2014年5月2日星期五

25 Malaysian Dishes You Should Know


Slideshow SLIDESHOW: 25 Malaysian Dishes You Should Know
[Photos: Carey Jones]
When I first started jotting down notes for this post, scribbling in my notebook in an idle moment after breakfast, it was a list of "10 Malaysian Dishes You Should Know." I certainly couldn't have named you ten characteristic Malaysian foods before I'd gotten on a plane to Penang. And I liked the idea of a brief snapshot of what a person could eat in Kuala Lumpur or Melaka, or look for on a restaurant menu back in the States or Australia or anywhere else.
But after a few more days grazing in Penang, those ten dishes turned into fifteen. By the time I got to Kuala Lumpur, that list had sambal stains all over it... and six or seven more ideas to include. I couldn't bear to leave any behind. "But how could I not mention satay? I have to mention satay. And how could I pick between laksas? And how could I leave out nasi goreng? And what if Serious Eaters never understand how good char kuey teow is?"
You get the idea.
I'm just blown away by the richness of the food culture.
So it's easy to get carried away. But I'd like to defend myself: I'm not an indecisive self-editor or overenthused American. I'm just blown away by the richness of the food culture. When you're talking about "Malaysian food," as we've mentioned before, you're talking about half a dozen things at once. Malay, Chinese, Indian—there are so many culinary traditions colliding in this nation that it's impossible to sum it up neatly.
"We have many restaurants which serve Chinese food exactly the same as it is served, say, in Hong Kong," says Penang-based food writer Helen Ong (view her website here); "On the other hand, certain dishes have been changed to suit local ingredients and tastes." So some "Malaysian" eats may closely resemble foods characteristic of other Asian culinary traditions. Some seem like cross-cuisine mashups. Some are just their own thing altogether.
And in a country where the eating never seems to stop, you've got the opportunity to get to know quite a few dishes. "We are very proud of the fact that in Malaysia, we can eat up to six meals a day," says Ong; "A typical day can start with breakfast, then elevenses, followed by lunch. A light bowl of noodles fills any gaps between 4pm and 5pm, and dinner is our main meal of the day." Hawkers serve to that schedule. Some may appear only in the mornings, others after dark, even through breakfast and lunch and late-night foods aren't really that different. In cities like Penang and Melaka, though, it's no trouble to find street food at any hour of the day.
The takeaway: There's a lot to eat, and a lot of meals in which to do so.
So come get to know Malaysia a bit more. Here's a tour through 25 dishes you should know—laksa and rendang are only the beginning.
What's your favorite Malaysian dish?

The List

Roti canai »
Chicken curry »
Roti jala »
Asam laksa »
Curry laksa »
Satay »
Nasi lemak »
Popiah »
Hainanese chicken rice »
Mee goreng »
Beef rendang »
Nasi goreng »
Char kuey teow »
Ikan bakar »
Oyster omelet »
Won ton mee »
Pasembur »
Bak kut teh »
Hokkien mee »
Chili Crab and Black Pepper Crab »
Fish head curry »
Mee rebus »
Sambal udang »
Asam pedas »
Fried chicken »


More On Malaysia

Hokkien mee
About the author: Carey Jones is the Editor of Serious Eats New York and co-editor of Serious Eats: Sweets. Follow her on Twitter (@careyjones).

34 Comments

Does anyone have an at home recipe for the Roti Canai? I have tried 2 I found online and none have come out right. It annoys me because we love this dish and I hate not being able to pull off an at home recipe.
@jadewbj: In my head, roti canai is something like pizza dough or croissants--possible to make at home but super-technical and probably labor-intensive... which is why I haven't attempted it. That said, if anyone out there has a recipe they've used successfully, would LOVE a link.
This one works:

http://rasamalaysia.com/roti-canai-roti-paratha-recipe/
I forgot to mention to be SURE and pay attention to the video.
Great article! Growing up in Indonesia and Singapore, I ate my weight in roti canai, laksa, satay, mee goreng, chili crab, popiah and mee siam. You describe the flavours of these dishes so well that you are making me drool right now. Thanks for bringing back some amazing food memories!
Does anyone know of a good cookbook of Malaysian recipes, preferably one whose recipes are both authentic and tasty? I'm on a hunt to eventually collect cookbooks of as many world cuisines as possible to really expand my cooking knowledge and eating pleasure, and these SE posts about Malaysian have made me really interested to try it! Thanks.
*searches for Nasi Kandar".... NOOOOO!!


This is going to be INVALUABLE to me during my trip. I'm drooling already, thank you Carey. :)
Indeed there are so many more dishes that could be included...what about Chee Cheong Fun (flat wide noodles with bean paste sauce, and sesame seeds), Yong Tau Hoo (pig intestines, fish balls, veggies in broth), or even Chee Cheong Cheok (crispy and boiled intestines in a savoury pork porridge - YUM!).
I envy your gastronomic tour - Malaysian food has so much to offer...
My favorite dish? - A toss up between satay (pork or chicken), Hainanese Chicken (Singapore style) and oyster omelet, as I recall, the version I had was a little runnier than the one picture with very very tiny oysters and a little oyster sauce added. Ah memories!
This is a pretty good roti canai recipe (it's called roti prata in Singapore): http://ieatishootipost.sg/2010/06/how-to-make-roti-prata-aka-roti-canai.html#more

It's pretty in-depth and comes with a video too.
Love this list! I would just add rojak!
I don't quite agree that Singapore Hokkien Mee is a dry stir-fried version. Yes, it's "drier" than the Malaysian version, but the method of cooking is more akin to a quick braise rather than stir-fry.

