Get ready to take a trip to Malaysia… from the comfort of your own kitchen! This curated collection of Malaysian recipes from Marion Grasby showcase authentic and delicious Malaysian flavours. From Mee Siam to Ayam Goreng (Malaysian Fried Chicken), there’s something to spice up all your weeknight dinners.
What is Malaysia’s national dish?
The national dish of Malaysia will come as no surprise to those who are familiar with the epicness that is Malaysian cuisine. The national dish of Malaysia is Nasi Lemak, not only is this rice dish Malaysia’s national dish, it is also one of the most popular rice dishes in the world! Nasi essentially means rice, and Lemak roughly translates to rich or tasty. The rice is boiled in coconut milk, pandan leaves and other spices and is mostly served with Ayam Goreng (Malaysian Fried Chicken), sambal, roasted peanuts and boiled eggs. Rich and flavourful – if you haven’t had the chance to try nasi lemak it’s not one to be missed!
What are some of the most popular ingredients in Malaysian recipes?
Malaysian recipes tend to be a bit of a combination of a lot of SouthEast Asian cooking. Malaysian cuisine uses the fiery chillies seen a lot in Thai cooking, coupled with the fragrant spices commonplace within Indonesian recipes.
There are a few quintessential ingredients you will want to keep stocked if you’re planning on whipping up Malaysian food this weekend.
These are some quintessential ingredients in Malaysian cooking:
What is sambal? And why is it used so much in Malaysian recipes?
Sambal is a type of chilli paste that is thought to have originated in Indonesia, but has made its way into a lot of Malaysian recipes over the years. Typically sambal is made of a variety of different chillies, paired with other ingredients like shrimp paste, garlic, ginger, shallots, lime juice and palm sugar. Sambal is like a spicy, sweet, umami flavour bomb! And it really does level up Malaysian recipes.
