Malaysian cuisine consists of cooking traditions and practices found in Malaysia, and reflects the multi-ethnic makeup of its population. The vast majority of Malaysia's population can roughly be divided among three major ethnic groups: Malays, Chinese and Indians. The remainder consists of the indigenous peoples of Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia, the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia, the Peranakan and Eurasian creole communities, as well as a significant number of foreign workers and expatriates.
Nasi lemak is a dish originating in Malay cuisine that consists of fragrant rice cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaf. It is commonly found in Malaysia, where it is considered as the national dish. It is also a native dish in neighbouring areas with significant ethnic Malay populations such as Singapore and Southern Thailand. In Indonesia, it can be found in several parts of Sumatra, especially the Malay regions of Riau, Riau Islands and Medan. It is considered an essential dish for a typical Malay-style breakfast. Nasi lemak is featured as a national dish in most of the country's tourism brochures and promotional materials.
Malay cuisine is the traditional food of the ethnic Malays of Southeast Asia, residing in modern-day Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Southern Thailand and the Philippines as well as Cocos Islands, Christmas Island, Sri Lanka and South Africa.
Jemput-jemput or cekodok is a traditional fritter popular in Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Singapore that is made from wheat flour. It is usually round in shape and tends to vary in size. There are many varieties of this snack, some using banana, anchovies or prawns, onion or maize.
Kuih are bite-sized snack or dessert foods commonly found in Southeast Asia and China. It is a fairly broad term which may include items that would be called cakes, cookies, dumplings, pudding, biscuits, or pastries in English and are usually made from rice or glutinous rice. In China, where the term originates from, kueh or koé (粿) in the Min Nan languages refers to snacks which are typically made from rice but can occasionally be made from other grains such as wheat. The term kuih is widely used in Malaysia, Brunei, and Singapore, kueh is used in Singapore and Indonesia, kue is used in Indonesia only, all three refer to sweet or savoury desserts.
Cendol is an iced sweet dessert that contains droplets of pandan-flavoured green rice flour jelly, coconut milk and palm sugar syrup. It is commonly found in Southeast Asia and is popular in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, and Myanmar. Next to the green jelly, additional toppings might be added, including diced jackfruit, sweetened red azuki beans, or durian.
Kue is an Indonesian bite-sized snack or dessert food. Kue is a fairly broad term in Indonesian to describe a wide variety of snacks including cakes, cookies, fritters, pies, scones, and patisserie. Kue are made from a variety of ingredients in various forms; some are steamed, fried or baked. They are popular snacks in Indonesia, which has the largest variety of kue. Because of the countries' historical colonial ties, Koeé (kue) is also popular in the Netherlands.
A banana fritter is a fritter made by deep frying battered banana or plantain in hot oil. It is a common dish across Southeast Asia and South India.
Pineapple tart is a small, bite-size tart filled or topped with pineapple jam, commonly found throughout different parts of Southeast Asia such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore in various forms.
Kueh Pie Tee is a thin and crispy pastry tart shell kuih often filled with a spicy, shredded Chinese turnips, sweet mixture of thinly sliced vegetables and prawns. It is a popular Peranakan dish, that is often consumed during Chinese New Year or tea parties. The shells are made of flour and though some stores will make them from scratch, they can usually be found ready made in most supermarkets. Similar to popiah, the main filling is shredded jicama and carrots, and usually these two dishes are sold by the same stall in hawker centres.
Clorot, celorot, cerorot, or jelurut is an Indonesian traditional sweet snack made of sweet and soft rice flour cake with coconut milk, wrapped with janur or young coconut leaf in cone shape. It is a popular traditional sweet snack commonly found in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
Apam balik also known as Martabak Manis, terang bulan, peanut pancake or mànjiānguǒ, is a sweet dessert originating in Fujian cuisine which now consists of many varieties at specialist roadside stalls or restaurants throughout Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. It can also be found in Hong Kong as, Taiwan as, Southern Thailand as Khanom Thang Taek (ขนมถังแตก) and in the Sulu Archipelago, Philippines as Tarambulan.
Kue semprong, Asian egg roll, sapit, sepit, kue Belanda, or kapit, is an Indonesian traditional wafer snack made by clasping egg batter using an iron mold which is heated up on a charcoal stove. It is commonly found in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.
Wajik or wajid, also known as pulut manis, is a traditional glutinous sweet made with rice, sugar and coconut milk. It is an Indonesian kue, and a kuih of Brunei, Singapore and Malaysia.
Kue kembang goyang or kuih loyang is an Indonesian cuisine and Malaysian cuisine flower-shaped traditional snack (kuih), associated with Betawi cuisine and Malay cuisine.
Kue cucur (Indonesian) or kuih cucur (Malay), known in Thai as khanom fak bua or khanom chuchun, is a traditional snack from Indonesia, and popular in parts of Southeast Asia, includes Indonesia, Malaysia, southern Thailand and Singapore. In Indonesia, kue cucur can be found throughout traditional marketplaces in the country; the popular version, however, is the Betawi version from Jakarta. In Brunei and Malaysia, the term cucur is generally used to refer to any type of fritters. A popular type of cucur in Brunei and Malaysia is Jemput-jemput and Pinjaram. In Southern Thailand, it is often featured in wedding ceremonies and festivals.
Krupuk (Javanese) is a cracker made from starch or animal skin and other ingredients that serve as flavouring. Most krupuk are deep fried, while some others are grilled or hot sand fried. They are popular snacks in maritime Southeast Asia, most closely associated with the culinary traditions of Indonesia, in particular Javanese cuisine. It is a ubiquitous staple in its country of origin and has spread to other countries either via the migration of diaspora populations or exports.
Kue makmur is a traditional Malay kue or kuih. This cake made from nuts in a powder form, ghee, flour and icing sugar. Its availability is limited to the bazaars of the month-long Ramadhan, and it is served to guests for Eid al-Fitr. Kue makmur is identified with its white colour and usually in a round shape.
Kue rangi or also called sagu rangi is an Indonesian coconut kue or traditional snack made of a coconut and starch-based batter and cooked in a special molded pan. It is one of the traditional Betawi snack of Jakarta. Kue rangi often described as Indonesian coconut waffle.
Kue talam is an Indonesian kue or traditional steamed snack made of a rice flour, coconut milk and other ingredients in a mold pan called talam which means "tray" in Indonesian. The cake mold used to create kue talam are either larger rectangular aluminium tray or smaller singular cups made from ceramics, aluminium, melamine or plastic.