Lots of stock is also used in the Singaporean preparation, and together with the high-heat from the charcoal flame helps the noodles to soak up all the flavour of the broth. I've had both versions and always preferred the Singapore Hokkien Mee. Though kudos on these recent series about Malaysian cuisine!
An often forgotten Malaysian/Singapore is Belachan stir-fried Kangkong (stir-fried Water Spinach in shrimp paste). Most of the food featured here are eat-out food that one wouldn't cook at home. Belachan Kangkong is a much beloved home cook meal type of experience. Hope you can feature more home cook recipes in the future from the South-East Asian region.
I loved this article. Thanks!
Still loving the "Snapshots From..." series. Great slideshow.
recipes?
@philandlauren: We've already run recipes for rendang, curry laksa, and roti jala (which I've actually cooked from). Beyond that, I've absolutely loved reading rasamalaysia.com--while I haven't tried any of the recipes from the site I would love to hear if they taste as good as they look!
Malaysian fried chicken is the single best thing I have ever eaten. It probably helped that I'd just finished a nine mile hike, ridden an elephant down a mountain, and then rafted down a river, and that I was seven at the time. But nonetheless, it was singularly, perfectly delicious. My own personal Proustian madeleine.
@Carey Jones LOVE LOVE LOVE Roti Canai. Can't live without. Try this recipe. The trick of good roti canai is the 'Tebar' or flicking of the dough so it'll get fluffier. Hope this recipe works for you guys.

http://www.friedchillies.com/index.php/articles/detail/step-by-step-roti-canai/
Thank you SO much for this and the previous articles about Malaysian food. It has been timed perfectly with my upcoming trip to Malaysia from my home in southern Thailand. I'll be taking the train to Kuala Lumpur, then a trip to Melaka, then either cutting down to Singapore or stopping off in Penang on the way up (have to switch trains there, oh darn!) All my friends down here hate going to Penang for the necessary trips to the Thai Embassy, but I went for a day last November and swooned over the street food (ok ok ok... and the mall with precious precious Forever 21 didn't hurt... we lead a simple island life, us farang!)
Anyhow, I've declared that my only goal for my 7-10 day trip is to gain 10 pounds. I think I can reach it with your help! Thanks again!
Check out this Penang food video -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae7oHJaidPk
Add to the list: Ice kacang, Chang, curry puffs, Sarawak laksa, wantan noodles... Just came back from 5 weeks in Malaysia and I still wish I was there eating..
GardenFresh: Try this cookbook by Mrs Lee at this Amazon link
http://www.amazon.com/New-Mrs-Lees-Cookbook-Cuisine/dp/9812327045
I'm Malaysian Chinese and this is my "bible" when I want to cook some Nyonya dishes.......enjoy
Cocorue
Ahh Ais Kacang, Now what a desert that is... Red beans, green jelly, shaved ice with palm sugar syrup and drizzled with condensed milk. a bright colourful refreshing desert. Just what you need in the hot humid weather we had in Malaysia.
Oh, thanks loads for this info two years too late! ;-)

I compiled a list just like this before my trip to Malaysia and Singapore, along with a few recommendations of places to eat them. There were a number of helpful bloggers in those countries, but I still had to compile it from different sources.
I can't believe nobody mentioned a Ramly Burger
Do you know that some of those food originated in Indonesia and then adapted by Malaysia(such as Nasi Goreng and Rendang)?:D
And some ppl in Indonesia may get very pissed off when they hear that those food are called "Malaysian Food" :D
For those who asked about a good Malaysian CB, Cradle Of Flavor, by James Oseland, is a great book on Malaysian, Indonesian, and Singaporean cooking. I have not made a recipe from that book I haven't liked, and some I have memorized.
BTW, my love for SE Asian food in general has me growing many of the herbs and chiles, along with a lot of garlic and shallots - two things needed in most of the cuisines. Nothing like being able to snip off fresh basils of all kinds, lime leaves, curry leaves, and many of the veggies they use. This winter I am even going to try some of that water spinach hydroponically, since that is not available around here (or most places).
I lived in Malaysia for a few months in 2004 and fell in love with Roti Canai, since then I have been trying it at every Malaysian Restaurant I can find. But honestly never ate one as good&tasty as in Kuala Lumpur. I miss the street food and especially the local hangouts in Bangsar. If you have a chance to go there, do so!
chef.frog:it is blasphemous to say that rendang & nasi goreng is from indonesia?every culture has diff variations of a particular dish..especially when their country is near each other.

did you know that the language they call indonesian actually stems from the Malay language(old malaysian language).ha-ha-ha.sorry but i'm just being patriotic and it is annoying when malaysians are always being criticized by indonesians when in fact we have helped them time and time again during major crisis.--Sorry for a non-food related comment.:P
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On the food front,why isn't ais kacang,cendol(an accompaniment to pasembur),lemang&ketupat not included?Oooh,I can make a mean & tasty Mee Rebus from a recipe that my grandma passed down to me.:)
@liyana, kudos for pointing out that good food gets around. I grew up eating curry laksa. We (Vietnamese) called it something else, but you can't mistake that incredibly delicious flavor. Goes to show: good food is good food no matter where it began :)
Yeah chef.frog, and satay/sate was originated and perfected in Indonesia. I tried many and the best I had was from a place in Banyuwangi that my wife grew up eating. Sedapnya!

Americans are totally oblivious to Indonesia as a country, culture, and cuisine. It is the 4th most populated country in the world yet most Americans couldn't find it on a map, and many had no familiarity with it before the tsunami. Ah well.

This blog has some good recipes from Indo, Malaysia, and Vietnam: http://indonesiaeats.com/ great photos, though some of the steps are a bit vague!

Enjoy!
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