A TRADITIONAL dish that is often considered a must-have during the Hari Raya celebration is lemang.
It is commonly enjoyed with chicken or beef rendang, or with chicken or beef floss.
Traditionally, lemang is made by packing glutinous rice into a hollow bamboo tube lined with banana leaves and cooking it over an open flame.
The smoky flavour from the fire enhances the lemang, giving it a soft, slightly greasy texture.
In recent years, lemang can often be seen sold in markets apart from the roadside stalls during Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Hari Raya Aidiladha.
This is because the intricate and time-consuming process, as well as sourcing for the raw material of bamboo, is beyond the reach of many.
The selling and buying process certainly adds to the festive atmosphere in Malaysia.
The Orang Asli community prepares lemang using the pitcher plant, or periuk kera.
Instead of harvesting periuk kera from forests, some Orang Asli have resorted to cultivating these hanging vase-shaped leaves to make lemang for sale.
This helps keep their efforts sustainable, while preserving the community’s culture and heritage.
‘Lemang’ being made by women dressed in traditional costumes during Program Pelita Raya Terengganu 2025 at the Terengganu state sports complex in Gong Badak. — Photos: Bernama and AZMAN GHANI/The Star
A trader at the Kijal night market in Kemaman, Terengganu, selling up to 1,000 sticks two or three days before Hari Raya.
‘Gerak Khas’ actor Shamsuddin Maidin (left), better known as Deen Maidin, also runs a ‘lemang’ business in Taman Putra, Ampang in Selangor.
The Orang Asli community makes ‘lemang’ using pitcher plants, instead of bamboo.
Muhammad Khairi Naqiuddin taking a closer look at bamboo stocked up to make lemang at a shop near Chow Kit in Kuala Lumpur. The shop gets its supply from Orang Asli in Pahang.
