plants and thin light stocks -
0:01:12 > 0:01:15in fact, the sort of food where if I'd stayed a long time,
0:01:15 > 0:01:18I could have lost stacks of weight.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21That's everything I expect of Vietnam,
0:01:21 > 0:01:25I mean everything there had to be growing this morning.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27It's just a delight to the eye,
0:01:27 > 0:01:30or a delight to a cook's eye, I have to say.
0:01:30 > 0:01:34Then onto Thailand and I was knocked out by the night markets of Bangkok,
0:01:34 > 0:01:37especially making the famous pad Thai,
0:01:37 > 0:01:41and watching the local ladies make the fiery tom yung goong.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44The thing that really is impressing me
0:01:44 > 0:01:47is how much of everything is in there - 25 chillies for a start,
0:01:47 > 0:01:53probably a kilo of prawns, masses of mushrooms, loads of tomatoes, five limes.
0:01:53 > 0:01:57And this is just bang, bang, bang. And that's why when you taste it,
0:01:57 > 0:02:00it's got such a great, deep flavour.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03But now I'm in Malaysia,
0:02:03 > 0:02:07a place that conjures up images of sailing ships
0:02:07 > 0:02:11queuing to take on cargo of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves,
0:02:11 > 0:02:14and of British fading imperialism.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21This is the island of Penang in the north-west of the country,
0:02:21 > 0:02:24once a British stronghold called Prince of Wales Island.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28Those were the days when fortunes where made
0:02:28 > 0:02:30out of spice-trading and mining.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32It's a good place to explore
0:02:32 > 0:02:35the multi-faceted cuisine of the country.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38Good morning, sir, welcome to the Eastern and Oriental Hotel.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40'The Eastern and Oriental Hotel
0:02:40 > 0:02:45'is one of the most famous in the Far East, and a forerunner of Raffles in Singapore.'
0:02:45 > 0:02:50I love these old hotels where they say they're proud to have welcomed
0:02:50 > 0:02:53various people - Rita Hayworth, Orson Welles,
0:02:53 > 0:02:58Noel Coward, Rudyard Kipling, Joseph Conran and Charlie Chaplin,
0:02:58 > 0:03:03who, incidentally, entered a Charlie Chaplin look-alike competition
0:03:03 > 0:03:05in Illinois, and came in third.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10It was Somerset Maugham who said
0:03:10 > 0:03:15to eat well in England, you should have breakfast three times a day.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18But I think he stayed here a lot and I think he would have
0:03:18 > 0:03:22probably felt that breakfast in Malaysia is a pretty good thing too,
0:03:22 > 0:03:25simply because, like everything in Malaysia,
0:03:25 > 0:03:28it's a sort of mixture of so many different cultures.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32Here we've got Chinese vegetables in a sort of soup,
0:03:32 > 0:03:37but perhaps the most famous dish of all in Malaysia is nasi lemak,
0:03:37 > 0:03:42which is rice, but it's cooked with coconut milk and screwpine leaf,
0:03:42 > 0:03:45which gives it a wonderful aromatic flavour.
0:03:47 > 0:03:52And with a nasi lemak, you have a curry, maybe a prawn curry
0:03:52 > 0:03:55or if you prefer it, a chicken curry.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01And then the thing that I really like
0:04:01 > 0:04:04are all the little bits you put on top of that,
0:04:04 > 0:04:08particularly some salted anchovies, some boiled eggs
0:04:08 > 0:04:09and a shrimp and anchovy sauce.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13And over there you've got all the European stuff, and Indian.
0:04:13 > 0:04:18So you can sort of have anything you like, from the four corners of the world almost.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21'Well, that's if you're not in a film crew
0:04:21 > 0:04:26'who sadly make a beeline for the baked beans and hash browns.'
0:04:26 > 0:04:27But the Straits of Malacca
0:04:27 > 0:04:30was once the busiest shipping channel in the world,
0:04:30 > 0:04:33and a magnet for pirates,
0:04:33 > 0:04:38raiding ships that came from far-flung places laden with tea, spices, silk and porcelain.
0:04:38 > 0:04:44I found Penang to be a really interesting place to sample the food of Malaysia.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48It developed here years ago when trade was at its peak -
0:04:48 > 0:04:52a mixture of indigenous Malay, Chinese and southern India,
0:04:52 > 0:04:56and maybe the odd cucumber sandwich.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59For breakfast number two this morning, I'm having a roti canai -
0:04:59 > 0:05:02this is an Indian dish, or Indian Malay dish,
0:05:02 > 0:05:04but another example
0:05:04 > 0:05:08of the enormous difference of food that you can get in Penang -
0:05:08 > 0:05:11it's lovely, it's really spicy.
0:05:11 > 0:05:16It's actually just a hot curry with dhal in it, lots of lentils in it,
0:05:16 > 0:05:18very hot, and a roti which is,
0:05:18 > 0:05:21that wonderful thin bread, that you've probably seen,
0:05:21 > 0:05:25they just do like that, straight on.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28Just watching them preparing my roti canai just now,
0:05:28 > 0:05:30and they're so quick. It's like...
0:05:30 > 0:05:32and it's done.
0:05:36 > 0:05:42And this, well, this is hot, sweet tea, sweetened with condensed milk.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45Brought here by the British.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49'Breakfast number two over, now let me introduce you to Laurence -
0:05:49 > 0:05:52'he was my guide here who turned up with a minibus.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56'I later found out he was the boss of one of the biggest travel companies in the area.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58'He brought me here to China Street,
0:05:58 > 0:06:01'one of the oldest parts of Georgetown.'
0:06:01 > 0:06:04And look at this, this is not a spill over,
0:06:04 > 0:06:09this is actually something very superstitious for the Indian people -
0:06:09 > 0:06:11it's yellow turmeric, and this is,
0:06:11 > 0:06:14you know, done every morning after prayers.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17- Wow.- To bring the shop good luck, good business.- Great!
0:06:17 > 0:06:24Years ago I remember Keith Floyd saying, "If only TV cameras could capture smell."
0:06:24 > 0:06:28Well, this would be the ultimate intense aromatic experience.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31They're grinding chilli on these really old machines
0:06:31 > 0:06:34left over from the days when the British ruled here.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37I could have walked in here 60 years ago and heard the same sound,
0:06:37 > 0:06:41with my throat tingling with the amount of chilli powder in the air.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44I can't stop coughing.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46The powder is very...strong.
0:06:46 > 0:06:47Oh, sorry!
0:06:47 > 0:06:50I'm allergic to it as well.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55Mutton curry powder.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57Mutton curry powder, fantastic, yeah.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00Oh, that is so nice, lots of fennel in that.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04Yeah. For each curry, meat, fish, we have to use different spices,
0:07:04 > 0:07:05different powder.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08Oh, this is turmeric.
0:07:08 > 0:07:09Not turmeric, yellow ginger.
0:07:09 > 0:07:11Yeah, yellow...
0:07:11 > 0:07:14- We have turmeric here. - Such good quality. - Very good quality.
0:07:14 > 0:07:20- Really, really special. - And this has actually good cancer-curing ingredients.- Really?
0:07:20 > 0:07:24Yep, so we find the latest science discovery.
0:07:24 > 0:07:29The people taking turmeric, ladies, they get lesser chance of having breast cancer.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33- Good Lord!- Yeah, it prevents the cancer from spreading to the lungs -
0:07:33 > 0:07:35that is turmeric, yellow ginger.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37'I think with my two curries that morning,
0:07:37 > 0:07:39'I'd had my daily dose of turmeric,
0:07:39 > 0:07:42'a spice that scientists are really taking seriously.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47'This was the Indian part of Georgetown,
0:07:47 > 0:07:50'full of hi-fi systems, jewellery and sari shops.
0:07:50 > 0:07:55'And all the time I was there, even though I'd had two breakfasts,
0:07:55 > 0:08:00'the smell in the air from the many spice shops made me ravenous.'
0:08:00 > 0:08:01Oh, these are all spice shops.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04All spice shops, import and export of spices.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06- Can we go in?- Yeah, yeah.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10- Oh, I just love the smell that's coming up, it's just like being in India!- Oh, yes, yes.
0:08:10 > 0:08:14- Yes. Everything here is fresh.- What's those tiny little seeds there, then?
