‘Rojak‘ is a Malay dish, usually of raw vegetables, mixed together throroughly with a piquant sauce or gravy. Most of these contain soy sauce, sugar and groundnuts. It is, I suppose, the Southeast Asian equivalent to a salad, although the latter conjures thoughts of health food and blandness while rojak is a heady mixture of tastes & textures!
The Penang variety has a sauce made primarily with hae ko ( otak udang) or shrimp paste. To afficionados, the quality of the hae ko makes or breaks the rojak. Indian Muslims in Penang have their own kind of rojak which is called pasembur. The best one I’ve tasted, ironically, is that made by a Chinese vendor at a makan place just beside Mount Erskine road!
In Johore Bahru, my birth place, the best rojak is characterised by the generous helpings of coarsely-pounded groundnuts. Note the word ‘pounded’ because it just doesn’t taste the same when ground! 
There is also rojak buah, or fruit rojak, and the name is self-explanatory. It’s a very refreshing dish,and you can toss many types of fruit in, depending on your individual preferences. My favourite fruity inclusions are pineapple, jambu air and green mango. Mouth-watering!
Indonesia has its gado-gado, in which some of the vegetables (commonly bean sprouts & long beans) are lightly blanched. These are then also served with a peanut sauce which is milder in taste than the Malaysian type.
I also enjoy a Thai appetiser served with daun kadok, or the piper leaf. It takes a lot of patience to make though, so be forewarned!
As I learn more about rojak, I’ll share that knowledge here.
TTFN, or Ta-ta for now, as Tigger (Winnie the Pooh’s friend) would say,
Carole! ;D
