40 Best Malaysian Foods

1. Wonton Mee or Wonton Noodles

40 Best Malaysian Foods

Wonton Noodles which originated in China have become popular in the world. Versions of Wonton Noodles in Malaysia stand out. The dish is often topped with boiled/steamed/fried wontons, slices of char siu, boiled choy sum, green onions. The soup version consists of egg noodles, hot broth, and toppings. The dry version is chilled in a black sauce, topped with toppings, and accompanied with a bowl of soup containing broth, wontons, and green onions.

2. Mee Rebus

40 Best Malaysian Foods

Mee Rebus is a noodle soup dish which consists of yellow egg noodles, a spicy slightly sweet curry-like gravy, and various toppings. The gravy is made from made from shrimps broth, lemongrass, galangal, shallots, salam leaf, kaffir lime leaf, gula jawa (Indonesian dark palm sugar), salt, water, and cornstarch as thickening agent. Toppings include hard-boiled egg, dried shrimps, boiled potato, calamansi limes, spring onions, Chinese celery, green chillies, fried firm tofu, fried shallots, and bean sprouts.

3. Laksa

40 Best Malaysian Foods

Laksa is a spicy noodle soup consisting of rice noodles (or rice vermicelli), chicken, prawn or fish, a spicy soup based on either rich and spicy curry coconut milk or on sour asam (tamarind or gelugur).

4. Mee Goreng Mamak

40 Best Malaysian Foods

Mee Goreng Mamak is a stir-fried noodle dish coated in a thickened sweet and spicy sauce. Fresh egg noodles are tossed with tomato wedges, choy sum, fried tofu squares, tiger prawns, bean sprouts, and green onions. Finish them off with a sprinkling of crispy shallots and a squeeze of lime juice.

5. Char Kuey Teow

40 Best Malaysian Foods

Char kway teow literally means “stir-fried ricecake strips”. It is made from flat rice noodles, stir-fried with with light and dark soy sauce, chilli, a small quantity of belachan, whole prawns, deshelled blood cockles, bean sprouts and chopped Chinese chives.

6. Nasi Lemak

Nasi lemak is a fragrant rice dish cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaf. There are many versions of this food in many Southeast Asia. The most traditional favorite version in Malaysia offers sambal, anchovies, peanuts and boiled egg.

7. Nasi Kandar

40 Best Malaysian Foods

Nasi kandar is a meal of steamed rice which can be plain or mildly flavoured, and served with a variety of curries and side dishes.

8. Ketupat

40 Best Malaysian Foods

Ketupat is a type of dumpling made from rice packed inside a diamond-shaped container of woven palm leaf pouch. After peeling the container, the rice dumpling is served as the replacement of plain steamed rice.

9. Lemang

Lemang is a traditional Malaysian food made of glutinous rice, coconut milk, and salt, cooked in a hollowed bamboo stick lined with banana leaves. The leaves prevents the rice from sticking to the bamboo. Lemang is normally served together with beef or chicken rendang

10. Nasi Kerabu

40 Best Malaysian Foods

Nasi Kerabu is a rice dish in which blue-colored rice is eaten with dried fish or fried chicken, crackers, pickles, and other salads. The blue color of the rice comes from the petals of butterfly-pea flowers. Instead of petals of butterfly-pea flowers, they also use turmeric to cook yellow rice, eaten with stuffed chilies, fried keropok (deep-fried crackers).

11. Bubur

Bubur is a coconut milk-based, sometimes sugary soup including a medley of vegetables and meats, and sometimes dyed balls of flour and coconut milk. Its recipe vary in different regions.

12. Asam Pedas

Asam Pedas is a sour and spicy fish stew dish containing seafood or freshwater fish, cooked in tamarind fruit juice with chili, ginger, shrimp paste, garlic, and other herbs. Fishes and seafood include mackerel, mackerel tuna, tuna, skipjack tuna, red snapper, gourami, pangasius, hemibagrus or cuttlefish.

13. Sambal Udang or Prawn Sambal

Sambal Udang is a tangy and fiery dish of prawn which is cooked in sambal sauce made from a mixture of a variety of chili peppers, and other secondary ingredients such as fish sauce, shrimp paste, garlic, etc. Sambal Udang is a Malaysian people’s favorite food to eat with steamed rice.

14. Gulai Ayam Kampung

16. Rendang (Beef, Chicken Or Lamb)

Rendang is a spicy, rich, and creamy stewed meat dish which highlight is that it can last for as long as four weeks if it is cooked properly. The stew contains meats (beef, chicken, lamb), coconut milk, and spices (ginger, galangal, turmeric leaves, lemongrass, garlic, shallots, chillis, etc.)

17. Satay

Satay is a dish of seasoned, skewered and grilled meat, served with a sauce. The meats can be chicken, mutton, beef, fish, pork, goat, which are sliced or diced, sometimes tofu. The dish is dipped in various sauces, the most favorite in Malaysia is peanut sauce made from peanuts and soy. Although Satay can also be found in Thailand and Indonesia, the Malaysian Satay is excellent and worth trying.

