Malaysian Cuisine

Features of Malaysian Cuisine

There's a common opinion that in Malaysia, whose population is a mix of different cultures and peoples, a national cuisine as such doesn't exist. This isn't entirely true. Traditional Malaysian cuisine simply consists of interweavings and borrowings from the cuisines of various peoples: Chinese, Indian, Thai, etc. You can even find dishes borrowed from the Portuguese. At the same time, you can find purely traditional cuisines of neighboring peoples: Thai cuisine, Indonesian, Indian, Chinese, and others. Worldwide fast-food chains are also widespread here, including McDonald's, Pizza Hut, and others, where you can eat familiar European food.

As in all of Asia, rice is a staple in Malaysia. Rice is present as an ingredient or side dish in almost all dishes served in Malaysian restaurants and cafes, unless it's McDonald's, of course. You can see rice here in all kinds of varieties and forms. It's served with any dish as a side dish. It's mixed with spices, seasonings, and coconut milk. It's even used to make dessert dishes.

Rice in Malay is called "nasi", so the names of most dishes include this word. Rice is denoted the same way in neighboring Indonesian cuisine. All other products are called by one name "lauk", which literally means "a complement to rice".

The variety of flavors in the same product, the bright and rich taste of even seemingly bland ingredients, are given by spices. Among them are various curry mixes, chili pepper, garlic, ginger, galangal, lemongrass, and kaffir lime leaves. Coconut milk used in cooking gives a special taste to simple dishes. Coriander, cumin, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, and anise are often used.

Traditional Malay dishes are never made with pork, as most Malays are Muslim. Usually, the meat used is chicken, fish, lamb, or beef. However, this doesn't mean you won't find pork dishes here. Pork is widely used by Malaysian Chinese, and the variety of pork dishes in restaurants is no less than in any other country. As they say: "Your wish is our command, for a price." Also, many dishes in the Malay diet are prepared using seafood.

For lovers of vegetarian food, Malaysia opens up a whole "Klondike" of tastes and new sensations. The country has a network of Buddhist vegetarian restaurants called "Banana Leaf", offering South Indian cuisine. In these restaurants, not only the dishes themselves are interesting, but also the ceremony of eating without cutlery and unnecessary formalities.

Although the main traditional dishes seem to be the same throughout the country and are made from the same basic ingredients, in fact, their taste will vary significantly in different regions. The region's location, its natural features, and historical development have greatly influenced local traditions and cooking recipes. Moreover, even in the same city, in restaurants of different ethnic groups or districts, the taste of a dish can also vary greatly.

For example, in the north of the country, closer to Thailand, the dishes show the influence of the northern neighbor. Lime, kaffir lime leaves, and lemongrass are used in large quantities, giving the food a slightly sour note and the citrus aroma of Thai dishes. On the southwest coast, the influence comes from the Indonesian island of Sumatra. As a result, dishes here acquire a spicy, pungent flavor.

Regarding the cost of food: you can eat very cheaply in Malaysia, especially if you approach the matter wisely and cautiously when choosing dishes. In a fairly decent cafe, you can eat your fill for 15 RM (Malaysian currency) per person, and if you stick to traditional dishes like Nasi Goreng, Roti Canai, etc., you could spend RM15 for two. Don't believe it? Take a look at the prices in the photo from a cafe in central Kuala Lumpur (click on the photo to enlarge it), taken in October 2011. You'll agree, the prices aren't that high, and I assure you, the portions are large.

Of course, you can find establishments for any budget and spend several hundred dollars on one dinner with lobster or crab. Prices in hotel restaurants are generally quite high, and it's much cheaper to eat at places located outside hotels. What's also surprising is that sometimes in cheap-looking street cafes, consisting of a cart and a plastic table, they might charge you a pretty decent sum for a modest dinner if you don't inquire about the prices beforehand. It's best to look at the menu with prices first, and then order.

To try authentic Malaysian cuisine, you need to eat at a hawker stall or in a cafe where locals eat at least once. You can eat your fill at such a place for RM5. Don't be afraid to eat from stalls: the food there is clean and safe for a healthy stomach. Great attention is paid to food hygiene here, necessitated by the hot climate. Food is prepared right in front of you from fresh ingredients. No reheated food, everything is as fresh as can be. The only thing you should be prepared for is the spiciness of the food. If you have a weak stomach, it's better to approach this issue with great caution or not risk it at all and eat at European establishments.

Generally, the cost of food in Malaysia is often compared to the cost of food in Thailand and Indonesia. So, in Malaysia, food will cost you a little more, about 20-30%, than in Thailand. Food in Indonesia is generally considered one of the cheapest, and here the difference will be about one and a half to two times.

