Mǎlāzhǎn shì Mǎlái cài lǐ hěn zhòngyào de tiáoliào.
Belachan is a very important condiment in Malay cuisine.
Tips
memory
Loanword from Malay 'belacan,' which is fermented dried shrimp pressed into a block. The Chinese characters 马拉盏 are purely phonetic - none of the literal meanings (horse / pull / lamp) apply.
culture
Used heavily in Singaporean, Malaysian, and Hong Kong Cantonese cooking - most famously in 马拉盏炒饭 and 马拉盏空心菜. The word is rare in mainland Mandarin recipes outside of Southeast-Asian-style restaurants.
