Malay-English Food Glossary

Have you ever wondered what lengkuas was? Don’t know your belacan from your bawang? Don’t worry! Hopefully this Malay food glossary will help you get the most our of your recipes!

Malaysian cuisine is the original fusion food! Malaysia has a diverse ethnic makeup, and whilst each ethnic group have their own distinct foods, many dishes in Malaysia are a fusion of multiple ethnic styles. Indigenous Malaysian food has been influenced by Chinese, Thai, Indian and many other cultures to produce an entirely new and rich cuisine.

Many Malaysian dishes revolve around a Rempah, which is a spice paste or mix similar to an Indian Masala. Rempahs are made by grinding up fresh and/or dried spices and herbs to create a spice paste which is then sauteed in oil to bring out the aromas.

Typical Malay Dishes

Perhaps you have heard of some of these typical Malaysian dishes:

• Satay – These delicious skewered meats are a favourite of many and are perfect served with a fresh salad of cucumber and onion plus spicy peanut sauce!
• Rendang – This dry coconut-based curry generally features beef gently simmered until tender with hot and tangy spices and cooling coconut milk.
• Laksa – This is a noodle dish with a tasty and tangy fish soup which uses tamarind to great effect.

To make it easier to find what you need, you can click on the column headers to sort the table.

Don’t forget that you can buy a lot of these Malaysian ingredients as well as many other authentic Asian and Oriental foods through our online shop!www.waiyeehong.com