0:08:14 > 0:08:19Oh, this, yeah, this is called cas cas. Or the English name is poppy seed.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21Oh, white poppy seeds.
0:08:21 > 0:08:26- So this is actually something that is most important when you want to make curry.- Really.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29It makes the curry very addictive.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33- Addictive?- Yes, after you eat with this then you come back again for it.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35It really whets your appetite.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37You need this as well, yeah?
0:08:37 > 0:08:40- Fennel seeds.- Yeah, fennel.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42Fennel, very popular in...
0:08:42 > 0:08:43Yeah, and this is...
0:08:43 > 0:08:48- Cloves.- Cloves, yeah. And the British actually brought them here
0:08:48 > 0:08:50- from the Moluccas Islands.- Good Lord.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54- They brought these right under the nose of the Dutch.- Well, I'm blowed!
0:08:54 > 0:08:59Is there anywhere we can go and have some Indian food for lunch? I know we've just had breakfast...
0:08:59 > 0:09:03Oh, yes, I know of a very nice, authentic, Indian Muslim restaurant.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06- Really.- In Chinatown, it's called Hameediyah.- Great.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14Wow, it's hot. We are here now in Campbell Street, yeah?
0:09:14 > 0:09:17- Campbell Street. - This road, in the early days
0:09:17 > 0:09:20the Chinese actually call it First Prostitution Street.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22First Prostitution Street?
0:09:22 > 0:09:26Yes, because those days, you find the Chinese coolies, immigrants,
0:09:26 > 0:09:30they came here to work, so later they have to bring in the girls.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34- So there's a second... - Second-class, the older ones they moved to the second class.
0:09:34 > 0:09:40- Cheaper.- Cheaper. And in the middle, there's Sintra Street, that is a Japanese prostitution street.
0:09:40 > 0:09:45- That's very convenient. - So we now are here actually, you can smell the food at Hameediyah.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48It's one of the pioneer Indian Muslim restaurants,
0:09:48 > 0:09:52specialise in nasi kandar, something that is original from Penang.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54- Get some lunch.- Yes!
0:09:57 > 0:10:00'This is the ultimate curry experience.
0:10:00 > 0:10:05'I don't know how many they're expecting for lunch, but there's enough here to feed hundreds.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08'This is the famous beef rendang,
0:10:08 > 0:10:12'and the whole spectrum of curries from all over India is reflected here.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14'All have to pass the taste test.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18'When you're with Indians over here you're never far from the ingenious
0:10:18 > 0:10:21'mechanical device to make life a little easier.
0:10:21 > 0:10:27'My mouth was watering at the thought of lunch. And here it comes.'
0:10:27 > 0:10:29- And this plate, this is mutabah. - Mutabah.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32'We were having a regular favourite, curried pigeon,
0:10:32 > 0:10:37'the famous chicken kapitan, cooked in coconut milk,
0:10:37 > 0:10:40'spicy vegetables, and of course, rice.'
0:10:40 > 0:10:43How do we eat? We haven't got our own plates, have we?
0:10:43 > 0:10:47Yes, normally we eat this with our fingers. Just get a dish, you know.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51- Put on the rice, mix it with the curry, and then you pick it up and eat it.- Yeah...
0:10:51 > 0:10:54You eating more like local now.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58Just like they say, when you're in Rome, you eat like the Romans do.
0:10:58 > 0:10:59- Very much so.- Yeah.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03So what does nasi kandar mean then, does it mean the whole thing?
0:11:03 > 0:11:07Actually, nasi means rice, and kandar actually means the stick.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10- Stick.- You know it's a stick about seven feet long.- Yeah.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12Where the, you know, rice pedlar, put on the shoulder,
0:11:12 > 0:11:17- and they got two bamboo, rattan bamboo to hold two pots. - Oh, I've seen pictures.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19One hand is rice, one hand is curry.
0:11:19 > 0:11:24So this is originally started as a workers' lunch, that is people selling nasi kandar,
0:11:24 > 0:11:26they carry it on the stick and they go to the port,
0:11:26 > 0:11:28- to the harbour area and...- I see.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31..sell it to the workers. And in those days, for just five cents,
0:11:31 > 0:11:33you can have rice with chicken, or...
0:11:33 > 0:11:37- Yeah.- ..meat with the curry. So it's a poor man's lunch.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39- Fabulous.- Yeah.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42'I asked many Malaysians to tell me their favourite dish,
0:11:42 > 0:11:44'and all of them said beef rendang.'
0:11:44 > 0:11:47I'm never quite sure where beef rendang comes from.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51We saw it in the Hameediyah restaurant, a great vat of it,
0:11:51 > 0:11:56but it's interesting, rendang, because it's part a sort of curry,
0:11:56 > 0:11:57but part almost a pickle,
0:11:57 > 0:12:01because I read somewhere the point of it is that
0:12:01 > 0:12:05you slaughter a whole beast in a hot country without any refrigeration,
0:12:05 > 0:12:07what do you do with it all?
0:12:07 > 0:12:11You can't refrigerate it, so you cook it with lots of spice,
0:12:11 > 0:12:14lots of paste which acts as a preservative
0:12:14 > 0:12:18as well as producing a thoroughly delicious dish.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20So now for the paste.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23This is central to any South-East Asian dish,
0:12:23 > 0:12:26whether it's Indian, Thai or Malay.
0:12:27 > 0:12:32Well, it's not just any old paste, it's pretty special.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34I mean, this is what the whole dish is about, rendang.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38I just thought I'd show you what goes into the paste.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42I mean, one of the worries I have with all these dishes
0:12:42 > 0:12:46is these pastes, because they're so essential to the dish,
0:12:46 > 0:12:49and there's a lot of ingredients that go into it.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53But if you just buy the stuff in supermarkets, you never get that
0:12:53 > 0:12:55wonderfully fragrant flavour
0:12:55 > 0:12:59that you'll get from things like using fresh turmeric, and galangal,
0:12:59 > 0:13:02which you can get all over the place,
0:13:02 > 0:13:06particularly in Chinese supermarkets now, fresh chilli of course,
0:13:06 > 0:13:08and fresh coconut - not your tinned stuff -
0:13:08 > 0:13:12you've gotta grate that, and use the coconut.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14Shallots, good garlic, plenty of chillies
0:13:14 > 0:13:16and some coriander and cumin,
0:13:16 > 0:13:20obviously you've got to grind that first and then pound them,
0:13:20 > 0:13:22if you've got a big enough mortar,
0:13:22 > 0:13:25but a food processor does the job perfectly well.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27There's a lot of work,
0:13:27 > 0:13:29but it's absolutely essential
0:13:29 > 0:13:33if you really want to taste that sort of mind-blowing flavour,
0:13:33 > 0:13:37that aromatic quality of something like a good beef rendang.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39Now to assemble the curry.
0:13:39 > 0:13:44First of all I'm using a couple of tins of coconut milk and plenty of lemon grass.
0:13:44 > 0:13:50Give them a good old thump to make sure their flavour infuses into the rendang. And, of course, cinnamon.
0:13:50 > 0:13:54I always think of cigars when I look at them.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58Next, tear up as much as eight kaffir lime leaves for fragrance,
0:13:58 > 0:14:02complimented by a generous portion of tamarind juice
0:14:02 > 0:14:06which has been previously strained to remove the stones.
0:14:06 > 0:14:11Finally some salt, and then let the rendang simmer for about 2½ hours,
0:14:11 > 0:14:14until the beef has become tender.
0:14:14 > 0:14:18Before serving, remove the stalks of lemon grass.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22A spoon of palm sugar rounds off the flavours nicely.
0:14:22 > 0:14:28This cucumber and coconut salad works well alongside the rendang.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31I've added freshly grated coconut to the de-seeded cucumbers
0:14:31 > 0:14:33and some thinly sliced shallots,
0:14:33 > 0:14:38and then some red chillies, with the seeds taken out.
0:14:38 > 0:14:43Then I made a dressing of coconut milk, lime juice and sugar.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46I didn't add any more salt because I'd used that
0:14:46 > 0:14:51to crisp up the cucumbers when I de-seeded and sliced them.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53These Eastern salads, so unlike ours in the West,
0:14:53 > 0:14:56are the making of something like a rendang,
0:14:56 > 0:15:00and if I was doing a series entitled "The Best Curries In The World",
0:15:00 > 0:15:04the noble beef rendang would definitely be a star attraction.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11What I like about Georgetown is that your mind could easily
0:15:11 > 0:15:16slip back into the days of pith helmets, tiffin and gin slings.
