这道菜的名字应该要用闽南话来念, “Chai Buey”在闽南语里就是“剩菜”的意思，这么一说，听起来就不像很好吃的样子，可殊不知这道菜是许多马来西亚家庭过节时最喜欢的一道菜。
这道菜通常在春节年初三的时候做，为什么是年初三呢？因为自除夕夜的年夜饭至年初一、二连续三天的大鱼大肉之后，冰箱里大概已经堆积下许多吃不完的肉菜，而大伙儿的肠胃也快开始吃不消了。
这道菜的主要调味料亚参片/Assam keping--"Garcinia Cambogia", 是一种亚热带产的酸果，在东南亚经常拿来入菜，因为它味酸，有开胃消脂的作用，西方许多天然减肥产品里都带有这个果子的成份，它可堪称为东南亚的山楂呢！
过节时在家来一碗菜尾，即开胃消食又不浪费，是不是很能代表闽南人&客家人节俭又勤奋的传统呢？这道菜因为各家用的剩菜都不一样，所以每家每次做出来的味道也都稍微有点不同，让这道菜更耐人寻味呢！
The name Chai Buey literally means 'leftovers', in many Malaysian Chinese households, this is one of the essential parts of the any celebration especially Chinese new year, after days of cooking and eating big (meat) meals for celebration, all we and our stomach want is probably just a simple easy to digest dish.
This dish is also a very clever way to use leftover meat dishes, the main ingredient used in this dish is Assam keping--"Garcinia Cambogia", a potent ingredient that gave the dish its distinctive sourish taste. Assam Keping/Garcinia Cambogia is also used to aid digestion and weight control in the west, you can find it in capsule forms too.
By the sound of it, you can already feel that this dish is not only delicious, it also gives our overworked digest system a much needed break during the weeks long of celebration.
Preparing it is also easy and effortless, it is just a matter of adding all the leftover meat dishes and vegetables into a big pot and simmer until everything is tender and flavor well blended. The Assam keping and dried chilies came in to give it a sourish and spicy kick. Since the leftover dishes added may be different every time every household, we can safely say that this dish could turn out slightly different every time it is made!
Which is another reason why it is so enticing!
