Translations:Malaysian cuisine/58/en

Air Asam Cabai Picit or Air Asam Picit, is a traditional Malaysian dish hailing from the northern regions of Malaysia, particularly from states like Kedah and Perlis. This dish features a spicy, savoury yet tangy tamarind-based sauce, known locally as "air asam," which is typically served alongside boiled or grilled fish and ulam-ulaman. The term "picit," meaning "to squeeze" in Malay, refers to the method of preparing the sauce, where ingredients like bird's eye chilies, belachan and tamarind paste are crushed or squeezed together using fingers to release their flavors.
Air bandung, a cold milk drink flavoured with rose cordial syrup, giving it a pink colour. Despite the name, there is no connection to the city of Bandung in Indonesia. Bandung within this context refers to anything that comes in pairs or is mixed from many ingredients.
Air janda pulang, a traditional drink from Negeri Sembilan. It is suitable to drink with lunch and on hot days.
Akok, a traditional sweet dessert in Kelantan, Malaysia. Made mainly from eggs, coconut milk, flour and brown sugar, akok has a distinctive caramel taste. It is often served during afternoon snack together with coffee. Akok is prepared in a special cooking utensil called sarang/dapur tembaga – a mould made of solid brass, which is surrounded with charcoal.
Apam johol, a sweetened rice cake wrapped in rambai leaves to preserve the aroma and for presentation. A specialty of Negri cuisine, it is sometimes eaten with rendang, sambal tumis and bean porridge.
Asam pedas, a sour and spicy stew of meat, with the core ingredients being tamarind and chilli. Depending on region, tomatoes, lady's fingers, shredded torch ginger bud and Vietnamese coriander (Malay: daun kesum) may also be added. Usually cooked with fish like mackerel or stingray, although some recipes use chicken and even oxtail.
Ayam goreng, a generic term for deep fried chicken, typically marinated in a base of turmeric and other seasonings prior to cooking.
Ayam masak merah, this dish literally means red-cooked chicken in English. Pieces of chicken are first fried to a golden brown then slowly braised in a spicy tomato sauce. Peas are sometimes added to the dish, and it is garnished with shredded kaffir lime leaves as well as coriander. It is often paired with nasi tomato - rice cooked with tomato sauce or paste, milk, dried spices, and a sauteed rempah base of garlic, onions, ginger.

Ayam percik, also known as ayam golek in some states, ayam percik is grilled marinated chicken basted with a spiced coconut milk gravy.
Bubur lambuk, a savoury rice porridge consumed during the fasting month of Ramadhan, made with a mixture of lemongrass, spices, vegetables, and chicken or beef. It is usually cooked communally at a local mosque, which is then distributed to the congregation as a meal to break the fast every evening. In the state of Terengganu, bubur lambuk is prepared with wild herbs, budu, sweet potatoes, and seafood.
Gulai, the Malay term for a curried stew. The main ingredients for gulai may be poultry, beef, mutton, various kinds of offals, fish and seafood, and also vegetables such as cassava leaves and green/unripe jackfruit. The gravy is usually yellowish-brown in color due to the sauteed and browned rempah which forms its base, and the addition of ground turmeric. The gravy's consistency may vary in thickness depending on the cook.

Ikan bakar, barbecued or char grilled fish, usually smeared with a sambal-based sauce. It may also be accompanied with air asam, a dip made from shrimp paste, onion, chillis and tamarind juice.
Ikan goreng, a generic term for shallow or deep fried fish, which is almost always marinated prior to cooking. There are countless recipes and variants for what is arguably the most popular and typical method of cooking fish in Malaysia.
Kebebe, A specialty of Lenggong, Perak, it is a fruit salad consisting of 13 ingredients that gives of a balance of spicy, sweet and tangy flavours when mixed. It's allegedly able to cure nausea after taking too much food.
Kerabu, a type of salad-like dish which can be made with any combination of cooked or uncooked fruits and vegetables, as well as the occasional meat or seafood ingredient. There are many kerabu recipes, which often have little common in preparation: kerabu taugeh is made with blanched bean sprouts and quintessentially Malay ingredients like kerisik, while preparations like kerabu mangga (shredded green mango salad) resemble a Thai-style yam salad in taste profile, kerabu maggi using Maggi noodles, and kerabu sare is made with seaweed, stewed fish and coconut, sambal and lime juice.
Keropok lekor, a speciality of the state of Terengganu and other states on the east coast of Peninsula Malaysia, keropok lekor is a savoury fritter made from a combination of batter and shredded fish. Sliced and fried just before serving, it is eaten with hot sauce.
Kerutuk Daging, a type of coconut milk-based curry. Traditionally it is best eaten with white rice, sambal belacan and ulam-ulaman or Malay salad.
Ketupat, a variant of compressed rice, wrapped in a woven palm frond pouch. As the rice boils, the grains expand to fill the pouch and the rice becomes compressed. This method of cooking gives the ketupat its characteristic form and texture. Usually eaten with rendang (a type of dry beef curry) or served as an accompaniment to satay, ketupat is also traditionally served on festive occasions such as Eid (Hari Raya Aidilfitri) as part of an open house spread.
Kuzi ayam, a thick curry. Traditionally it is eaten with white rice, sambal belacan and ulam.
Laksam or Laksang, a different variant on laksa found in the northern and northeastern states of the Peninsular. Laksam consists of thick flat rice noodle rolls in a full-bodied, rich and slightly sweet white gravy of minced fish, coconut milk and shredded aromatic herbs.
Masak lemak is a style of cooking which employs liberal amounts of turmeric-seasoned coconut milk. Sources of protein like chicken, seafood smoked meats and shelled molluscs, perhaps paired with fruits and vegetables such as bamboo shoots, pineapples and tapioca leaves are often cooked this way. Certain states are associated with a specific variant of this dish: for example, masak lemak cili api/padi is an iconic speciality of Negeri Sembilan.

