Malaysian cuisine · Malay, Chinese and Indian tables under one roof: nasi lemak, laksa and the mamak shop.
The dishes that carry Malaysian cuisine are the ones a market cook and a home kitchen would both recognise.
Eight signatures below explain the table to a first-time diner and to a grocer stocking the aisle.
Meandkancil2020 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Coconut rice with sambal, ikan bilis, egg and cucumber.
Nasi lemak is cooked from Kuala Lumpur to diaspora rooms as a reference plate of Malaysian cuisine.
“The pantry lesson is belacan / tempoyak beside rice / noodle.”
Giddy98 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Penang assam or curry laksa — two soups that share a name and little else.
Laksa is cooked from Kuala Lumpur to diaspora rooms as a reference plate of Malaysian cuisine.
“The pantry lesson is belacan / tempoyak beside rice / noodle.”
Flaky griddle bread with dhal or curry.
Roti canai is cooked from Kuala Lumpur to diaspora rooms as a reference plate of Malaysian cuisine.
“The pantry lesson is belacan / tempoyak beside rice / noodle.”
Elizetang · Public domain
Wok-fried flat noodles with cockles and chili.
Char kway teow is cooked from Kuala Lumpur to diaspora rooms as a reference plate of Malaysian cuisine.
“The pantry lesson is belacan / tempoyak beside rice / noodle.”
No machine-readable author provided. Terence assumed (based on copyright claims). · CC BY 2.5
Poached chicken and seasoned rice, a hawker classic.
Hainanese chicken rice is cooked from Kuala Lumpur to diaspora rooms as a reference plate of Malaysian cuisine.
“The pantry lesson is belacan / tempoyak beside rice / noodle.”
Gunawan Kartapranata · CC BY-SA 4.0
Grilled skewers with peanut sauce, Malay and hawker form.
Satay is cooked from Kuala Lumpur to diaspora rooms as a reference plate of Malaysian cuisine.
“The pantry lesson is belacan / tempoyak beside rice / noodle.”
Kutubkhanah · CC BY-SA 4.0
Rice with a crowd of curries, billed by what is scooped.
Nasi kandar is cooked from Kuala Lumpur to diaspora rooms as a reference plate of Malaysian cuisine.
“The pantry lesson is belacan / tempoyak beside rice / noodle.”
Wiki Farazi · CC0
Iced coconut, palm sugar and green rice jelly.
Cendol is cooked from Kuala Lumpur to diaspora rooms as a reference plate of Malaysian cuisine.
“The pantry lesson is belacan / tempoyak beside rice / noodle.”
Stats are relative 0–100 marks within this cuisine, for comparison only.
Toggle icons on and off — every bar rescales to the leader of your selection.
Does Nasi lemak abroad still count as Malaysian cuisine when the pantry is rewritten?
Capitals claim Laksa; provinces disagree, loudly.
Tadka, dal and a subcontinental map: masala, rice, breads and heat that is not one curry.
Overall 76 🥥Islands of sambal and coconut: rendang, nasi goreng and a spice-trade pantry across 17,000 islands.
Overall 68 🍗Vinegar, garlic and a fiesta table: adobo, sinigang and the Chinese-Spanish-American pantry of the islands.
Overall 62