0:15:16 > 0:15:21But next minute, you're in a bustling market.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25I really think that Penang is the food capital of Malaysia.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29Eating out is so cheap, and the variety's so immense.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33I just find things like this totally fascinating, I mean,
0:15:33 > 0:15:39who would have ever dreamt up this way of cooking rice noodle pancakes?
0:15:39 > 0:15:43What he does is just ladle some rice batter onto a cloth
0:15:43 > 0:15:45which is on a hot, steamy surface
0:15:45 > 0:15:49and then he's sprinkling some sweet pork and prawns on it.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56It's really interesting
0:15:56 > 0:16:00the way he turns it out onto this oiled surface.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03He just peels it away, do you see that?
0:16:03 > 0:16:06Just peels it away from the cloth,
0:16:06 > 0:16:11producing this really, really light, lovely breakfast dish.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14This is a Cantonese dish, chee cheong fun,
0:16:14 > 0:16:17named, rather prosaically I think,
0:16:17 > 0:16:20after its strong resemblance to the small intestine of a pig.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24'This chap learnt his trade working in a dim sum restaurant,
0:16:24 > 0:16:26'and having perfected the art,
0:16:26 > 0:16:29'he did what any self-respecting Cantonese would do -
0:16:29 > 0:16:31'set up his own stall.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33'The dish is finished off
0:16:33 > 0:16:36'with a stock flavoured with sweet soy sauce.'
0:16:36 > 0:16:39Because a lot of the breakfast that you have in these hawker stalls
0:16:39 > 0:16:43is either deep-fried or shallow-fried, it's quite fatty.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45So this is particularly in favour
0:16:45 > 0:16:48with those people who want to lose a bit of weight.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50Like me.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54I remember that programme called The Generation Game where things look
0:16:54 > 0:16:58so very easy until you try 'em. This is a case in point.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03Mr Lim has been making these spring-roll skins for over 50 years,
0:17:03 > 0:17:04and I bet people would say,
0:17:04 > 0:17:07"Don't you get bored, doing the same thing day after day?"
0:17:07 > 0:17:11I can assure you, he wouldn't be bored, you can see how much he's enjoying it.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14There's so much skill involved -
0:17:14 > 0:17:18I have never seen spring-roll wrappers as thin as that.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20Nowadays, of course, they're made by machine
0:17:20 > 0:17:25and Mr Lim is the last person making them by hand in the whole of Penang.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27He's a true food hero, in my view,
0:17:27 > 0:17:30and I bet when he goes, everybody will be sad.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35'I get the same feeling walking through the market streets
0:17:35 > 0:17:38'as I did when I was a kid going to the very first funfair.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41'All sorts of wonderful things being made,
0:17:41 > 0:17:45'and enticing smells from the various stalls.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48'I feel the same sense of excitement 50 years later.
0:17:48 > 0:17:49'I don't have a clue
0:17:49 > 0:17:53'as to what's in half of the delicacies on offer here.'
0:17:53 > 0:17:54Thank you.
0:17:57 > 0:17:58Mm.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01Gelatinous, soft to the palate.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06With lots of tiny little bones.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09< I think they call it chicken's feet.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12< Chicken's feet, yes.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15Oh, chicken's feet! Chicken feet?
0:18:17 > 0:18:20One's enough. Thank you.
0:18:20 > 0:18:24'Yes, one chicken's foot is enough for a lifetime.
0:18:24 > 0:18:25'Early the next morning
0:18:25 > 0:18:28'I met up with a Malaysian food writer, Fay Khoo,
0:18:28 > 0:18:31'whose passion in life is the street food of Penang.'
0:18:31 > 0:18:33- Hi, Rick.- How do you do, very nice to meet you.- And you.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37- It's a bit early in the morning! - Um, is this where we're going, then?
0:18:37 > 0:18:41Yeah, we're gonna have breakfast at one of my favourite hawker stalls.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45Um, if you don't get here by, you know, 7.15, 7.30, it's all over.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49- I see.- We're gonna have something called Hokkien mee.- Hokkien mee?
0:18:49 > 0:18:51You're gonna have to scoot around, scoot around the curtain.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54- Is that keeping the sun off?- Yeah.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56SHE SPEAKS MALAY
0:18:56 > 0:18:57What have you ordered?
0:18:57 > 0:19:04We're gonna have two bowls of the soup, noodle soup, with egg noodles and the rice and all the vegetables,
0:19:04 > 0:19:06bean sprouts. Very lightly cooked.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09So what you have in the left pot is hot water,
0:19:09 > 0:19:12where they cook the noodles, and the right pot is the soup.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14I see. Oh, that's good.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18Grab a chopstick full of noodles.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21Put it against the spoon, drag it up, make sure you don't splash me.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23- Oh, I see!- You see how easy it is?
0:19:25 > 0:19:28- Just drop it in.- Gently drop it in and sort of like, woo...
0:19:28 > 0:19:30Like helicopter landing.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33You'll have to blow on that before you put it in your mouth
0:19:33 > 0:19:34cos it's gonna burn you!
0:19:36 > 0:19:41So, um, you're a bit of a regular at this, um,
0:19:41 > 0:19:43joint, then, are you, Fay?
0:19:48 > 0:19:51- Mm!- Nice? It's good, works?- Yeah!
0:19:51 > 0:19:55Tell me, this place is really busy, does one person own the whole thing?
0:19:55 > 0:19:58- No, no, no. no. This is the breakfast operators.- Right.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02- They pack up, they run off to the Stock Exchange or wherever it is. - Stock Exchange?
0:20:02 > 0:20:07- Yeah, you know, they earn their money and they go and speculate. - What, these guys, really...?
0:20:07 > 0:20:09- What, cash...?- Yeah.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12Cash is king! So they leave and then the next chef comes in
0:20:12 > 0:20:16- and they set up for lunch and then they serve lunch.- Different people.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20Three chefs a day, my friend. That...is a good business to get.
0:20:20 > 0:20:25- That to me, that to me is Asia, that is Asia in a...- Resourceful.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28- Resourceful, and always thinking. - Yeah, yeah.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33'Fay is just the sort of person to explore food with.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35'Her enthusiasm knows no bounds.
0:20:35 > 0:20:39'She's knowledgeable and has, I found out later,
0:20:39 > 0:20:43'a prodigious appetite, so we made a beeline for a market.'
0:20:43 > 0:20:46- Let's make some fish-head curry. - Would they mind if I gave them a sniff?
0:20:46 > 0:20:49You should, the smell test is very important.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51- No, they're good. - They're good? Ready to go?- Yeah.
0:20:51 > 0:20:53Do we get one or two? Let's get...
0:20:53 > 0:20:55- Let's just get two. - Just in case I....
0:20:55 > 0:20:56You get hungry.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58Just in case I get hungry!
0:21:02 > 0:21:04'These heads from grouper are highly prized here.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08'In Britain, I don't think we have ever taken to the notion
0:21:08 > 0:21:10'that fish heads are a great delicacy,
0:21:10 > 0:21:12'and I don't think we ever will.'
0:21:12 > 0:21:16I feel also that I'll ask him if he'd like a job back in Padstow.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18Yeah, exactly.
0:21:18 > 0:21:20- Thank you very much.- Thank you.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22Thank you, thank you.
0:21:22 > 0:21:24So we're out of fish.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26- Well, we're now in the vegetables and fruit.- Veg.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29Yeah, we'll just help ourselves, fantastic.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31- What do we need?- Ladies' fingers?
0:21:31 > 0:21:34- Definitely.- How much shall we put? - A kilo, something like that.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38- Enough?- Fine, yeah. - I reckon that's enough.- That's good.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41- Some chilli? - Chilli, yeah.- I reckon some chilli.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43How hot are they?
0:21:43 > 0:21:45They're bird chilli.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48- OK.- They're pretty hot! - They will be very hot.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52- Do you think this is a good representative dish of Penang, the fish-head curry?- Oh, yeah,
0:21:52 > 0:21:57in Penang you've got all the major races here, Chinese, Indo Malaysians, the Indians.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01Everybody makes a version of fish curry, but the one we're making now
0:22:01 > 0:22:04is made popularly by all the Malaysian Indians and Chinese.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08- Fantastic.- All using pretty much the same recipe, so we'll get
0:22:08 > 0:22:11a very good representation of pretty much all the Penangers, really.
