Malay cuisine in Singapore is an amalgam of traditional dishes from Penisular Malaysia, with strong influences from places like Sumatra and Java. Rice is the staple food, balancing the spicy cuisine of this region. Pork is not used due to religious reasons.

Coconut is an important ingredient. The flesh grated and squeezes to make the coconut milk which is used in gravies as well as cakes, drinks and desserts. The freshly grated coconut is also sprinkled over many cakes. Another vital ingredient is pungent dried shrimp paste (belancan), often combined with pounded fish chillies to make the universally popular sambal belacan. Varying amounts of chillis are used in most Malay food. Fragant herbs like the kaffir lime leaf and lemon grass, shallots and garlic, rhizomes such as ginger and galanagal, and gried spices including coriander and cumin are all skilfully blended.

Satay is the best known Malay dish- skewers of succulent pieces of seasoned mutton, beef or chicken, cooked over a charcoal flame. They are often eated with Satay sauce ( rich coconut sauce thick with ground peanuts sliced cucumber), sliced cucumber and onions and chunks of compressed rice.

Many Malay food outlets offer Nasi Padang, a range of spicy meat, fish, poultry and vegetable dishes which originated in the padang district of West Sumatra. Another local Malay favourite, based on a Javanese dish, is Soto Ayam, spiced chicken stock served with chicken, beansprouts and either potato croquette or compressed rice. Beef Rendang, chunks of geef cooked with lashings of coconut milk, spices and herds, is a perennial favourite. Malay desserts and cakes, generally rich incoconut milk, are great for those with a sweetooth.

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