Asia has some of the best cuisine in the world – from fragrant Thai curries to the satisfying vegetable dishes of India; from the simple yet delicious Hainanese chicken and rice, to the complex and deep beef rendang.
Factor in a couple of festive themed dishes and you’ve got quite a cookbook. Here’s the round of up some of our recipe-related articles from our how-to-cook series this year:
1. Typical Malaysian dishes
From rice-based dishes to street food and curries, we take you through seven typical Malaysian dishes. From the country’s favourite breakfast of nasi lemak to special occasion dishes like rendang and even scrumptious street food like satay and murtabak, time spent in Malaysia is incomplete without attempting at least these favourites.
2. South Indian dishes
Most of the Indian food we get here in Malaysia is South Indian because early Indian settlers were predominantly from the south of the home country, including Tamil Nadu, as well as northern Sri Lanka. So the curries and varuvals that we all love so much are of the South Indian variety; they are packed with curry leaves, spices and generous amounts of coconut.
Learn how to cook Indian restaurant staples like dhal curry and mutton masala; crunchy snacks like pakora and chicken 65; as well as sweet treats like rice pudding and coconut candy.
3. Fruits in savoury Asian dishes
Tropical Asian fruits are delicious, sweet, tangy and juicy. These fruits are often used in desserts or eaten as a snack, but they are also featured liberally in savoury Asian cooking. The favourites that come to mind are the Thai papaya salad Som Tum or Rojak Buah in Malaysia. Apart from that, there’s deep fried banana balls, pineapple curry, mango chutney and more.
4. Different types of laksa
The laksa is one of Malaysia’s most complex – and most delicious – dishes. The most common are, of course, Penang’s asam laksa and the curry laksa. Both dishes share a name, but are very different in flavour profiles and texture. Apart from those two, we also have Nyonya laksa, Sarawak Laksa, Johor Laksa and Laksam, as well as plenty other regional variations.
5. Durian-inspired recipes
As one of Malaysia’s favourite fruits, durian are often enjoyed straight away after opening the fruit’s spiky peel, but it can also be a welcome addition to many existing recipes and has inspired recreations of traditional desserts.
From more simple favourites, such as ice cream, to surprising creations involving bacon, those who don’t mind the durian’s pungent odour can take their love of the fruit to the next level with these six recipes.
6. Southeast Asian desserts
What is the most important ingredient in Southeast Asian cuisine? Probably sugar. Hopping from Thailand to Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Phillipines, Singapore, and Myanmar, we picked out the tastiest looking recipes we could find of traditional desserts from each country. Sink your sweet tooth into home made sago gula Melaka pudding from Malaysia, steamed coconut pudding from Thailand, Turon from the Phillipines, martabak manis from Indonesia and more.
7. Halloween treats
Halloween brought not only playtime for ghosts and ghouls but recipes for a fun and frightful evening with family and friends. Maybe next year, or if you fancy a horror-themed party any time soon, you can make these meringue ghosts, monster jars, brain cake, poison apple cocktail and more – they’re spooktacular.
8. Christmas mixes
It’s still the season to deck the halls with boughs of holly… and while you’re at it, get me an eggnog martini. Level up your Christmas party game with these fun Christmas-themed cocktails and mocktails that you can easily whip-up at home. There are tonnes of Christmas-inspired cocktails out there with very festive flavours like cinnamon and nutmeg – perfect for a festive pre-drink or a night in.
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