Translations:Gulai/8/en

Malay traditions and early records

An illustrated manuscript of Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa, a Malay literary work in which gulai is mentioned as a dish favoured by the king

One notable centre of this culinary adaptation was the Malay Peninsula and eastern Sumatra. Located on both sides of the Straits of Malacca, a key maritime corridor in the spice trade and cross-cultural exchange, these regions were historically linked through commerce, migration and shared linguistic and cultural ties. This longstanding interconnectedness fostered their emergence as important hubs for the transmission, adaptation and localisation of curry-based culinary traditions.