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187 recipes

Nasi ulamHerb rice

In Kelantan and Terengganu on Malaysia's east coast, nasi ulam is the cool, fragrant rice eaten at lunch in the heat: day-old rice tossed with a heap of hair-thin raw herbs (ulam), lemongrass, lime leaf, shallots and dry-toasted coconut. It is traditionally mixed with flaked salted or dried fish; this is a vegetarian version that leaves the fish out and leans on the toasted coconut and a squeeze of lime for depth. It is a light meal of about 340 kcal, with around 7 g of protein, so it is not high in protein; serve it with fried tofu or tempeh. The common mistake is using hot rice, which wilts the herbs into a dark mush; the rice must be cold. Chef's tip: stack the leaves, roll them into a tight cigar and slice across as thinly as you can; the finer the herbs, the more perfume.

45 min

Malaysian Rice & Grains

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Bubur gandum (wheat pudding with coconut milk and palm sugar)

In Malaysia bubur gandum belongs to Ramadan: it is ladled out at the bazaars that open before sunset and cooked in giant pots at mosques for breaking the fast, and it appears again at Hari Raya open houses. Pearled wheat is simmered until the grains burst and turn chewy, then cooked with gula Melaka, pandan and coconut milk into a thick, toffee-brown porridge. The texture is somewhere between rice pudding and soft barley, with a sweet, smoky, coconut flavour. Serve it warm, or at room temperature on a hot evening. The pudding has always been egg-free, because the starch released by the wheat thickens the coconut milk as it simmers, so nothing else is needed to bind it. Chef's tip: cook the wheat in water until fully soft before adding the sugar and coconut milk; the common mistake is adding them too early, which keeps the grains hard however long you cook them.

130 min

Malaysian Desserts

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Asam pedas ikanSour spicy tamarind fish

Asam pedas, "sour and spicy", is the pride of Malay kitchens in Melaka and Johor, cooked for everyday lunches and sold at rice stalls with a dozen other dishes. Fish steaks simmer in a thin, brick-red gravy of dried chilli, shallot and belacan soured with tamarind, with okra and tomato soaking up the sauce and Vietnamese mint scenting it. It is fiery, tangy and light, with about 29 g of protein a portion from the fish; eat it with plenty of plain rice. The common mistake is rushing the chilli paste: if it isn't fried until the oil separates, the gravy tastes raw and harsh. Chef's tip: use oily, firm fish such as Spanish mackerel or stingray, which stand up to the sour broth.

50 min

Malaysian Fish

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Aiskrim potong (Malaysian red bean ice-cream bars)

Aiskrim potong, literally cut ice cream, comes from the days when Malaysian factories froze long blocks of dense ice cream that vendors sliced into bars to order. It is still sold nationwide from motorbike freezers and kampung shops, especially in the afternoon heat after school, in flavours like coconut, sweet corn, yam and durian, with red bean as the classic. It is firmer and denser than scooped ice cream and melts slowly in the hand. There is no egg: the base is cornflour cooked into coconut milk and milk, with a little condensed milk. The cooked starch gives the bars their chewy, close bite and keeps them smooth because it ties up the water before it can form big crystals. Chef's tip: stir the half-frozen block once so the beans don't all sink; the common mistake is pouring and leaving it, which gives a bean-heavy bottom and a plain top.

390 min

Malaysian Desserts

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Heong pengSesame maltose biscuits

Ipoh, the old tin-mining city in Perak, is famous for heong peng ('fragrant biscuits'), and visitors buy them by the bag along with white coffee. They are flat, round pastries with a crisp, flaky shell coated in sesame seeds, filled with a sticky, chewy layer of maltose mixed with shallot oil and fried shallots: sweet, savoury and deeply aromatic at once. Locals eat them with a cup of kopi in the morning or as a snack on the road. The pastry is traditionally made with lard; this recipe uses vegetable shortening and keeps the shallot oil, so it is vegan. Chef's tip: warm the maltose jar in hot water before measuring, then chill the finished filling until firm, because maltose softens fast and a runny filling leaks out and burns on the tray.