0:22:11 > 0:22:16I'm looking forward to that. Local cucumbers... They've got a slightly more bitter...
0:22:16 > 0:22:19- Japanese cucumbers.- What are those?
0:22:19 > 0:22:20Oh, that's lemon grass.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23- Lemon grass, it isn't!- Isn't it?
0:22:23 > 0:22:26- No!- It's a flower.- What is it?
0:22:26 > 0:22:29- I thought it was lemon grass. - Ginger flower!
0:22:29 > 0:22:32- I was just testing you! - Oh, I see, I see!
0:22:32 > 0:22:34I wanted to make sure YOU knew!
0:22:35 > 0:22:39'Fay was extremely keen for me to know about her Chinese origins
0:22:39 > 0:22:43'and wanted to show me the family clan house in the heart of Georgetown.'
0:22:43 > 0:22:45- Are you ready?- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47- OK!- Wow!
0:22:47 > 0:22:49- This is it, do you like it?- Blimey!
0:22:49 > 0:22:53And it's been recently restored, I mean, it's just amazing!
0:22:53 > 0:22:55- Look at all the stuff on the roof! - Yeah.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57So this is a clan house?
0:22:57 > 0:23:00It's a clan house, for the Khoos.
0:23:00 > 0:23:05My name is Khoo, and ostensibly this is my clan house, although because I'm a female...
0:23:05 > 0:23:09- You're not short of a bob or two! - Well, there are a lot of Khoos around,
0:23:09 > 0:23:14- Khoos are sort of as common as Smith in UK, I suppose. - So are all your ancestors there?
0:23:14 > 0:23:20Well, technically it's very patriarchal, so it's sexist, you know.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22My father's in there my brother's in there,
0:23:22 > 0:23:26all their names are on the board, but I am a girl so I am not in there.
0:23:26 > 0:23:31- Get away!- I know, it's shocking, but there you go.- Well, I'm blowed.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34She took me to a friend's house to cook the fish-head curry.
0:23:34 > 0:23:39She said her kitchen was far too modern, so she thought I'd prefer a more traditional setting.
0:23:39 > 0:23:44You know, despite my mother's best efforts, I graduated from the school
0:23:44 > 0:23:48- of peasant cooking techniques. - Well, same here, Fay, so I'm quite happy with that.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51'She insisted on using a ready-made curry powder.
0:23:51 > 0:23:56'You sprinkle that onto fried onions and add other spices.'
0:23:56 > 0:23:58I can smell... I think it's fennel seed.
0:23:58 > 0:24:02Yeah, there's definitely fennel, there's cumin, there's turmeric, there's a bit of galangal...
0:24:02 > 0:24:04Oh, right, coriander seeds?
0:24:04 > 0:24:06Coriander seed, yeah.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09All that sort of stuff, all the good things that go into local curries.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13'And this was followed by tamarind juice, shallots and okra -
0:24:13 > 0:24:17'or ladies' fingers, as we know them - and chopped tomatoes.'
0:24:17 > 0:24:19And when we're ready for it...
0:24:19 > 0:24:22- And the fish!- Oh, yeah, I've got to season the fish!
0:24:22 > 0:24:24Do you want me to do it?
0:24:24 > 0:24:28- Are you saying I'm too delicate?- No, no, I just love fish.- You can do it.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31I don't mind, I just think you would be moaning about the smell of fish.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35I don't moan about fishy smelling hands!
0:24:35 > 0:24:36OK, fair enough, fair enough!
0:24:38 > 0:24:42Ow! I just caught me fingers on some teeth!
0:24:42 > 0:24:47Who's moaning now? OK, Rick keep going, you know, let me stand back.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50What are you worried about? I just throw the whole lot in.
0:24:50 > 0:24:54- OK.- Worried about it getting splashed on your blouse and everything, aren't you?
0:24:57 > 0:24:59OK, I'm just gonna throw in the bird chilli.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03Which, as you know, is pretty lethal, especially the seeds.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05'And that's exactly how I like them.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09'We're making a curry, what's the point of compromising?
0:25:09 > 0:25:13'It's gotta be the whole chilli. I've added some curry leaves, a little extra water
0:25:13 > 0:25:17'and then some fresh coconut milk, this was made in the market this morning.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21'Talk about East is East and West is West -
0:25:21 > 0:25:24'mention fish-head curry to a Westerner
0:25:24 > 0:25:28'and they look at you most strangely, but here it's king.'
0:25:28 > 0:25:31- Is it good?- It's very good!
0:25:31 > 0:25:34- You're just saying that! - No, I'm not, taste it!
0:25:34 > 0:25:38It's miraculous, I mean there is so much flavour in there already,
0:25:38 > 0:25:40- by the time...- Oh, my God, yeah.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43One thing that occurs to me, this is probably the place to go
0:25:43 > 0:25:48- in the world for fusion cooking, isn't it, because you've got... - It is, yeah.
0:25:48 > 0:25:53..complete fusion between Chinese, Indian, Malay...
0:25:53 > 0:25:59Well, Nonya's great proof of fusion cooking before fusion cooking was invented in the West, you know.
0:25:59 > 0:26:04When the Malay and the Chinese, started getting a little bit frisky and they got together,
0:26:04 > 0:26:06they created their own culinary subculture
0:26:06 > 0:26:11and that was fusion already because Malay cooking and Chinese cooking were fused together
0:26:11 > 0:26:17to create a cooking that has its own distinct identity and that's Nonya, or Peranakan cuisine.
0:26:17 > 0:26:22- So, yeah, fusion definitely, we have a lot of examples of fusion cooking here.- Fusion city.
0:26:22 > 0:26:28'Being a connoisseur of fish, I was, of course, very keen to try the eyeballs.'
0:26:28 > 0:26:31It kind of crumbles off the bone.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33Here goes with the eyeball.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36Mm!
0:26:40 > 0:26:44It is, as I thought, like eating a jellied eel back home in London.
0:26:44 > 0:26:49- A jellied eel.- Yeah, and the thing that I understand about it, is it's very fatty.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51It's got a lovely...
0:26:51 > 0:26:53sort of a viscous taste to it.
0:26:53 > 0:26:58- And the actual ball right in the middle, you can't eat, it's just like a piece of...- Solid.- Solid.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02- But I am a fan. - A bit partial to it?- Yeah, I am.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05Fantastic, there's three more in there for you!
0:27:11 > 0:27:15'Being an admirer of Joseph Conrad, I can't help but think what he must
0:27:15 > 0:27:20'have seen here 100 years ago when Penang was enjoying a trade boom
0:27:20 > 0:27:23'in tin, cloves, nutmeg and pepper.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27'And of course it was linked by ships sailing to Rangoon, Madras
0:27:27 > 0:27:33'and Singapore, so there would be miles of these little piers and warehouses busy loading cargo.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37'Crews would inevitably go ashore looking for a good time.
0:27:37 > 0:27:42'It still has faint echoes of that life but, for Conrad,
0:27:42 > 0:27:47'this place would have been manna from heaven for his novels.
0:27:47 > 0:27:52'There's not a great deal of love, generally speaking, for old buildings in the Far East.
0:27:52 > 0:27:56'I know the Chinese, for instance, would rather have brand new ones.'
0:27:56 > 0:28:02My great grandfather was a Methodist missionary in Guang Jow in China.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06I went out there recently to do a TV programme about him.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10And his mission is now a Starbucks.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16Penang didn't disappoint and I'd go back like a shot,
0:28:16 > 0:28:18purely because of the food.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28I'm off to Langkawi Island to the north of Penang.
0:28:28 > 0:28:29This is a place I know well.
0:28:29 > 0:28:34I've been on holidays here, staying in traditional houses like this.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38I really like it, although these places are not mosquito-proof.
0:28:38 > 0:28:43But you do feel you're actually in a strange and romantic place,
0:28:43 > 0:28:47and not in some air-conditioned high-rise hotel with muzak.
0:28:50 > 0:28:56All the time I've been making seafood programmes, I've always wanted to go out squid fishing.
