Top 5 Malaysian foods I Wish to See in Aotearoa

I’ll be honest, I definitely miss more than five dishes and delicacies from my home whenever the homesickness sets in. In fact, just when I think five is enough, the list just keeps going on and on. But like others who have come a long way from home with the expectation of authentic flavours to be incorporated into their favourite dishes, food from home just doesn’t taste the same here... and this goes for everywhere around the world that tries to recreate ‘authentic’ food from cuisines around the globe. Without further ado, here are the top five dishes and delicacies from home I want to see more of in Aotearoa. 

1. Yong Tau Foo  

The problem with trying to include Malaysian cuisine in another country is the fact that Malaysia is a multicultural country, which means there are multiple cuisines from each ethnicity and race. This means it’s almost impossible to include all dishes and delicacies of Malaysian cuisine in other countries due to the variety of cuisines resulting from a variety of ethnicities. To be frank, even though I’ve been raised and lived in Malaysia up to my secondary school years, there are some dishes I have yet to discover. Another issue that I always encounter when finding Malaysian food to eat here in Aotearoa is that most of the restaurants and diners only serve the most popular Malaysian dishes and leave out the lesser popular dishes that I’ve been craving for ages. Sometimes, they cruelly serve them as seasonal items and mark the prices up since it’s really “difficult” to make, when they are found practically everywhere and sold cheaply back home. There is one dish that is a must-have whenever I return home. To leave home without enjoying that dish is practically suicide. 

A part of Hakka Chinese cuisine (Hakka is basically one of the Chinese clans that migrated to Malaysia), yong tau foo has been my comfort food ever since I was a kid. Okay, my grandmother’s cooking is actually the food that I can never get enough of, but since she’s now too old to cook, yong tau foo has stepped in and has always stayed by my side.  

Yong tau foo basically consists of a variety pan fried vegetables, such as eggplant, okra, chili and bittergourd; steamed tofu; deep fried tofu skin (foo chuk) and/or other beancurds all stuffed with fish paste. There are some variations that include pork inside the fish paste, but I prefer the fish paste version because the pork can sometimes taste and smell too… porky. Yong tau foo is either served submerged in a clear soup cooked with anchovy stock or chicken stock (I can’t tell because the restaurants always pour in loads of MSG and pepper that distort the taste) or dry without any soup. I prefer the soup version because the dry version just feels to dry and oily (hence it being the dry version) and I wish to see more of yong tau foo in Aotearoa. 

1. Nyonya kuih 

Nyonyas are basically those who are ethnically Chinese but do not speak Chinese because their main languages are Malay and English. Nyonya kuih is a dessert that comes in a variety of forms, but the main ingredients each has in common is coconut milk, rice flour and tapioca. Most of them are sweet, but depending on the cook, some have a salty-sweet flavour, and some are wrapped in pandan leaves. Pandan leaves come from a plant that makes the coconut flavour more fragrant. If I had to describe the texture, I would describe them as soft and chewy. My personal favourite is definitely the ondeh-ondeh because it is so unique and fun to eat. It’s basically coconut rice flour balls of goodness coated with coconut flakes filled with molten gula melaka (palm sugar) inside that just bursts into your mouth once you sink your teeth into it. The good ones have a strong gula melaka taste that has a strong sugar flavour and coconut fragrance. 

1. Banana leaf rice 

Technically, banana leaf rice isn’t natively Malaysian as the dish was brought over by Indians and those of Indian descent when they migrated to Malaysia. Banana leaf rice is basically many dishes served as one on a banana leaf, which is why I love it because you get to eat so many yummy dishes in one meal, especially since those are food I can’t get from my culture. When eating banana leaf rice, you are typically served with a choice of 3 or more types of curries, such as chicken curry, mutton curry, or fish curry over your rice. The meal comes with Indian side dishes such as pappadom (an oversized chip made from lentils and spices), deep fried vegetables, and salad. Some good banana leaf restaurants come with rassam which is sour-spicy South Indian soup that tastes super appetising. You can order a side or two of other meat dishes like fried chicken or calamari to accompany your meal. 

1. Keropok lekor 

Not a dish, but my favourite snack. Keropok lekor is deep fried flour sticks made of fish and salt that appears slightly golden-grey in colour. I know it sounds unappetising, but it’s just one of those foods that look yuck but taste yum. 

1. Authentic nasi lemak 

No offence and I hate to break it to anyone out there who has tried nasi lemak here, but the nasi lemak here does not taste like the nasi lemak back home. For instance, we do not serve our hard-boiled eggs and sambal (the red sweet chili shrimp paste) refrigerator-cold with the steaming hot coconut rice, meat and lukewarm dried anchovies and peanuts. It’s not kimchi, which is Korean fermented cabbage that is meant to be served cold. I know international cuisines will never taste as authentic as they are served in their native countries, but cold sambal and eggs? Come on!