117 min

Malaysian Baking

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Ikan goreng kunyit (turmeric fried fish)

Ikan goreng kunyit is cooked in Malay kampung kitchens and city flats alike for a simple lunch or dinner with rice, sambal and vegetables: small whole fish or thick steaks rubbed with turmeric, salt and a little chilli, then fried until golden and crisp at the edges. The mistake is moving the fish too soon; leave it until it releases from the pan on its own, or the crust tears and sticks. Chef's tip: score the fish to the bone so the turmeric seasons the flesh and it cooks evenly.

22 min

Malaysian Fish

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Telur dadar (Malaysian fluffy omelette)

Telur dadar turns up on Malaysian tables from Penang to Johor at almost any meal: next to nasi lemak for breakfast, in a nasi campur spread at lunch, or with plain rice, soy sauce and sambal on a night when there is no time to cook. It is thicker and puffier than a French omelette, with crisp brown edges and pockets of soft onion and chilli. The common mistake is pouring the eggs into oil that isn't hot enough, so they spread thin and turn rubbery instead of puffing up. Chef's tip: beat the eggs hard with a fork until frothy just before they go in, and use a small pan so the omelette stays thick.

10 min

Malaysian Breakfast & Brunch

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Tau sar piahMung bean pastries

Old biscuit shops in George Town, Penang, still bake tau sar piah in big trays every morning, and tourists leave with stacks of plastic tubs. The pastries are only a couple of bites each: a tender, flaky shell, glazed golden, around a fluffy mung bean filling. Penang bakers sell two kinds, sweet, and a savoury-sweet one with fried shallots and white pepper, which is what many locals prefer; this recipe gives the sweet filling with the savoury twist as an option. The pastry is traditionally made with lard; this version uses vegetable shortening and keeps them vegetarian. Chef's tip: leave a small, unfloured patch at the seam when wrapping, because floury edges won't stick together and the pastries split open as they bake.

112 min

Malaysian Baking

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Biskut dahliaPiped flower butter cookies

In the last days of Ramadan, Malaysian kitchens from Johor to Kedah turn into small factories of kuih raya, and biskut dahlia is one of the easiest and prettiest: soft buttery dough piped through a star nozzle into ruffled flowers, each with a bit of glacé cherry or a chocolate chip in the centre. They are crisp at the edges and tender inside, with a vanilla-milky flavour from custard powder and milk powder, and they fill the jars set out for open-house visitors at Hari Raya Aidilfitri. This version uses one egg yolk; for an eggless batch, replace it with 2 tablespoons of milk. Dough that is too stiff is the usual problem, as it will not go through the nozzle; beat the butter well and keep the kitchen warm. Chef's tip: chill the piped trays for 15 minutes before baking so the petals hold their sharp ridges.

50 min

Malaysian Baking

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Telur masak kicap (Malaysian eggs in sweet soy sauce)

Telur masak kicap is the kind of dish Malaysian mothers make on a busy school night, and children across Selangor and beyond grow up loving it: fried eggs with crisp, frilly edges, bathed in a sweet-salty soy sauce with soft onions, spooned over hot rice. The sauce soaks into the browned whites while the yolks stay creamy. The mistake to avoid is boiling the sauce hard after the eggs go back in, which makes the whites tough and the sauce bitter. Leave out the chilli for small children. For pregnant people, young children, older or vulnerable people, fry the yolks until fully set. Chef's tip: fry the eggs in plenty of hot oil and baste the tops, so the edges go brown and lacy; that crisp skin is what holds the sauce.

17 min

Malaysian Vegetarian

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Sambal udang (prawns in chilli sambal)

Sambal udang is a Malay home dish cooked for everyday rice meals and dished up at nasi lemak stalls from Kuala Lumpur to Penang: prawns cooked in a deep red paste of dried chilli, shallot and garlic, soured with tamarind and sweetened with a little sugar. This version leaves out belacan (shrimp paste) as optional. The mistake is not frying the chilli paste for long enough; it needs to cook until the oil separates and turns red, or it tastes raw and harsh. Chef's tip: soak the dried chillies in just-boiled water while you peel the prawns and the paste blends silky smooth.

