Introducing new flavours and cuisines to a toddler’s palate is an exciting and essential part of their culinary journey.
One such cuisine that is sure to delight both parents and toddlers alike is Malaysian cuisine.
Bursting with vibrant flavours, Malaysian dishes offer a delectable blend of spices, herbs and fresh ingredients.
From rich curries to fragrant rice dishes, Malaysian cuisine presents a wonderful opportunity to expose young taste buds to new and exciting flavours.
That said, here are five delicious Malaysian dishes that are perfect for introducing your toddler to the diverse and mouthwatering world of Malaysian food.
5 Amazing Local Dishes to Let Your Kids Try
Chicken Curry
Chicken curry is a popular dish made with chicken pieces cooked in a rich and flavourful curry sauce. The sauce is typically made with a combination of spices, such as turmeric, cumin, coriander, and chili, along with ingredients like onions, garlic, ginger, and tomatoes. It can vary in terms of spiciness and can be served with rice or bread.
Servings 3
Equipment
- Pot
- Blender
Ingredients
Blended Ingredients
- 2 small shallots
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ inch ginger
- ½ cup water
Other Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic sliced
- 2 small shallots sliced
- ½ inch ginger sliced
- 1 stalk curry leaves
- 4 Malay spices cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, star anise
- 5 tbsp chicken/meat curry spices
- 1½ tbsp chili powder
- ⅔ cup cup water
- ½ chicken
- 2 potatoes
- 200 ml fresh coconut milk from the first extraction ½ grated coconut
- 100-200 ml water
- 2½ tbsp tablespoons tamarind juice
- 2 tsp salt
- A little sugar
Instructions
- Blend a clove of garlic, 2 shallots and ½ inch of ginger with half a cup of water until smooth.
- Slice 3 shallots, 2 garlic cloves and ½ inch of ginger
- In a pot of oil under medium heat, fry the four spices until fragrant.
- Add the pureed aromatics and sauté. Add the sliced aromatics, a stalk of curry leaves with the stalk removed.
- In a bowl mix curry powder and chili powder with the water until a paste is achieved.
- Add to the pot and fry until the oil separates (pecah minyak). Add the chicken parts and slice potatoes and stir.
- Cover and let simmer until the chicken is half-cooked.
- Stir in fresh coconut milk and cover once more, letting the chicken cook thoroughly (around 15 to 20 minutes) or until the oil separates.
- Add in the tamarind juice, 100 ml of water, salt, sugar and adjust for seasoning. Allow to simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
- Serve warm with rice or bread.
Mee Rebus
Mee Rebus is a Malaysian noodle dish consisting of yellow egg noodles served in a thick and spicy gravy. The gravy is made from a combination of ingredients like sweet potatoes, shrimp paste, soy sauce, garlic, and spices. It is often garnished with boiled egg, bean sprouts, fried tofu, and lime juice. Mee Rebus is known for its tangy and slightly sweet taste.
Servings 3
Equipment
- Pot
- Strainer or collander
- Blender
- Wok
Ingredients
For Gravy
- 1 kg meat
- ½ - 2 litres water
- 2 ladles cooking oil
- 6-8 shallots
- 6 cloves garlic
- 2 inches ginger
- 700 g orange sweet potato approx. 4-5 pieces
- 4 tbsp 4 tbsp chili paste
- 3-4 tbsp tomato ketchup
- 1-2 tamarind slices
- 2 tbsp meat curry powder
- 3 tsp white sugar
- 1 tbsp 1 tbsp palm sugar
- Salt to taste
- seasoning powder
- Chinese celery stalks
- 3 tbsp acetes shrimp
- ½ cup peanuts
Condiments
- 2 packs yellow noodles
- Chinese celery leaves
- Scallion
- Tofu
- Calamansi
- Red chilies
- Green chilies
- Fried shallots
- Mung bean sprouts
For Prawn Fritters:
- ¾ tbsp plain flour
- ¾ cup rice flour
- 2 tbsp limestone water
- ½-1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 cup small prawns
Instructions
- Separate celery stalks for gravy and leaves for garnish later. The same for scallions.
- Roughly chop ginger, garlic, shallots and blend until with some water. This is the aromatics mixture.
- Rehydrate dried acetes shrimp in some water and drain.
- Boil sweet potatoes until tender and drain. Puree with some water until smooth.
- Blend ginger, garlic, shallots, shrimp and a little bit of water. Decant and set aside.
- Fry peanuts in oil and finely grind.
- In a pot of oil fry aromatics mixture until fragrant, add the curry paste and chili paste.
- Continue frying until dry. Add ground peanuts and sauté.
- Add beef broth (or prawn broth) and sweet potato puree. Stir until well combined. Add the celery and scallion stalk.
- Add palm sugar, white sugar, salt, seasoning, tamarind slice and more of the ground peanut. Adjust seasonings to your preference.
- To make the crispy prawn fritters simply, mix plain flour, rice flour, salt, turmeric, limestone water, prawns and some water until a thin batter is achieved. Fry in hot oil until crispy and golden.