Popular Traditional Malaysian Dishes

Many popular dishes in Malaysia are borrowed from other cuisines in their pure form. Among them are Indonesian Nasi Goreng and Rendang, Thai Tom Yum soup. Here is a list of popular traditional Malaysian dishes you should definitely get acquainted with:

• Nasi Lemak - rice cooked in coconut milk. Served with boiled eggs, anchovies, cucumbers, and fried peanuts. From 6 ringgit (1.51 USD).
• Nasi Goreng - fried rice with pieces of meat, prawns, eggs, and vegetables. Divided into several types with different ingredients, the most classic being Nasi Goreng Ayam, made with chicken. From 7 ringgit (1.76 USD).
• Nasi Dagang - rice in coconut milk with fish curry. From 8 ringgit (2.01 USD).
• Tahu Goreng - fried tofu cubes fried with bean sprouts, spicy seasoning, and coated in ground peanuts.
• Gado Gado - vegetable salad with peanut sauce, coconut milk, and chili pepper, also including bean sprouts and bamboo shoots. From 12 ringgit (3.02 USD).
• Rojak - a salad with pineapple, cucumber, prawn fritters, and boiled egg, served with peanut sauce. From 12 ringgit (3.02 USD).
• Rendang - meat (beef) stewed in coconut milk with spices. Preparing this dish takes several hours, and the result is accordingly exquisite.
• Soto Ayam - spicy chicken soup with vegetables and rice. From 6 ringgit (1.51 USD).
• Satay Ayam or just Satay - chicken skewers with a sweet and sour peanut sauce. From 4 ringgit (1.01 USD).
• Ketupat – rice cooked with spices and fried in palm leaves.
• Ekors - a spicy soup made from buffalo tails.
• Roti Canai or Roti Jala - Malaysian dessert pancakes. Found in a simple form, like a flatbread served with sauce and used instead of bread. But much more interesting are those with fillings of meat, vegetables, fruit, or cheese. Some varieties: Roti Canai Ayam (with chicken), Roti Canai Banana (with sweet banana filling), Roti Canai Cheese (with cheese). Plain roti (flatbread) from 3 ringgit (0.75 USD), filled roti from 6 ringgit (1.51 USD).
• Melaka – a dessert made from sago with coconut milk and palm sugar syrup.
• Murtabak or Roti Canai Ayam - pan-fried layered pancakes with a filling of vegetables and chicken. This is simply the most popular variety of Roti Canai and appears on menus under the names Roti Canai Ayam (Ayam means chicken filling) or Murtabak, but it's essentially the same thing. From 10 ringgit (2.52 USD).
• Ais Kacang and Chendol (or Chendul) - colorful jelly cubes, sweet corn, peanuts, and red beans, topped with shaved ice and drizzled with pink syrup. Ais Kacang is based on red beans, while Chendol has green pandan 'noodles', but in the end they taste almost the same, so try both and decide which you prefer. Both cost from 4 ringgit (1.01 USD).

Fruits in Malaysia

The variety of fruits in Malaysia is typically Southeast Asian. That is, the variety is huge. Here you can find almost any fruit, but naturally, taking into account the season. Most exotic fruits have never seen the shelves of our stores. You can read more about such fruits and their ripening seasons in our article – exotic fruits. All the fruits described in the article can be found at Malaysian fruit markets. The prices aren't exactly very low (compared to Thailand, for example), but they are quite reasonable. Approximate prices for some fruits in October 2011 (per kilogram): pineapple – 4 RM; mango – 9 RM; mangosteen – 12 RM; longan – 10 RM. At local markets a bit further from tourist areas, prices are lower.

Fruits familiar to us, such as apples, grapes, and pears, are hardly grown in Malaysia and are imported from other regions. Therefore, the prices for them here are quite high.

Besides eating fruits fresh, they are widely used as ingredients in Malay cuisine. Freshly squeezed fruit juices are on the menu of almost every restaurant and street cafe.

Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic Drinks in Malaysia

The favorite drinks of Malaysians are tea and coffee (teh tarik and nescafe tarik respectively). Tea and coffee are traditionally sweetened here with sugar or condensed milk, and sometimes spices are added. There is a whole cult of brewing and pouring tea in Malaysia, but don't think it's something like a Japanese or Chinese tea ceremony; however, brewing and pouring tea here can be accompanied by a real show with acrobatic numbers. Even skill competitions in preparing and pouring tea are held. A glass of tea or coffee costs from RM1.2 in a cafe.

In Malaysia, you will have a huge selection of freshly squeezed juices from tropical fruits. You won't taste such juices anywhere else except in Asian countries. Fresh coconut juice or coconut milk is also common. This drink is sold on the street right in the coconut, which they will open for you and give with a straw. The cost of a glass of freshly squeezed juice with ice in a cafe – from RM2, the cost of a coconut from 3 ringgit.

Strong alcoholic drinks are not consumed or encouraged by the Muslim population. Although some Muslims allow themselves to drink local beer, but, of course, within reason, and they never get drunk. Given this, strong spirits are practically not produced, and they can't be found everywhere. These are mostly imported spirits, and the prices are quite steep (except for Langkawi and Labuan).

It's much easier with beer and wine, although even here the prices can't be called democratic. The cost of a can of beer in a cafe or restaurant starts from RM 12 (about 3 dollars). In a store, you can find a small can of beer (0.33 liters) from 8 ringgit (2 dollars), but usually it's more expensive. A large bottle (here it's 0.66 liters) costs no less than 10 ringgit. Wine can be bought in a store from 25 ringgit per bottle, but you first have to find such a store.

Wine is mostly imported, from Australia and neighboring countries. Beer is sold both imported and locally produced. Local beer isn't as bad as you might think.

If you plan to visit Langkawi or Labuan during your trip, you'll be lucky with alcohol. These islands are duty-free zones, and alcoholic beverages and cigarettes are significantly cheaper there. If you plan to spend your vacation in Malaysia on one of these islands, there's no need to buy at airport duty-free shops. In Langkawi, you can find the same things, but cheaper. A can of beer costs from RM1.6, and 1 liter of Baileys liquor costs RM55.