25 min

Malaysian Fish

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Kaya puffsCoconut jam puff pastries

Malaysian kopitiams spread kaya, a silky jam of coconut milk, eggs, sugar and pandan, on toast for breakfast; bakeries in Kuala Lumpur and Melaka fold the same jam into crisp puff pastry half-moons sold warm from the oven, often alongside curry puffs. They are a school-holiday treat and a favourite at tea time with teh tarik. This recipe makes a small batch of pandan kaya on the stove and uses ready-made all-butter puff pastry, so it fits into an afternoon. Overfilling is the trap, as the kaya bubbles out and burns on the tray. Chef's tip: chill the kaya until firm and keep the pastry cold; cold pastry puffs into crisp layers, while warm pastry stays flat and greasy.

65 min

Malaysian Baking

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Nasi goreng kampungVillage fried rice

Kampung means village, and this is the fried rice of Malay countryside kitchens and roadside warung: hot with pounded bird's-eye chillies, savoury from toasted belacan shrimp paste and crisp ikan bilis (dried anchovies), and green with water spinach. It is cooked fast and eaten for lunch with a runny fried egg on top. Chef's tip: adding the anchovies with the rice makes them soggy; fry them crisp first, take half out and scatter them on at the end.

25 min

Malaysian Rice & Grains

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Serunding dagingSpiced beef coconut floss

On the first morning of Hari Raya, Malay families across the peninsula set out serunding daging beside lemang (rice cooked in bamboo) and ketupat, and jars of it are sent to relatives who couldn't come home. Beef is simmered tender, shredded into fine threads and slowly dry-fried with a lemongrass and chilli paste and grated coconut until it is fluffy, dark and almost crisp. It keeps for weeks and is wonderful sprinkled over plain rice. Chef's tip: turning up the heat to speed things up scorches the coconut and makes it bitter; it needs low heat and constant stirring for the full hour.

180 min

Malaysian Meat

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Lompat tikamLayered pandan and coconut sweet

Kota Bharu and Kuala Terengganu Ramadan stalls ladle lompat tikam into plastic bags or cups for the walk home before buka puasa: a pool of dark gula Melaka syrup, chewy strips of green pandan dough, soft glutinous rice and a lid of salted coconut cream. The name means roughly 'jump and stab', and nobody agrees why. It is three small jobs that come together in a glass, so make the parts ahead. Chef's tip: a thin, runny coconut layer is the common disappointment; cook it until it is thick and spoonable so it sits on top instead of sinking into the syrup.

120 min

Malaysian Desserts

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Ayam goreng berempahSpiced fried chicken

Ayam goreng berempah is what Malaysians pile beside nasi lemak at breakfast stalls in Kampung Baru and buy by the piece at Ramadan bazaars: chicken marinated in turmeric, lemongrass, galangal and ginger, fried until the skin is deep mahogany, then showered with the crunchy fried spice paste and curry leaves from the wok. Chef's tip: frying on too high a heat burns the spice coating before the meat near the bone is cooked; keep the oil at a steady 165 °C and check the thickest piece with a thermometer.

55 min

Malaysian Chicken

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Air jagungSweet corn drink

Night markets in Selangor and Perak sell air jagung in tall cups, a pale-yellow, lightly sweet drink made from fresh corn cooked with pandan and blended smooth; some stalls stir in evaporated milk, but the plain version is vegan and very refreshing. It tastes like the milk from the bottom of a bowl of sweetcorn, with a grassy pandan note. Chef's tip: skipping the sieve is a common short cut that leaves the drink gritty with husk; strain it well, pressing on the pulp.

