Traditional Malaysian Food
Malaysia is a country that finds itself in the middle of most other Southeast Asian countries, experienced colonialism from multiple colonial powers, and has huge minority populations from India and China. Based off of this, it is no wonder that Malaysian cuisine is so incredibly diverse. In this post I will try to highlight some famous dishes that are from Malaysia or have become commonplace in Malaysia. There are so many dishes from surrounding countries that are represented in Malaysia with their own twist, along with the existing immense number of dishes from Malaysia’s three major ethnic groups. Keep reading for a little overview of traditional Malaysian food and some must try dishes!
What is Traditional Malaysian Food?
Malaysian cuisine has been developed over centuries by native bumiputera, which is the word used for Malays and other native Malaysian ethnic groups, while also being heavily influenced by the minority Chinese and Indian populations as well as neighbouring countries. Countries that colonized Malaysia like Great Britain, Portugal, and the Dutch have also had an influence on Malaysian cuisine and introduced certain ingredients, such as nutmeg, as they had throughout Southeast Asia.
Malaysian food uses many herbs like coriander, Thai basil, curry leaves, lemongrass, pandan leaves and many others as well as chilies and other spices like ginger, galangal, anise, turmeric, etc. Additionally, many seasonings originating from China are used like soy sauce, oyster sauce and rice wine vinegar. Similar to many other countries in the region, coconut milk is also common in Malaysian cooking. These ingredients are most often used to make noodle dishes or curries that are generally served with rice. This makes for a cuisine that is savoury, spicy, and aromatic in all of the best ways. Now, let me tell you about some of the famous dishes from Malaysia that everyone should try!
Famous Malaysian Dishes
Nasi Lemak
Of course, I must start off with Malaysia’s national dish, nasi lemak. This dish originates from Malay cuisine, which makes sense considering it is probably the most common dish in Malaysia. Nasi lemak is a rich coconut rice dish, with nasi lemak literally meaning rich/fatty/creamy rice. This rice is cooked inside a pandan leaf which is necessary for producing authentic nasi lemak flavour. This rice is then generally served with any combination of sambal, hard-boiled eggs, peanuts, friend anchovies, and/or cucumber.
A common breakfast dish, but really a common anytime dish, this dish is incredibly common throughout Malaysia. Along with the classic toppings, many other toppings may be added as well, especially protein sources. Other common protein sources may include fish or seafood like squid and cockles. Shockingly, I did not get the chance to try this dish in Malaysia because I was ill for most of my time and had other dishes I wanted to try for the few meals where I felt well! I will definitely try to seek it out in Canada though and of course try it next time I visit Malaysia!
Laksa
I think that laksa is the only dish on this list that I have tried and I can confidently tell you all that it is AMAZING! When I first tried laksa I believe it was in Toronto and I genuinely thought this could be my favourite Asian soup/stew, which is pretty incredible considering I think Asia has the best soups/stews in the world. Laksa is a soup as I mentioned that commonly uses coconut milk as a base along with a bunch of spices. It is thought to originate from Nyonya cuisine which is the cuisine of the descendant of the early Chinese immigrants to Malaysia.
This soup is then generally served with noodles, a protein source, and vegetables. Popular variations of this dish include curry laksa, also known as curry mee, and asam laksa which generally omits coconut milk and includes the addition of tamarind, making it sourer. Laksa can also be a combination of the two which is what I had in Toronto I believe but I am not entirely sure. During my time in Malaysia I only got to try asam laksa from a super famous spot and it was delicious but I think that coconut milk based laksa or curry mee are more suited to my tastes. Laksa just tastes unbelievable and I am shocked that it isn’t more common in Canada because I think most people would love it!
Famous asam laksa I tried in Penang!
Roti Canai
Now for the dish I am the saddest I missed out on in Malaysia, roti canai! I am really excited to try this dish because it originates from South Asia, specifically South India, and was brought over by Muslim-Indians to Malaysia. This dish is referred to as a Mamak dish as such, with Mamak being the name for Malaysians of Indian descent.
Roti canai is a flatbread that is crispy on the outside but soft on the inside, apparently often using coconut water as opposed to regular water to achieve this desired texture. If you are familiar with South Asian breads, I would say this is like paratha as opposed to roti. It is most commonly served with dal, a lentil curry also originating from South Asia and one of the dishes I personally probably consume more than anything, but may also be served with meat or seafood curries. Seeing the Malaysian/Mamak twist on this classic South Asian combination of flatbread with curry is something I cannot wait to experience for myself!
Mee Goreng Mamak
Mee goreng mamak is a fusion dish that combines the Chinese and Indian influences in Malaysia. Mee goreng is a fried noodle dish that is found in many countries throughout Southeast Asia that generally consists of fried noodles, vegetables, and a protein source. This dish is thought to have originated from Chinese fried noodle dishes, introduced by Chinese immigrants to Southeast Asia.
Each country has its own version but in Malaysia one of the most common versions is mee goreng mamak, which maintains the Chinese flavours of the fried noodles with soy sauce and vinegar while adding Indian and Malay spices. This reminds me a lot of what we refer to as Hakka Chinese cuisine in Pakistan, which is pretty much the same concept of taking Chinese cuisine and adding Indian flavours. I personally love this concept and Hakka Chinese food so I figured I would enjoy this dish but didn’t really get the opportunity to try it. I actually tried mee goreng in Indonesia and didn’t love it but I am assuming it’s different from how they do it in Malaysia.
Air Batu Campur (ABC)
Air Batu Campur (ABC), also known as Ais Kacang, is a popular Malaysian dessert. This dessert is the Malaysian take on shaved ice. Toppings include red bean, condensed milk, syrups, cornflakes, peanuts, fruits, ice cream and many others. The origins of this dish date back to the early 1900s, and this dish is also popular in Singapore. Shaved ice and other frozen desserts seem pretty common in South/Southeast Asia in general which makes sense considering the scorching heat in the summers. I didn't get the chance to try it but I personally can’t think of a better way to cool off than having a fully loaded shaved ice like ABC so it definitely sounds like the perfect desert on a hot Malaysian day to me!
I hope you all enjoyed this post and got a little overview of some famous Malaysian dishes. It was hard to decide what dishes to include in this post because there is so much diversity in Malaysian cuisine, especially between the three major ethnic groups, so hopefully I didn’t overlook a super famous dish by accident hahah. For more posts like this as well as recipes and restaurant recommendations checkout my other blog posts. Also make sure to follow me on social media to see all the amazing places I visit and all of the mind-blowing food I try!
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