How to Eat Like a Local in Malaysia – Authentic Malaysian Dishes for Foodies
The vibrant nation of Malaysia would offer many novel and interesting experiences for the visitor, and one of these would undoubtedly be the delectable local cuisine. During your stay in this country, you will have the opportunity to enjoy a variety of diverse and delicious dishes that would delight the food lover. Provided below are some suggestions for enjoying Malaysian foods just as a local would.
Eat sate
A great choice with which to commence your sampling of Malaysian foods would be the delicious sate (sometimes also referred to as satay). Sate happens to be a dish originally from Indonesia, but it has acquired great popularity in many Southeast Asian nations including Malaysia. Basically, sate would be pieces of seasoned meat which are placed on skewers and grilled. Usually, it would be made with meats such as beef, chicken, goat, pork, or mutton; however, you might also find sate made with fish balls, seafood, tofu, and vegetables. The accompanying peanut sauce is a key addition to this snack.
Try rendang
Rendang would be another much-loved meat dish that happens to be popular in the region of Southeast Asia. Considered to display influences from North Indian-style curries, rendang would feature meat that is stewed for an extended period within coconut milk, with a selection of spices also added. The beef would be cooked slowly over several hours till the liquid has evaporated and the meat is caramelized and tender. Although Malaysian-style rendang would traditionally be made using beef, it can also be prepared with other meats or seafood such as chicken, water buffalo, goat, crab, or stingray.
Taste curry laksa
The flavourful curry laksa happens to be a Peranakan dish of noodle soup that is commonly consumed by Malaysians, Indonesians, and Singaporeans. This dish features rice vermicelli or broad wheat noodles that are cooked in a spicy, rich soup made with coconut milk. The vital component in curry laksa would be the special spice paste made with ingredients such as shallots, garlic, belacan (a shrimp paste), and lemongrass. It would also often be topped with a hard-boiled egg, deep-fried tofu, cockles, bean sprouts, cuttlefish, and shrimp.
Enjoy char kway teow
Another Malaysian favorite would be this originally Chinese dish of stir-fried noodles that enjoys great popularity in Southeast Asian countries. To prepare this dish, the noodles would be stir-fried on extreme heat within pork fat; a selection of ingredients including dark and light soy sauce, belacan, chili, blood cockles, prawns, fishcake, bean sprouts, and Chinese chives would also be added. The result would be a delectable and tantalizing culinary creation. An accommodation choice to consider where you could base yourself as you enjoy dining in Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital, and try out such local dishes would be PARKROYAL Serviced Suites Kuala Lumpur.
Savor nasi lemak
Traditional nasi lemak meal composition | Image via freepik
Your experience of authentic Malaysian dishes wouldn’t be complete without trying out the much-liked nasi lemak. A national dish of Malaysia, this local specialty would feature sweet-smelling rice that has been cooked in coconut milk with pandan leaves. This dish would typically be served accompanied with sambal (a kind of zesty chili paste), as well as garnishes such as small fried anchovies, slices of cucumber, a fried, or hard-boiled egg, and roasted peanuts. However, it can also be eaten with fried chicken, fried fish, or rendang.
Relish apam balik
Malaysian cuisine would also feature its share of sweet treats, and one of the best-loved would be apam balik. This dish would, in fact, be a sweet variety of murtabak, which happens to be a kind of stuffed pancake commonly consumed in Southeast Asia as well as the Arabian region. Apam balik would be prepared with a combination of flour, sugar, eggs, coconut milk, water, and baking soda. This batter would be cooked in a round pan and topped with margarine or butter, sugar, sprinkles of chocolate, cheese, and crushed peanuts for a heavenly combination.
