Top Three Foods to Explore in Malaysia

By Luke Harper  |   Submitted On December 23, 2013

Traveling to Malaysia? Whether you're coming for a holiday or permanent relocation, you'll find this Southeast Asian country a gem. It's a colorful blend of races, from indigenous Malays to Indians to Chinese and many other ethnicities. Yet another attraction is its unique fusion of 21st century skyscrapers and old, traditional houses forming communities together. You'll find several stores offering local gastronomic favorites which are also for export, from Apollo cake to Maggi noodles to Old Town white coffee to Nescafe coffee. These stores even sell non-food items such as a comfort fabric softener and everything else in one roof. That's convenience! Of course, when you talk about Malaysian gastronomic, you should never miss out on its top three traditional dishes - nasi lemak, char kway teow and the famous satay.

Nasi Lemak

Nasi lemak is Malaysian food that entices you with its fragrance alone. It is a rice dish prepared with pandan leaf, which gives it that irresistible scent, and coconut milk plus sambal (chili-based condiment), anchovies, boiled egg and peanuts. No other local food speaks as much of Malaysia as nasi lemak, the reason it is hailed as the national dish. You can find it installs all over the country, and can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and even as a snack. Interestingly, it is known as an effective cure for hangovers. After rounding up the party circuit, help yourself to a nice serving of nasi lemak to help you feel better in the morning.

Char kway teow

Char kway teow, literally translated as "stir-fried rice cake strips," are another famous noodle-based dish you'll enjoy in Malaysia. It is prepared with flat rice noodles stir-fried in very high temperatures together with both dark and light soy sauce, prawns, cockles, belachan, Chinese chives and bean sprouts. In most cases, you will find char kway teow stir-fried along with fish cake, Chinese sausage and egg, although less traditional versions can include practically anything, from meatballs to vegetables. Pork oil is usually used for stir-frying, and the dish is usually served on a banana leaf with toppings of pork lard croutons. Muslims, however, have made their own variation of this dish by excluding all ingredients made from pork, such as the oil and croutons.

Satay

Satay is what you might call Malaysian pork barbecue, being grilled, seasoned and skewered meat served with a characteristic sauce. The meat can be pork, chicken, fish, mutton, goat or even just tofu. More modern satay uses bamboo sticks, but the original version uses sticks obtained from coconut palm leaves. The meat is grilled over charcoal or wood fire, and eaten with many authentic spicy Indonesian seasonings. Although very popular in Malaysia, satay actually comes from Indonesia where it is considered as the national dish. Aside from Malaysia and Indonesia, this dish is also a favorite in many other Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines.

Han Yaw Enterprise is a worldwide exporter of food items like Maggi Noodles, delicious Apollo Cake, beverages like Nescafe Coffee, Nestle Milo Drink and many other products.

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