Malaysia

Malaysia

An assault on the senses, Malaysian cuisine is one of the yummiest and most intense on earth.

Malaysia

Influences

Influenced by Chinese, Indian, Malay, and Portuguese cuisines, Malaysian food is the perfect combination of fresh, crunchy textures and rich, punchy spices.

Flavours

Malaysian food is the perfect combination of fresh, crunchy textures and rich, punchy spices. With an immense array of herbs and spices in local delicacies, one's tastebuds are brought to life, including spicy staples like cinnamon and cloves combined with zingy hits of chilli, lime and lemongrass. With the addition of salty notes from ingredients like dried anchovies and shrimp, up to 10 different soy sauces ranging from salty to sweet to caramelised, puckering sourness from tamarind pulp, and sweetness from palm sugar and coconut milk, Malaysian food is jammed full of flavour.

History and Influences

With a complex and intricate history, Malaysian cuisine today has come from many cultures and regions, passing through this well-travelled trade route. Arab traders and Indian Muslims as early as the 13th century are said to have introduced noodles to the Malay Peninsula and Indonesia. During this time, the Chinese established trading centres along the west coast of the Malay Peninsula to create a meeting trade point for the Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch and British. Whilst dominating a portion of this trade route, these cultures introduced their culinary traditions and ingredients.

Arab traders brought spices from the Middle East, European and British travellers introduced produce like peanuts, pineapple, avocado, tomato, squash and pumpkin. During their time on the Malay Peninsula, the Chinese developed a distinctive cuisine known as 'nonya'. Nonya cooking resulted from blending Chinese recipes and wok cooking techniques with spices and ingredients used by the local Malay community. The dishes are tangy, aromatic, spicy and herbal, and the signature dish is none other than Malaysia's most famous spiced noodle soup – Laksa.

Malaysia

Iconic Dish

Heavily grounded in Southeast Asia's rich spice culture, Malaysian food is a refreshing combination of colour, texture, and flavour with complex, hearty Laksas, rich Rendang curry, and their national rice dish of Nasi Lemak all served alongside sheets of flaky, golden roti. Carrying on their signature taste of coconut, Malaysian desserts are smooth and creamy with a sweet scent of pandan leaves and served with coffee or tea.

Malaysia

Spiceology

A significant user of spices, Malaysia is also known for its growing and production of spices, namely Cinnamon, Cardamom, Star Anise and Cloves. These spices are known as 'rempah empat beradik', meaning the four siblings as they are found throughout most Malay dishes. These are sold separately or as a handy blend often under names like 'seafood curry spices' or 'meat curry spices'. Paired with other aromatics like kaffir lime, galangal and lemongrass (locally grown and imported), these four spices produce the complex and fragrant base flavour and aroma famous for Malaysian cooking.