The 12 flavour categories of Malay food: Masam, manis, mamek, and more
Languages around the world often have unique words used to define foods: the Italian word ‘al dente’ for instance translates to ‘to the teeth’ and is used to describe the perfect cook on pasta and rice. Can you think of an equivalent word in English that best sums this up? Probably not.

Similarly, the Malay language also has particular flavour categories that the language has devised around the concept of sensations ascribed to ingredients i.e. flavours.

This was one of the discoveries made by renowned Singaporean food historian Khir Johari who released his 2021 magnum opus The Food of Singapore Malays: A Gastronomic Odyssey Through the Malay Archipelago, an 11-year research project that is now considered the definitive book on Malay culinary heritage and practices. One of Khir’s watershed findings in the book is the 12 flavour categories in the Malay language that best define the food of the Malay Archipelago.

Khir’s landmark book took over a decade to come to fruition and is considered a watershed book on Malay gastronomy.

A brief introduction

It is probably worth noting that many of the 12 flavour categories that Khir includes in his book are not perfectly translatable to English, as they are so wrapped around cultural nuances.

But first, it is important to understand the difference between taste and flavour.

“Taste refers to basic sensations detected by the taste buds, so we are very familiar with tastebuds on our tongue – things like sweet, salty, sour and bitter – that is taste and is based on sensation.

“Now flavour is a more complex perception that combines taste with other sensory inputs. For example, texture, aroma and temperature play a part so we can say that taste is a part of flavour but taste is not flavour. There is more to flavour.

“I think it is important to understand the distinction because flavour is a broader sense of sensory perception,” says Khir.

Coming up with the categories

To put together the 12 categories, Khir combed through research material and read extensively. His original list was actually shorter but he extended it because he wanted to leave no stone unturned.

Khir says many of the 12 flavour categories cannot be translated to English but he hopes the words will be more widely known and used when people are cooking and eating Malay food.

“I grew up with all these flavours, but I just wanted to make sure I didn’t miss anything. So I started compiling – I looked at the familiar flavours and then I looked at various books.

“For example, there is something called hambar (something that tastes flat). You go to a restaurant and someone says, ‘Eh, this kuah is so hambar!’ But is hambar a flavour profile or is hambar an adjective to describe something that is flat – taste-wise? I felt it was the latter, so I didn’t include hambar in the list,” he says.

Ultimately though, Khir says he hopes that these 12 flavour categories will help revive the description of flavours in the Malay language and in Malay cooking as many people, including those of Malay origin, don’t cook enough to know all of these flavour descriptors.

“I think I scratched the surface, because I think there’s a lot more. I am still reading a lot and have learnt more things. Like I just discovered that in Johor, there is a lauk called 'lauk belantok’ which is used to describe lauk that is stale but still edible from a day or two ago.

“But I think the 12 flavour categories are an eye-opener – even for Malay people. So it would be good for everyone to see the richness of the food vocabulary because people have already forgotten some things,” he says.

THE 12 FLAVOUR CATEGORIES

Asam/masam

Used to describe sourness of any sort, but in particular that particular lip-puckering quality often associated with asam dishes (meals with tamarind as a base flavouring agent) like asam pedas, for example.

Ikan asam pedas is a clear example of a dish that is masam (sour). — Filepic

“I think souring agents are very important in the Nusantara region, you have a huge source of souring agents which add flavour to dishes. So we have vinegar, citruses and we have fruits that provide acidity like garcinia (asam gelugor or asam keeping i.e. tamarind). The fruit of the bunga kantan is very tart but it’s so refreshing in your clear soup – that’s asam.

“In this list, I included both masam and asam. Technically speaking, asam is the sauce that could be fashioned out of asam jawa, but masam is the correct word to describe the sourness of asam. But sometimes people use it interchangeably, so people will say ‘Oh asam rasanya’, but actually it should be masam, but that’s why I included both,” he says.

Asin/masin
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A line-up of the 12 flavour categories ascribed to the Malay language, as defined by food historian Khir Johari.