18. Ikan Bakar

Ikan bakar is a dish of charcoal-grilled fish or other forms of seafood. The fish is marinated in sambal – a Southeast Asian chili-based condiment – and grilled over banana leaves. Popular fishes used for the dish include tilapia, skate, snapper, sea bass, or stingray.

19. Ayam Percik or Chicken With Percik Sauce

Ayam Percik is grilled or roasted chicken slathered in a spicy mixture of chili, garlic, ginger sauce, and coconut milk. The chicken is marinated with spices like turmeric, cumin, coriander, lemongrass, coconut milk, and tamarind. As the chicken is cooked, the marinade caramelizes on the meat.

20. Otak Otak

Otak-otak is a fish cake made of ground fish meat mixed with tapioca starch and spices. Type of fish used to make otak-otak vary, the most common in Malaysia is mackerel. The mixture of and other ingredients is wrapped in a banana leaf that has been softened by steaming, then grilled or steamed.

21. Kaya Toast

Kaya toast is a snack prepared with kaya (coconut jam), a topping of sugar, coconut milk and eggs, pandan, and sometimes margarine or butter.

Chai Tow Kway is a common dish or dim sum of Teochew cuisine consisting of cubes of radish cake (steamed rice flour, water, and shredded white daikon), stir-fried with eggs, preserved radish, and other seasonings, topped with green onions.

23. Roti John

Roti John is an omelet sandwich, originated in Malaysia. To make this food, pour a mixture of meat (beef, pork), diced onion, egg, spices onto a pan and place a piece of baguette on top, press on the bread with a spatula for a few minutes, turn the bread over to make it a little crispy, remove from pan, cut into small pieces, add mayonnaise and/or sambal to the pieces.

24. Roti Jala

Roti Jala is a tea time snack, usually eaten with curry dishes. The food looks like a golden lace doily. To make this food, drizzle a batter made from flour, eggs, milk (dairy or coconut), a pinch of turmeric in a circular motion to create “net-like” effect.

25. Roti Canai

Roti Canai is a flatbread made with a variety of ingredients such as meat, egg, cheese, sardines. In Malaysia, the food is a popular breakfast and snack.

26. Cendawan Goreng or Fried Mushrooms

27. Rojak

Rojak is a tangy, spicy, and sweet salad dish containing sliced vegetables, fruits, and a dressing made from ground chili pepper, peanuts, and palm sugar.

28. Jeu Hoo Char

Jeu Hoo Chars is a salad which features a finely shredded mixture of stir-fried carrots, onions, mushrooms, pork, and cuttlefish.

29. Popia Basah or Wet Spring Roll

Popia Basah (Wet Spring Roll, Popiah) is a roll dish, served with sweet sauce and chili paste. It is wrapped in popiah wrapper and filled with julienned jicama, diced bean curd, shrimp, sometimes french beans, crab meat.

30. Lor Bak or Five-spice pork roll

Lor Bak is a crispy deep fried dish, is made with marinated pork in Chinese five-spice powder and then rolled up with bean curd skin. The rolls are usually served alongside with some cucumber slices and sweet chili sauce.

31. Murtabak

Murtabak or stuffed pancake is often described as spicy square folded omelet pancake stuffed with green onions, potatoes, herbs and meats (beef, chicken or mutton), often served with a curry sauce or hot sweet-sour soy sauce and acar (pickled condiment consisting of diced cucumber, sliced carrot, shallots, sliced chilies in sweetened vinegar).

32. Satar

Satar is a Malaysian traditional food containing boneless fish, a mixture of spices, wrapped in banana leaf and grilled over a flaming charcoal of fire.

33. Rempeyek

Rempeyek is a deep-fried savoury cracker made from flour (often rice flour) and peanuts/dried anchovies/small shrimp/dried shrimp, bound or coated by crispy flour batter. Coconut milk, salt, candlenut, coriander, sometimes citrus leaf are often added to the batter.

34. Putu Piring

Putu Piring is a round, steamed rice cake filled with melted palm sugar or gula melaka, and eaten with freshly grated coconut. It is a popular local Malaysian snack.

35. Tepung Pelita or Double-layer  Rice Flour Dessert

Tepung Pelita is a two layer kuih of santan and pandan custard, steamed in little banana leaf or pandan pots. The custard is soft-creamy and tastes  sweet with a hint of saltiness from the top coconut layer.

36. Kuih

Kuih are bite-sized snack or dessert foods are usually made from rice or glutinous rice. In almost all Malay kuih, the most common flavoring ingredients are grated coconut, coconut cream, pandan leaves, and palm sugar. Two other common ingredients are tapioca flour and green bean flour.

37. Goreng Pisang

Goreng Pisang is a snack food made of banana or plantain, covered in batter or not, being deep fried in hot cooking oil until crispy.

38. Apam Balik

Apam Balik is a type of griddle pancake. Its batter is made from a mixture of flour, eggs, sugar, baking soda, coconut milk, and water. The traditional filling can be made from crushed peanuts granules, sugar and sweetcorn kernels. Morden fillings include chocolate sprinkles and cheddar cheese.

39. Ais Kachang

40. Air Tebu

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