The Wellness Heritage of Malay and Chinese Food & Medicine Homology Traditions in Malaysia

Xianyue Lang; Lay Hoon Ang; Zalina Binti Mohd Kasim

doi:10.70693/jlis.v1i1.697

Authors

Xianyue Lang Universiti Putra Malaysia https://orcid.org/0009-0008-3327-4039
Lay Hoon Ang Universiti Putra Malaysia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2489-7620
Zalina Binti Mohd Kasim Universiti Putra Malaysia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1828-9503

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.70693/jlis.v1i1.697

Keywords:

bak kut teh, Food & Medicine Homology, nasi ulam, thick description, wellness heritage

Abstract

This qualitative study compares nasi ulam (a traditional Malay rice dish mixed with fresh herbs) and bak kut teh(a Chinese Malaysian herbal pork rib soup) as culturally situated Malay and Malaysian Chinese food practices through which participants express ideas about health, bodily balance, and heritage. Food and Medicine Homology (FMH), derived from Chinese dietary discourse, is used here as a comparative analytical label, not as an indigenous Malay category or a claim that the two traditions are conceptually identical. Drawing on interviews, observation, and six selected culinary and medicinal texts, the article asks how participants describe bodily health through these dishes and how they interpret environmental conditions, medicinal food knowledge, and intergenerational transmission in maintaining these practices. The field materials cited in the manuscript are dated November 2024–May 2025 and concern Klang, Kelantan, and Terengganu. Participants associated nasi ulam with panas, sejuk, and angin, and bak kut teh with warming, qi, and related Chinese dietetic vocabularies; these are reported cultural interpretations rather than independently demonstrated physiological effects. Evidence of adaptation in recipes and commercial packaging also complicates a simple contrast between stable ethnic traditions. The contribution lies in identifying both the usefulness and limits of comparison across distinctive ethnomedical vocabularies and social settings. The study does not establish historical climatic causation or clinical efficacy.

Author Biographies

Xianyue Lang, Universiti Putra Malaysia

Xianyue Lang (Corresponding Author) is a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, with a research focus on Translation and Interpretation.

Lay Hoon Ang, Universiti Putra Malaysia

Lay Hoon Ang is an associate professor at Universiti Putra Malaysia. Her research areas include Translation Studies, Sociolinguistics, Language Learning and Chinese Studies.

Zalina Binti Mohd Kasim, Universiti Putra Malaysia

Zalina Binti Mohd Kasim is an associate professor at Universiti Putra Malaysia and her research areas include Applied Linguistics and Cognitive Stylistics. She received her M.A. degree in Linguistics from Universiti Malaya and her Ph.D. degree in Linguistics from Lancaster University.

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