25 min

Malaysian Drinks

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Kuih keriaSweet potato doughnuts

Afternoon kuih sellers in Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh pile kuih keria on trays still warm, each ring wearing a thin white shell of crystallised sugar that crackles when you bite. The dough is mostly mashed sweet potato with just enough flour to hold it, so the inside is soft and almost creamy. Orange-fleshed sweet potato gives a sunny colour; the yellow or purple ones are used too. Chef's tip: adding the sugar to syrup that isn't boiled long enough leaves the doughnuts sticky; it must reach the point where a drop turns cloudy and grainy on a cold plate.

60 min

Malaysian Desserts

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Teh O ais limauIced black tea with lime

In kopitiam shorthand, 'teh' is tea with milk, 'O' means no milk, 'ais' is iced and 'limau' adds lime, so this is the order Malaysians shout across the counter on a sticky afternoon in Penang or Kuala Lumpur. Strong, sweetened black tea is cooled over ice and squeezed with lime until it tastes like a sharper, less perfumed iced lemon tea. It goes with fried noodles and roti. Chef's tip: pouring hot tea straight onto a glass of ice dilutes it into weak tea; brew it double strength, or chill it first.

10 min

Malaysian Drinks

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Nasi goreng pattayaFried rice in omelette

Despite the Thai beach in its name, nasi goreng pattaya is a Malaysian mamak and warung favourite, ordered at midnight in Kuala Lumpur or for a Sunday lunch in Johor: chilli-red chicken fried rice parcelled in a thin, golden omelette, then zigzagged with ketchup and chilli sauce. Children love cutting into it to find the rice. The rice can be made with mixed vegetables instead of chicken. Chef's tip: freshly cooked rice turns to mush in the wok; use rice cooked the day before and kept in the fridge.

30 min

Malaysian Rice & Grains

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Kuih talamPandan coconut layer cake

Trays of kuih talam sit on almost every kuih stall from Johor Bahru to Alor Setar, cut into neat green-and-white squares that office workers pick up with their morning kopi. The bottom layer is a springy pandan jelly of rice flour and tapioca; the top is a soft, slightly salty coconut layer that melts against it. It needs a 20 cm square tin and a wok or steamer with a lid, and it slices best the next morning. Chef's tip: wrap the steamer lid in a cloth; condensation dripping onto the white layer leaves pockmarks and a watery top.

70 min

Malaysian Desserts

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Cucur udangPrawn fritters

Cucur udang come straight from the wok at roadside stalls across Malaysia in the late afternoon, sold in paper bags with a tub of sweet chilli sauce, and they are one of the busiest items at Ramadan bazaars. Each fritter is a craggy, crunchy cluster of batter, bean sprouts and chives with a whole prawn pressed on top. A mix of plain and rice flour keeps them crisp for longer. Chef's tip: overcrowding the wok drops the oil temperature and gives greasy, pale fritters; fry no more than four or five at a time.

40 min

Malaysian Snacks & Starters

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Sup kambingMutton soup

Mamak restaurants in Penang and Kuala Lumpur keep a pot of sup kambing going from breakfast to supper, ladled over chunks of mutton on the bone and eaten with slices of soft white bread or roti. The broth is clear but powerful: black pepper, star anise and cinnamon, a little tomato and potato, and a crown of fried shallots, celery leaves and lime. It is what Malaysians crave when they have a cold. Chef's tip: grinding the spices to powder clouds the broth and makes it gritty; tie them whole in a muslin bag, the way stalls do with their 'sup bunjut'.

140 min

Malaysian Soups

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Roti tisuPaper-thin crisp flatbread

Late at night in Kuala Lumpur's 24-hour mamak restaurants, someone at the next table will order roti tisu and a towering golden cone arrives, as tall as a teh tarik glass, brushed with butter and sugar. The dough is the same as roti canai, but stretched on the oiled counter until you can read a newspaper through it, then griddled into a single crisp sheet. Kids break it from the top down; adults dip it in dhal. It takes practice, so expect the first one or two to tear. Chef's tip: the dough must rest at least 6 hours, better overnight, in plenty of oil; rushed dough snaps back and tears instead of stretching thin.

45 min

Malaysian Snacks & Starters

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