Mee Bandung Muar, Traditional noodle dish from Muar that cooked with yellow noodles coupled with egg in addition to a thick broth-gravy made of a combination of dried shrimps, onion, spices, shrimp paste and chillies. Prawn, meat, fish cakes and vegetables are also added.

Mee Calong, a noodle dish eaten with fish soup, fish balls, and tofu puffs. This was a traditional cuisine of Beserah.
Mee Siput Muar, a deep-fried circular dried noodle snack from Muar, Johor made from flour and eaten with sambal.
Nasi Beringin, a fragrant rice dish that used to be served to Johor royalties in the late 1890s; the sultans would have this fragrant dish especially when guests were invited to dine in the palace.
Nasi dagang, rice cooked with coconut milk and fenugreek seeds, served with a fish gulai (usually tuna or ikan tongkol), fried shaved coconut, hard-boiled eggs and vegetable pickles. Nasi dagang ("trader's rice" in Malay) is a staple breakfast dish in the northeastern states of Kelantan and Terengganu. It should not be confused with nasi lemak, as nasi lemak is often found sold side by side with nasi dagang for breakfast in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

Nasi goreng, a generic term for fried rice, of which there are many, many different permutations and variations. Variants includes Nasi goreng kampung, Nasi goreng pattaya, and Nasi paprik.
Nasi Kandar, a meal of steamed rice that is served with a variety of curries and side dishes. It is a popular northern Malaysian dish from Penang.
Nasi lemuni, a rice dish that is eaten like nasi lemak but cooked with herb called daun lemuni (Vitex trifolia leaves).
Nasi tumpang, rice packed in a cone-shaped banana leaf. A pack of nasi tumpang consists of an omelette, meat floss, chicken or shrimp curry and sweet gravy. It is traditionally served as a meal of convenience for travellers on the road.
Nasi ulam, rice salad tossed with a variety of thinly shredded herbs and greens (daun kaduk, daun cekur, daun kesum and so on) as well as pounded dried shrimp, kerisik and chopped shallots. A variant popular in the eastern coast states of Peninsular Malaysia is called nasi kerabu, which is blue-coloured rice served with various herbs, dried fish or fried chicken, crackers, pickles and vegetables.
Pek nga, also known as lempeng kelapa, It is usually served during breakfast.
Puding Diraja, also known as Royal Pudding, this dessert was developed and served to the royal family of Pahang state.
Rendang, a spicy meat and coconut milk stew originating from the Minangkabau people of Indonesia, many of whom have settled in the state of Negeri Sembilan. Buffalo meat is the most traditional choice for this dish, but beef and chicken are by far more commonly used for rendang in restaurants and home cooking. The common addition of kerisik is another distinctively Malaysian touch. Rendang is traditionally prepared by the Malay community during festive occasions, served with ketupat or nasi minyak.

Roti jala, The name is derived from the Malay words roti (bread) and jala (net). A special ladle with a five-hole perforation used to form its lacy pattern. Roti jala is usually eaten as an accompaniment to a curried dish, or served as dessert with a sweet dipping sauce.
Roti john, a spiced meat omelette sandwich, popularly eaten for breakfast or as a snack.

Sambal, the term sambal not only refers to a relish-like sauce made from chilli peppers pounded together with secondary ingredients like belacan and thinned with calamansi lime juice, it also refer to a cooking style where meat, seafood, and vegetables like brinjal (Malay: sambal terung) and stink bean (Malay: sambal petai) are braised in a spicy sambal-based sauce.
Satay, one of Malaysia's most popular foods, Satay (written as sate in Malay) is made from marinated beef and chicken pieces skewered with wooden sticks and cooked on a charcoal grill. It is typically served with compressed rice cut onions, cucumber, and a spiced peanut gravy for dipping. The town of Kajang in Selangor is famous for its satay; Sate Kajang is a term for a style of sate where the meat chunks are bigger than that of a typical satay, and the sweet peanut sauce is served along with a portion of fried chilli paste.
Serunding, spiced meat floss. Serunding may also refer to any dish where the primary meat or vegetable ingredient is shredded and pulled into thin strands. In Indonesia, this term strictly refers to a dry-toasted grated coconut mix instead.
Sup kambing, a hearty mutton soup slow simmered with aromatic herbs and spices, and garnished with fried shallots, fresh cilantro and a wedge of calamansi lime. Variants include soups cooked with beef (Malay: daging), beef ribs (Malay: tulang), or oxtail (Malay: buntut/ekor), all seasoned with the same herbs and spices.
Tempoyak, fermented durian, traditionally stored in an urn. Tempoyak may be eaten as relish, or it can be added to braised dishes and stews as a primary flavouring (masak tempoyak).