- Serve with boiled noodles, the gravy, the prawn fritters and condiments of your choice (fried tofu, blanched beansprouts, boiled egg, calamansi, celery/scallion leaves).
- Serve warm.
Laksa
Laksa is a popular spicy noodle soup commonly found in Southeast Asian cuisine, particularly in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. It typically consists of rice noodles in a flavourful and aromatic broth made with coconut milk, spices, and herbs. There are various types of laksa, such as curry laksa and assam laksa, which differ in their base flavours and ingredients. Common toppings include shrimp, chicken, bean sprouts, and sliced fish cake.
Servings 4
Equipment
- Pot
- Blender
- Sieve or strainer
Ingredients
For Fish Broth
- 1 kg mackerel
- Some hot water
- 1 shallot
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 pieces tamarind slice
For Fine Grind
- 4-5 shallots
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 red onion
- 15-20 dried red chillis
- ½ small bowl anchovies
- 1 inch fermented shrimp paste
For Gravy
- 1 stalk torch ginger flowers
- 1 bunch Vietnamese coriander leaves
- 2 pieces tamarind slice
- Enough water to grind
Condiments
- 1 cucumber
- 2 red onions
- Bird's eye chilli
- Salad leaves
- Eggs boiled
- Lime
Instructions
- Boil fish whole with shallots, garlic and tamarind slices until cooked.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool before de-skinning, filleting, and deboning. Set aside.
- Slice torch ginger flowers and stalk into quarters. Clean kesum leaves and remove the stalk.
- Soak dried chilies and anchovies separately in warm water. Set aside.
- Roughly chop shallots, garlic, onions and blend with the dried red chili (drained) and the anchovies (with soaking liquid).
- Blend the boiled fish with some belacan and the fish broth until smooth.
- Grind the leftover bones as well in water or fish broth and run through a fine mesh sieve.
- In a pot, mix the broth, fish and fish bone mixture, and aromatics. Stir and let simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add the torch ginger, tamarind slices, kesum leaves, andsalt. Stir for another 20 minutes. Adjust for seasoning.
- Serve with blanched rice noodles and with condiments ofyour choice (boiled eggs, cucumber slices, red and green chilies, coriander leaves).
Satay
Satay is a popular Indonesian dish consisting of skewered and grilled meat, typically chicken, beef, or lamb. The meat is marinated in a mixture of spices, such as turmeric, coriander, and lemongrass, before being grilled over charcoal. Satay is often served with a rich peanut sauce, along with accompaniments like rice cakes (ketupat), cucumber slices, and onions. It is known for its savoury and slightly sweet flavour.
Servings 4
Equipment
- Blender
- Grill
Ingredients
- 500 g chicken meat
- 3 cm galangal
- 4 stalks lemongrass
- 3 cm turmeric powder
- 3 shallots
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
Instructions
- Cut chicken breasts into strips. Blend galangal, lemongrass, turmeric and shallots.
- Mix fennel powder, cumin powder, salt and sugar to blended ingredients.
- Marinate chicken meat with the marinade for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.
- Thread the meat onto the skewers. Use a bruised stalk of lemongrass to brush some vegetable oil onto meat while grilling.
- Grill meat until cooked. Serve warm.
Cekodok Pisang
These sweet, golden balls of goodness are the quintessential afternoon tea menu item. Best enjoyed as is warm. They can be eaten as a snack, appetiser or dessert. Adjust the sweetness to your liking by withholding the sugar content. The oil should be hot when the batter is deep fried to ensure the fritters are crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.
Servings 4
Equipment
- Pot
- Masher
- Slotted ladle or strainer
Ingredients
- 650 g lady bananas (pisang emas) approximately 2½ cups once mashed
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup 1 cup plain flour 2-3 tbsp more as needed
- 3 tbsp 3 tbsp white sugar may reduce if desired
- 1 tbsp 1 tbsp palm sugar optional
- Cooking oil as needed
Instructions
- Mash the bananas by hand with a pinch of salt until a smooth puree is achieved.
- Add the sugar, palm sugar (grated in for convenience).
- Stir in the flour until well incorporated. Add more until you get a thick batter.
- Allow to rest at room temperature for ½ an hour or 3 to 4 hours in the fridge.
- Heat a pot of oil under medium flame.
- Using your hands, scoop up some batter and drop them into the hot oil.
- Fry until dark golden and remove from heat into a bowl lined with paper towels.
- Serve warm as is.
Give Your Kids a Local Treat
Malaysian cuisine is known worldwide for its rich blend of flavours and ingredients.
By introducing your toddler to the five delicious Malaysian dishes mentioned in this article, you can provide them with a delightful experience of exploring new tastes and textures.
Remember to tailor the dishes according to your toddler’s preferences and dietary needs, ensuring a healthy and enjoyable journey into the world of Malaysian cuisine.
So, gather your ingredients, don your apron and get ready to create unforgettable culinary memories with your toddler as you introduce them to these five mouthwatering Malaysian delights!
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as medical advice from Motherhood. For any health-related concerns, it is advisable to consult with a qualified healthcare professional or medical practitioner.
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