0:28:56 > 0:29:00Well, I have been out on one or two occasions, but we didn't catch anything.
0:29:00 > 0:29:02But tonight it's gonna happen.
0:29:02 > 0:29:07It's a very calm sea, the tide's right, there's loads of squid
0:29:07 > 0:29:11at the moment and it's overcast - yes, it's gonna happen!
0:29:14 > 0:29:20Well, all I do know is that they've put these lights on, they're waiting for the squid,
0:29:20 > 0:29:23for it to get dark, and then they'll turn these lights on
0:29:23 > 0:29:29and just as it's getting dark, apparently that's the best time, the squid all come to the surface.
0:29:29 > 0:29:31So we're all waiting with bated breath.
0:29:34 > 0:29:39I love this, I always think that fishing's a bit like gambling - you don't really know the outcome.
0:29:39 > 0:29:43You could have a brilliant night but then again it could be
0:29:43 > 0:29:47what the fishermen in Cornwall call a "black net" - nothing.
0:29:47 > 0:29:53I don't know how this rain affects the squid except it makes everything turn quite surreal,
0:29:53 > 0:29:57almost dreamlike, and although I'm soaked through with warm rain,
0:29:57 > 0:30:00I wouldn't have missed this for the world.
0:30:00 > 0:30:04The lights that attract the squid work best when the moon is hidden
0:30:04 > 0:30:07by cloud or indeed when it's a sliver, a new moon,
0:30:07 > 0:30:10so the squid won't be distracted by it.
0:30:10 > 0:30:12Now for the moment of truth.
0:30:19 > 0:30:25Like moths to a flame, I can only imagine the squid swimming towards the light and their eventual doom.
0:30:25 > 0:30:30Throughout my travels in South-East Asia and the Mediterranean as well,
0:30:30 > 0:30:32this has been a common sight.
0:30:32 > 0:30:36Hundreds of twinkling lights a mile or so from the shore,
0:30:36 > 0:30:39tempting squid to the surface.
0:30:39 > 0:30:41Well, that's it, the mystery's been revealed.
0:30:41 > 0:30:45I didn't quite know how it was done, now I do, but I've never seen
0:30:45 > 0:30:48anything like that netting before and the way he changed the lights.
0:30:48 > 0:30:52He used the white lights to bring the squid up from deep down
0:30:52 > 0:30:56and the red lights to bring them right up to the surface.
0:30:56 > 0:30:59So he just zaps the red light on when he's just about to throw
0:30:59 > 0:31:03the net and then throws the net. And I mean, he's catching so much!
0:31:03 > 0:31:10I've just found out he can catch as much as 80 kilos a night, so it's really good fishing at the moment.
0:31:10 > 0:31:15'I was told by the fishermen that the coming of the rain was a god-send because it broke up
0:31:15 > 0:31:18'the surface of the water so the net would be harder to spot.'
0:31:22 > 0:31:25I cooked squid back at home in Padstow.
0:31:25 > 0:31:30I got some seriously fresh ones from Cornwall, cleaned them and put them on skewers on the barbie.
0:31:30 > 0:31:35That night on those squid boats was just wonderful
0:31:35 > 0:31:41and just the whole vision of those lit-up boats everywhere and it was so warm and peaceful and balmy.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44It did rain a bit but it's warm rain.
0:31:44 > 0:31:48Well, the next night we went to a night market in a village somewhere on Langkawi
0:31:48 > 0:31:53and I saw them making satays - chicken and beef and these squid ones.
0:31:53 > 0:31:58They were marinating the squid in something but I wasn't quite sure what it was, so I made this up.
0:31:58 > 0:32:01I've just taken some fish sauce and lime juice
0:32:01 > 0:32:04and some sugar and just roasted some spices -
0:32:04 > 0:32:08cumin, coriander and a bit of chilli - mixed it all up,
0:32:08 > 0:32:12and it's pretty good, and it's very nice squid too.
0:32:12 > 0:32:17To set the squid off to perfection, make a dipping sauce.
0:32:17 > 0:32:21To start with, fry off the usual suspects, all finely chopped.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24They are shallots, garlic, ginger
0:32:24 > 0:32:28and a red chilli or two in a light vegetable oil.
0:32:28 > 0:32:32You just want to soften them and start to flavour the oil.
0:32:32 > 0:32:37Try not to let them take on any colour, and then get them smartly off the heat.
0:32:37 > 0:32:40When it's cooled down a little, put it into a small bowl and add
0:32:40 > 0:32:45some light soy sauce and the juice from a couple of limes.
0:32:45 > 0:32:52Then some sugar, preferably palm sugar but brown sugar is OK if that's all you have.
0:32:52 > 0:32:54Now some chopped peanuts, a little more oil
0:32:54 > 0:32:59and the remains of the marinade that the squid has been soaking in.
0:32:59 > 0:33:04Lastly stir in some coarsely chopped coriander, then all you have to do
0:33:04 > 0:33:07is sear the squid satays over your charcoal barbecue
0:33:07 > 0:33:10until you see the edges begin to caramelise.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13No need to take them further than that.
0:33:13 > 0:33:18I really like collecting dishes like this on my travels.
0:33:18 > 0:33:20They say travel broadens the mind.
0:33:20 > 0:33:24Well, it certainly extends one's cooking repertoire.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27Set them onto a warm plate and call your guests.
0:33:27 > 0:33:31Now it's just a question of dip and tuck in.
0:33:31 > 0:33:35Well, I must say, just looking at that, it's bound to be nice,
0:33:35 > 0:33:38but I do think it is very bad manners for us television cooks
0:33:38 > 0:33:41to try our own food and say how delicious it is...
0:33:42 > 0:33:45..but it IS. Very.
0:33:48 > 0:33:53Like many places I've been to on my travels, Langkawi's surrounded by mangroves,
0:33:53 > 0:34:01that curious tree with the labyrinth of roots and a plant that thrives in a place that's neither land nor sea.
0:34:01 > 0:34:0770% of Malaysia's fish stocks are there because the mangroves are a wonderful nursery for fish.
0:34:07 > 0:34:11Irshad, my guide, is the mangroves' number one fan.
0:34:11 > 0:34:18At high tide like we are going through right now, Mr and Mrs Fish, Mr and Mrs Prawns,
0:34:18 > 0:34:23they swim all the way up, they get into these little areas, they spawn, their little eggs will hatch.
0:34:23 > 0:34:28Baby fish, baby prawns use this as a wonderful nursery to live in.
0:34:28 > 0:34:33I also read that areas where there were mangrove swamps during the tsunami
0:34:33 > 0:34:38were better protected than other areas. Why was that?
0:34:38 > 0:34:42A 200-metre wide belt of mangroves
0:34:42 > 0:34:50will dissipate the energy of the tsunami by at least more than 75%.
0:34:50 > 0:34:55So do you think that the governments have realised the importance of them?
0:34:55 > 0:34:58Yes, yes, definitely.
0:34:58 > 0:35:03Unfortunately, sometimes it takes a heart attack for us to change our ways.
0:35:03 > 0:35:05I mean, this is lovely here.
0:35:05 > 0:35:07It's so calm and so...
0:35:07 > 0:35:12You work and you live here. What does it mean to you, sort of, well, spiritually I suppose?
0:35:12 > 0:35:20I love the way you say spiritually because this is an aspect... I think it's our moral duty
0:35:20 > 0:35:23to protect the very thing we love.
0:35:23 > 0:35:30It's not only our...moral duty but I like your word, you say, it's also our spiritual duty.
0:35:30 > 0:35:34Because this is a temple.
0:35:34 > 0:35:36And look at the beautiful hills here, you can see.
0:35:36 > 0:35:40I couldn't agree more. This is just like... It's wonderful.
0:35:47 > 0:35:50Irshad recommended we have lunch at this place.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53In fact, it's a fish farm as well as a restaurant.
0:35:53 > 0:35:56We had a spicy green mango salad.
0:35:56 > 0:35:59Will I ever get tired of them?
0:35:59 > 0:36:02And an assortment of really hot spicy dipping sauces.
0:36:02 > 0:36:04I had to have the mud crab.
0:36:04 > 0:36:09Where there are mangroves, there are always mud crabs. And deep-fried prawns.
0:36:11 > 0:36:13These are lovely prawns.
0:36:13 > 0:36:15- They get it out in the open sea. - Yeah.
