Rojak

Imagine eating the mixed fruit salad with the fruit dressing.  Penang rojak has upped the ante and made a boring dish into something worth tasting with its delightful shrimp paste concoction known as petis. The fruits used are typically young papaya, guava, wax apple, pineapple. The shredded cucumber and sweet turnip are also added to give extra freshness to the dish. What makes the rojak delicious is the thick, dark and flavorful shrimp paste that is used as the dressing. The combination of the fruits, the salad and the petis mixed together, sprinkled with crushed peanuts and the croutons is enough to make you salivate. Some Penangites add dried octopus and boiled eggs to the dish. Once you’ve tasted the Penang rojak, you would never go back to the normal boring mixed fruit salad.

Image by Alpha.