0:36:15 > 0:36:17Just out of the river mouth.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20But they would have started their life here.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23Exactly, the whole cycle is now complete.
0:36:23 > 0:36:27Out from the mangroves, into the open sea and then back onto our plates.
0:36:27 > 0:36:30- And these are mud crabs again.- Yeah.
0:36:30 > 0:36:35This would have been got just out in the mangroves we were, er, enjoying just now.
0:36:35 > 0:36:37It's delicious mud crab, isn't it?
0:36:37 > 0:36:38Fantastic flavour.
0:36:38 > 0:36:42- And that's the mango salad.- Yes.
0:36:42 > 0:36:44I see you can take spicy stuff, huh?
0:36:44 > 0:36:47Mmm! I think after about a week,
0:36:47 > 0:36:49you sort of settle down and...
0:36:49 > 0:36:51Now, to be honest,
0:36:51 > 0:36:58if I have a hamburger, as I did the other night, some Western food, it just seems really heavy, you know.
0:36:58 > 0:37:01I just love this, rice, fish...
0:37:01 > 0:37:02And the flavour of the spices.
0:37:02 > 0:37:05Absolutely. And the hotter the better.
0:37:05 > 0:37:07How you gonna go back now?
0:37:07 > 0:37:10I don't know!
0:37:10 > 0:37:14'A fish restaurant on a fish farm, it's giving me ideas!'
0:37:14 > 0:37:18This, they would get their stock from the wild.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21- Uh-huh.- And they would raise it up here for a few more years.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23- What are those? - These are trevallies.
0:37:23 > 0:37:25They're lovely fish, they're enormous.
0:37:25 > 0:37:30'These are splendid fish and good fighters if you're lucky enough to get one on the line.
0:37:30 > 0:37:34'They taste wonderful, as any Aussie fish and chip shop owner will tell you.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37'But now Irshad suggested a little feeding session of our own.'
0:37:44 > 0:37:47- Go on, then.- It's like this.
0:37:47 > 0:37:49Now it's coming to you...
0:37:49 > 0:37:52'I got bitten once feeding a horse sugar lumps
0:37:52 > 0:37:55'so I'm a little bit nervous about my fingers
0:37:55 > 0:37:57'because, curiously, I've never fed
0:37:57 > 0:38:01'a blinking great skate like this before!
0:38:01 > 0:38:02'Pathetic, I know.'
0:38:06 > 0:38:08Try to get under its...
0:38:08 > 0:38:10- There you go, very nice.- Good Lord.
0:38:10 > 0:38:12What will you feel like cooking skate now? >
0:38:12 > 0:38:16I'll feel a bit sorry, actually...erm...
0:38:16 > 0:38:18They got such gentle eyes.
0:38:18 > 0:38:20They've got gentle eyes, exactly!
0:38:20 > 0:38:23It's like when you look at an eel's eye, they're very intelligent.
0:38:23 > 0:38:27You think, "I'm never gonna eat another eel". Same with these.
0:38:28 > 0:38:30Hello.
0:38:30 > 0:38:33THUNDER RUMBLES
0:38:55 > 0:39:00I'm utterly astonished by the force of this tropical storm
0:39:00 > 0:39:03but, like most tropical storms, it ends quickly and I wouldn't
0:39:03 > 0:39:06be surprised if we're not gonna have blue skies in about half and hour.
0:39:06 > 0:39:08It's that quick.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11But, my gosh, when it happens, it's quite something.
0:39:11 > 0:39:17I'm having a lovely comforting bowl of bihun soup, which is
0:39:17 > 0:39:23rice noodles, but they're actually coloured with turmeric, the noodles,
0:39:23 > 0:39:26because the idea of yellow noodles implies wealth
0:39:26 > 0:39:29and therefore it gives it a bit of up-marketness,
0:39:29 > 0:39:33having these yellow noodles as opposed to the white ones.
0:39:33 > 0:39:37And it's just simply these very thin noodles with a stock, made with beef
0:39:37 > 0:39:43and sliced onions and star anise and cinnamon and some galangal.
0:39:43 > 0:39:48Also in the stock were fennel seeds, cardamom, poppy seeds,
0:39:48 > 0:39:53black pepper, cloves and pandan leaves.
0:39:55 > 0:40:00And it's simmered for hours and hours until you get this fantastic flavour
0:40:00 > 0:40:07and then the soup's just made up with the noodles, but very important other ingredients.
0:40:07 > 0:40:12First of all and most importantly is a type of pickled radish that they use,
0:40:12 > 0:40:17spring onions and fried shallots, deep-fried so they're crisp,
0:40:17 > 0:40:21and also some celery herb, which is not quite like celery tops.
0:40:21 > 0:40:25It's a bit more pungent. It's a member of the parsley family.
0:40:25 > 0:40:28And finally they serve up some sambal,
0:40:28 > 0:40:32which is just a paste made with grilled chillies.
0:40:32 > 0:40:36You can put as much as that in as you like.
0:40:36 > 0:40:38I just think...
0:40:38 > 0:40:42it's a perfect thing for a rainy afternoon.
0:40:50 > 0:40:54From Langkawi I thought I'd skip the rain and head back south to Melaka.
0:40:54 > 0:40:58Before Penang became famous as a place to trade,
0:40:58 > 0:41:01Melaka had already become a melting pot of cultures,
0:41:01 > 0:41:03all centred around spice.
0:41:03 > 0:41:08The Portuguese were the first Europeans to bring spices to the Western world from here.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11And then the Dutch, seeing all this money being made,
0:41:11 > 0:41:18decided to get a bit of the action. And then around a couple of hundred years ago, the British took control.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21I learnt all this from a brief visit to the museum.
0:41:21 > 0:41:24Food has a history all of its own.
0:41:24 > 0:41:27They've even got a replica Portuguese trading ship
0:41:27 > 0:41:30down at the old docks to amuse the tourists
0:41:30 > 0:41:34and more importantly to remind them of Melaka's significance in the world.
0:41:34 > 0:41:38'I think you really have to come to somewhere like Melaka
0:41:38 > 0:41:43'to really feel the importance of spice historically to our own country.
0:41:43 > 0:41:49'And it's only when you sort of smell the smells and feel the heat,'
0:41:49 > 0:41:56that you realise that spice here virtually grows wild and it's cheap.
0:41:56 > 0:42:01It would've been so cheap. But take those spices, which would be so distant to life
0:42:01 > 0:42:06in the 13th, 14th, 15th century in Britain, and bring them there.
0:42:06 > 0:42:09No wonder they fetched such enormous money.
0:42:09 > 0:42:13Apart from anything, half the stuff I imagine that they ate there
0:42:13 > 0:42:21was verging on the rotting, so it had an enormous import in making food palatable and pleasant.
0:42:21 > 0:42:25But just think of the sort of, the smell of something like nutmeg
0:42:25 > 0:42:32or cinnamon or cloves or even pepper to somebody in 14th-century England, how exotic it would be.
0:42:32 > 0:42:36It would be like... It would be more wonderful than gold.
0:42:37 > 0:42:42'When I was here last week, I met up with a curious man,
0:42:42 > 0:42:46'a television chef who's amazingly popular.
0:42:46 > 0:42:52'He's Jamie and Delia rolled into one and he virtually gets mobbed wherever he goes.
0:42:52 > 0:42:55'He's Chef Wan and he certainly knows his stuff.
0:42:55 > 0:42:59'Well, he should do - he's Malaysian.'
0:42:59 > 0:43:02Exactly, the trade helped to connect every part of the world.
0:43:02 > 0:43:07So our cuisine is a border cuisine from what is existing Malay, Malaysian and then today we have
0:43:07 > 0:43:11a bit of Pakistani, a bit of India, a bit of Africa, Sri Lanka, we have everything.
0:43:11 > 0:43:18As we say "Malaysia, truly Asia". We are beautiful people, darling. You're looking at Chef Wan!
0:43:18 > 0:43:21How long you been doing this for then, Chef Wan?
0:43:21 > 0:43:23I ain't no spring chicken no more.
0:43:23 > 0:43:2621 years old, 21. That long!
0:43:26 > 0:43:29I think I've got a bit to learn from you, to be honest.
0:43:29 > 0:43:33It's all about passion, I mean you're fantastic too. I love this guy!
0:43:33 > 0:43:37I've seen all his shows and watch his programme and I buy all his books.
0:43:37 > 0:43:40Really, I do, when I get here, I say, "Ah! Rick Stein!"
0:43:40 > 0:43:43I can't take this flattery any longer.
0:43:43 > 0:43:49One of the food stars from Malaysia that I haven't seen much of so far is Nonya.
0:43:49 > 0:43:51That's a mixture of Malay and Chinese
0:43:51 > 0:43:54and here, I've been told by Chef Wan, is the place to try it,
0:43:54 > 0:43:57run by two cousins, Amy and Florence.
0:43:57 > 0:43:59Florence is the chatty one.
0:43:59 > 0:44:01This is my lovely cousin, we grew up together.
0:44:01 > 0:44:05- Very nice to meet you.- Nice to meet you.- What are you cooking today?
0:44:05 > 0:44:07Today we are cooking a special dish.
0:44:07 > 0:44:08It is called spicy chicken.
0:44:08 > 0:44:14Our food has got influences of Malay and Chinese, that is we use Chinese..
0:44:14 > 0:44:19ingredients, for example we have black mushrooms, we have light soya sauce, dark soya sauce
0:44:19 > 0:44:22and then we have the Malay herbs and the Malay spices.
0:44:22 > 0:44:24These two combinations are, er...
0:44:24 > 0:44:30This, I tell you, Rick Stein, when you eat them, all your senses will fly up to the sky!
0:44:30 > 0:44:34This paste is made from red chillies, both fresh and dry,
0:44:34 > 0:44:38then shrimp paste, galangal, lemon grass,
0:44:38 > 0:44:42shallots, garlic and candlenuts, and it's all put into a blender.
0:44:42 > 0:44:46This is very important. The secret in producing a good curry
0:44:46 > 0:44:48is to cook until it is fragrant
0:44:48 > 0:44:52and that is when the oil surfaces to the top.
0:44:52 > 0:44:56Our Nonya technique of cooking, the fire must never be high.
0:44:56 > 0:44:58It should be just moderate.
0:44:58 > 0:45:03Go on small fire then the fragrant is better.
0:45:03 > 0:45:05Patience, patience, baby!
0:45:05 > 0:45:10Just while the curry's cooking gently, tell me, is Nonya food as popular as ever?
0:45:10 > 0:45:13Is it increasing in popularity?
0:45:13 > 0:45:16Unfortunately, it is a slowly dying art
0:45:16 > 0:45:22because people nowadays, they don't take the time to do the food properly and also our parents at that time,
0:45:22 > 0:45:27when they cook, they'll just say, "Oh, this is about ten chillies and this onions," like that.
0:45:27 > 0:45:31So the children, therefore, because their parents are excellent chefs,
0:45:31 > 0:45:35so they don't learn, but we, Amy and myself, you know, at this age,
0:45:35 > 0:45:42we feel that we want, we want the future generations to know about their food that has lasted 600 years.
0:45:42 > 0:45:49- That's lovely.- As you see, the oil has surfaces to the top. And then...
0:45:49 > 0:45:51Mm! ..it produces a wonderful aroma.
0:45:51 > 0:45:53We are going to put in our chicken.
0:45:53 > 0:45:58There you are and we gonna stir fry it. Once the chicken is cooked
0:45:58 > 0:46:01about five minutes, I'm going to put in lemon grass.
0:46:01 > 0:46:05Lemon grass, so that's more lemon grass. And some in the paste.
0:46:05 > 0:46:08Yes. Only two in the paste and then this, if you have.
0:46:08 > 0:46:10If you don't have, it doesn't matter.
0:46:10 > 0:46:13- OK.- I'm going to bruise it to extract more flavour.
0:46:13 > 0:46:15- OK.- Here we go!- Wow!
0:46:15 > 0:46:17So you must have this big cleaver.
0:46:23 > 0:46:27Florence, I can't help noticing as soon as you started cooking, you come to life.
0:46:27 > 0:46:31I mean, cooking must mean an awful lot to you.
0:46:31 > 0:46:35Yes. I love cooking and I love eating because I feel that
0:46:35 > 0:46:41when you know how to cook, you can eat your food anytime you want. But if you depend on others
0:46:41 > 0:46:44to cook, then you have to wait for them until they're ready.
0:46:44 > 0:46:47You say, "Can I have this?" "I've no time now. Later."
0:46:47 > 0:46:51What I'm sort of thinking now is you're very petite, and Amy,
0:46:51 > 0:46:55you're very neat and wonderfully nicely dressed.
0:46:55 > 0:47:01The idea of somebody like you or your mother or grandmother banging and banging and bang, bang, bang!
0:47:01 > 0:47:04But I watched you whacking that lemon grass, you've got...
0:47:04 > 0:47:08- Absolutely. - This is going to the gym!
0:47:09 > 0:47:12And she also, we do line dance, you know.
0:47:12 > 0:47:15- Do you now? - Ah, yes! To be healthy we have to eat
0:47:15 > 0:47:18a balanced diet, we have to exercise well and we have to sleep well.
0:47:18 > 0:47:24And on top of that, we must be very kind, we must share our knowledge, whatever you have, no secrets.
0:47:24 > 0:47:28As I say, you share everything in the world except husband.
0:47:30 > 0:47:31Sorry, sorry!
0:47:31 > 0:47:33That's all right, that's fine.
0:47:33 > 0:47:35OK, that's it!
0:47:35 > 0:47:37OK, now...
0:47:38 > 0:47:40Ah, OK, now Rick...
0:47:40 > 0:47:43- Can I taste?- Yes.
0:47:46 > 0:47:48That's got so much flavour.
0:47:48 > 0:47:50Rick, we are in business.
0:47:52 > 0:47:56'They were great girls but what crossed my mind was what happens
0:47:56 > 0:48:02'when Florence and Amy and people like them give up cooking and passing on this knowledge.'
0:48:03 > 0:48:06I personally think the Western world would be so much the poorer
0:48:06 > 0:48:13if it hadn't been for the trade that came from Melaka in those heady days of exploration and commerce.
0:48:13 > 0:48:17Well, we wouldn't even have mince pies if all this hadn't gone before.
0:48:18 > 0:48:23Next, I'm going to another famous place on the spice route,
0:48:23 > 0:48:26the tear-drop island of Sri Lanka.
0:48:37 > 0:48:43'I have to say that I've never been happier anywhere on my travels than when I was here,
0:48:43 > 0:48:49'but I was very conscious of the terrible fighting that was still going on in the north of the island.
0:48:49 > 0:48:57'Here in the south, just outside the capital, Colombo, it would be easy to forget the strife elsewhere.
0:48:57 > 0:49:01'Everywhere I went, I was greeted with smiles and enthusiasm.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04'Maybe it's because tourists have been put off coming here
0:49:04 > 0:49:08'and the locals are very keen to show that life still goes on.'
0:49:13 > 0:49:17I had been told that some of the fishing scenes in Sri Lanka would be
0:49:17 > 0:49:20some of the most visual I was likely to see anywhere
0:49:20 > 0:49:24but I must say it's exceeded all my expectations.
0:49:24 > 0:49:28I mean, it's like central casting fishing-wise.
0:49:28 > 0:49:34When I first saw it, I just first thought of Newlyn, of those Newlyn school of painters,
0:49:34 > 0:49:39people like Stanhope Forbes, from the last century, from Victorian times,
0:49:39 > 0:49:42because all those boats are still powered only by sail.
0:49:42 > 0:49:48These ones here which are motorised just bring the fish into the shore from the bigger boats.
0:49:48 > 0:49:52But to me it's just like I can hardly believe I'm here.
0:49:52 > 0:49:58I met up with Dharshan, a famous chef here, half Sri Lankan and half Japanese.
0:49:58 > 0:50:01Dharshan, I've just arrived here.
0:50:01 > 0:50:05I am totally knocked out by what I'm seeing. These, lovely...
0:50:05 > 0:50:10Plenty of fish, lovely-looking fishing boats, what are they fishing for?
0:50:10 > 0:50:14These wind-powered boats are catching shrimp and prawns.
0:50:14 > 0:50:17They bring it out here and then take it back to the market.
0:50:17 > 0:50:19Most of the time all these prawns are alive
0:50:19 > 0:50:24and it's a wonderful thing to have so close to the capital city of Colombo.
0:50:24 > 0:50:29Being half Japanese, half Sri Lankan, it must mean everything to you.
0:50:29 > 0:50:31It's inspiring.
0:50:31 > 0:50:34I think food, any kind of food, starts with ingredients,
0:50:34 > 0:50:36not with the other sauces or spices you add,
0:50:36 > 0:50:40and as long as you have good ingredients you can do any kind of food,
0:50:40 > 0:50:45it'll turn out better and that's very true for Japanese food and much stronger.
0:50:45 > 0:50:50That's interesting because I think people now think of sushi and sashimi as probably salmon,
0:50:50 > 0:50:56- tuna, maybe a bit of white fish, a bit of omelette, end of story but it's not, is it?- No, not at all.
0:50:56 > 0:51:03Sushi starts with the ocean and what you get from the ocean is what should be a daily menu.
0:51:03 > 0:51:06One thing great about Sri Lanka is nothing is farmed.
0:51:06 > 0:51:08It's all wild catch, even the tuna.
0:51:08 > 0:51:11- No farmed fish?- The tuna is also wild and they taste different.
0:51:11 > 0:51:14The textures are totally different from farmed fish that you'd find in
0:51:14 > 0:51:19many restaurants in South-East Asia and even in Japan, some of the fish
0:51:19 > 0:51:21or most of the small fish are farmed.
0:51:21 > 0:51:25And one thing that's good about Sri Lanka is they are relatively clean,
0:51:25 > 0:51:28and it's a beautiful sea, the Indian Ocean, it's huge.
0:51:28 > 0:51:30There are a lot of fish, we don't have to farm them.
0:51:30 > 0:51:34Naturally, where fishing boats land fish there's a market.
0:51:34 > 0:51:39I only wish I'd bought my old copy of The Observer Book of Tropical Fish.
0:51:39 > 0:51:44But that's all part of it, I'd never turn down a trip to a fish market.
0:51:44 > 0:51:47I just like to see how different it all is.
0:51:47 > 0:51:52From where you come, what's the fish market like out there?
0:51:52 > 0:51:57It's nothing like here, the fish market at home, but I mean this is as fresh as you could ever see fish.
0:51:57 > 0:52:01One of the things we have at home of course is refrigeration, as you do in Tokyo,
0:52:01 > 0:52:08and that is a good thing and a bad thing because once you've got fish refrigerated, it keeps longer.
0:52:08 > 0:52:10But all the time it's getting....not so good.
0:52:10 > 0:52:12Out here the market closes around one.
0:52:12 > 0:52:15Refrigeration, yes, it would be nice to have it,
0:52:15 > 0:52:20but right now if it gets sold by 1pm, we don't need to have it.
0:52:20 > 0:52:23What is really impressing me is there's no smell of fish here.
0:52:23 > 0:52:25It all smells of the sea.
0:52:25 > 0:52:27Everyone thinks seafood smells, it doesn't. It smells only when it rots.
0:52:27 > 0:52:29Absolutely, so I'm very impressed.
0:52:29 > 0:52:33I'm enjoying it immensely, Dharshan.
0:52:35 > 0:52:38I noticed they were drying fish nearby.
0:52:38 > 0:52:42They'd caught lots of mackerel, which meant the price plummeted.
0:52:42 > 0:52:49So the answer is to dry them in the sun - they clean the fish, wash them in the sea and salt them overnight.
0:52:49 > 0:52:53Now, my new Sri Lankan friend, Jocking, explains the rest.
0:52:53 > 0:52:56- Then we bring here and we sit down like this way.- Yeah.
0:52:56 > 0:52:59And we keep one by one, in order.
0:52:59 > 0:53:02After two days it becomes real dry fish.
0:53:02 > 0:53:04Just two days?
0:53:04 > 0:53:05Yes, only for this fish.
0:53:05 > 0:53:11After we make dry fish, we can keep long time, just three, four months we can keep.
0:53:11 > 0:53:13But in my city, we have fresh fish.
0:53:13 > 0:53:18We like dry fish but we don't eat because we have fresh fish.
0:53:18 > 0:53:24Mainly the dry fish go to the village, the tea plantation, because there is no sea.
0:53:24 > 0:53:26That people, they cannot get the fresh fish.
0:53:26 > 0:53:29Mainly they eat the dry fish.
0:53:41 > 0:53:46I was asked if I fancied a trip with a bunch of fisherman further south
0:53:46 > 0:53:49of the island near the town of Galle.
0:53:49 > 0:53:55There's not many harbours here so everything is launched, with quite a bit of effort, off the beach.
0:54:04 > 0:54:10The boat is called an Oru and one of this size could certainly cope with ocean storms,
0:54:10 > 0:54:13but many of them are much smaller than this.
0:54:13 > 0:54:18I was told that up to 80% of the local fleet was lost in the tsunami.
0:54:21 > 0:54:24Anyway this turned out to be a sort of seine net fishing,
0:54:24 > 0:54:27with the boat laying out the net in a great big circle.
0:54:29 > 0:54:32And then they all started to jump ship.
0:54:32 > 0:54:36This is the strangest way to catch fish I've ever seen.
0:54:38 > 0:54:43So the reason they keep jumping into the sea is to scare the fish into the back of the net.
0:54:43 > 0:54:48This is the open end of the net, so they're making as much splash and as much movement with their hands,
0:54:48 > 0:54:52so the fish will all swim down that end.
0:54:52 > 0:54:56Must be a great job, that. I feel like jumping in myself actually.
0:54:56 > 0:54:58Go on then.
0:55:00 > 0:55:02HE SCREAMS
0:55:06 > 0:55:12Well, I am a water baby and it was very hot and it did feel really good to join in.
0:55:12 > 0:55:17I don't know how effective I was, but I loved to get involved.
0:55:17 > 0:55:21Mind you, getting out again is a whole different ball game.
0:55:26 > 0:55:30I know a thing or two about fishing and I'm not expecting a huge catch,
0:55:30 > 0:55:35but the general air of expectation sort of burst into
0:55:35 > 0:55:41frantic excitement, as it became more certain that there were indeed fish in the net and lots of them.
0:55:58 > 0:56:00I have to say this is a great moment for me because
0:56:00 > 0:56:04the number of times we go out fishing and never catch any fish.
0:56:04 > 0:56:09I think it's testimony to how much, how rich, the fishing grounds
0:56:09 > 0:56:13are around Sri Lanka that there's so much good quality fish landed there.
0:56:13 > 0:56:15And those ones are called...
0:56:15 > 0:56:22- Parava.- Parava are really good money so they've done very, very well and I'm very happy.
0:56:22 > 0:56:24I really enjoyed that.
0:56:24 > 0:56:28Like fisherman all over the world, they really bond together.
0:56:28 > 0:56:31It's one big family here, they look after each other.
0:56:31 > 0:56:36Sabuta's just told me they're feared, cos they're really tough, they're quite chunky.
0:56:36 > 0:56:39I wouldn't like to cross 'em. The people inland really fear 'em.
0:56:39 > 0:56:42He just said, "They're the best and the worst".
0:56:42 > 0:56:47In other words, if you're on their side, they're looking after you,
0:56:47 > 0:56:50they're fabulous but you cross 'em, forget it.
0:56:50 > 0:56:57He was also saying that these really dangerous buses here, around this area. They call them "killer buses"
0:56:57 > 0:57:00because the drivers are just reckless. I mean, it scares me.
0:57:00 > 0:57:06He said if there's any accidents around this fishing village, they just burn the bus.
0:57:09 > 0:57:12'Ah, I'm not quite finished yet.
0:57:12 > 0:57:15'I still have to help get the Oru back in again.'
0:57:15 > 0:57:20THEY CHANT
0:57:20 > 0:57:22This is the hardest part I'm told.
0:57:23 > 0:57:27And what they're chanting is, "We want to, Go to the land!
0:57:27 > 0:57:30"We want to, Go to the land!"
0:57:30 > 0:57:33"We want to, Go to the land!"
0:57:35 > 0:57:39So like all fisherman, after a day or so ashore, they'll be saying,
0:57:39 > 0:57:42"We want to, Go to the sea!
0:57:42 > 0:57:43"We want to, Go to the sea!"
0:58:01 > 0:58:06Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd