5 Gluten Free Malaysian Recipes
I was initially introduced to Malaysian cuisine when I was in my final year at the University of Guelph. The whole time I attended the U of G, I really wanted to take the Cultural Aspects of Food course offered there. I had heard great things about the course and the professor. Also, since my program was designed to prepare me to become a dietitian, the selection of elective courses was very limited. This was one of the few truly interesting electives on the list. It was so hard to get registered for the course though, since it was so popular.
Finally, once I was a senior, I got first pick of courses when registration period came around. Luckily I got a spot in the class and had the opportunity to learn so much about how food and culture influence one another. The major assignment in the course was a project that involved picking a country and doing an in-depth analysis of a recipe from that country. I wanted to get as much as I could out of the course and learn new things, so I chose a country I knew very little about: Malaysia.
I needed an authentic Malaysian recipe to do my assignment on, so I went browsing for cookbooks at Coles. Christina Arokiasamy’s The Malaysian Kitchen: 150 Recipes for Simple Home Cooking stood out to me on the bookshelf.
With a cover like this, how could it not catch my eye?
As I flipped through the pages, the thing that convinced me to buy the book was the author’s passion for Malaysian cooking. It was clear to me why Arokiasamy was Malaysia’s first official food ambassador to the United States. I was also intrigued by the concept of rasa, which is explored in the introduction section of the cookbook. In Southeast Asian cultures, it is believed that to be balanced and healthy, all 5 flavours (sweet, salty, sour, spicy, and savoury) should be incorporated into all meals. This was very different from what my Canadian palate was used to. The taste of the dishes I tried from the book were well-rounded and shook up my taste buds. I was so excited to find something new that I enjoyed.
A bonus to trying Malaysian cooking was that I discovered a ton of new gluten free recipes. The majority of recipes in The Malaysian Kitchen are naturally gluten free. This is because the dishes featured are full of veggies, lean proteins (like chicken, seafood, and tofu), as well as rice and rice noodles - all of which are free from gluten! If you have celiac disease and want to try new foods, I highly encourage you to try Malaysian and other Southeast Asian cuisines.
I love all of Arokiasamy’s recipes from this cookbook and I want to share some of them with you in this blog post. Here are my adaptations of 5 of my favourite recipes that I think you might like to try:
Sambal Ulek [1]
As Arokiasamy says in her cookbook, “sambals are the salsas of Malaysian cuisine” [1]. They add a burst of flavour to soups, sauces, meats, and stir fries and are also used as a dipping sauce. Sambal Ulek is required for all of the following recipes. If you would like to make all of the recipes in this post, you’ll need to multiple this recipe by 1.5.
Yield: 1 cup of sambal
Ingredients
10 fresh jalapenos, seeded and chopped (you may want to wear gloves while you seed and chop)
*note: the original recipe calls for red jalapeno peppers. I found these were very difficult to locate in my area. If you can find them where you live, definitely use them for the recipe. However, green jalapenos will work well for this recipe too. Green jalapenos are less sweet than the red variety, but you can add some extra sugar to the recipe if you’d like a sweeter taste.
5 shallots, peeled and left whole
5 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
1/4 cup peanut oil
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1 & 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 & 1/2 teaspoons sugar
Instructions
1) Combine the jalapenos, shallots, and garlic in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.
2) Heat the oil slightly in a frying pan on low heat. Add the chili mixture before the oil gets too hot to prevent splattering. Bring to a soft boil and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3) Stir in the vinegar, salt, and sugar and cook until the sambal starts to sizzle around the edges. Give it a taste test and add more sugar or salt, depending on your preference. Remove from heat.
4) At this point, you can use your sambal for whichever dish you’d like. Transfer any leftovers into an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Malaccon-Style Eggplant Sambal [2]
Asian eggplants
Some tips for making this recipe: cook the spice paste completely before adding the eggplant to prevent the dish from having a raw flavour. The sign that it’s been cooked completely is that the oil will separate from the paste. Also, resist the urge to stir the eggplant while it simmers, otherwise it will end up mushy. This dish goes great with rice, potato, bread, chicken, fish, or lamb.
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
2 tablespoons ginger paste
3 shallots, chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
3 Roma tomatoes, cut in half
2 tablespoons Sambal Ulek
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup peanut oil
6 tablespoons kicap manis or sweet soy sauce (whisk 4 tablespoons of soy sauce with 2 tablespoons of brown sugar/molasses/honey together in a bowl)
4 Asian eggplants; cut in half crosswise and then cut each half into 3 pieces
*this variety of eggplant is long, thin, and has a sweeter flavour compared to North American eggplants
Salt, to taste
Instructions
1) Make the spice paste by combining the ginger, shallots, garlic, tomatoes, chilies, cumin, and water in a blender.
2) Heat the oil on medium heat in a large saucepan or frying pan. Gently mix the spice paste with the oil in the middle of the pan. Cook the paste, stirring occasionally, until the oils separate and appear on the surface (about 15 minutes).
3) Stir in the kicap manis. Place the eggplant slices on top of the spice paste and do not stir. Cover with a lid, reduce heat to low, and cook until the eggplant is soft; 15 - 20 minutes..
4) Gently fold the eggplant into the spice paste. Add salt if desired, then serve.
Fried Tofu and Tomatoes in Sweet Soy Sambal [3]
Enjoy this dish with basmati or jasmine rice, or rice noodles.
Yield: 3 - 4 servings
Ingredients
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 block of extra-firm tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/4 cup peanut oil
1/2 yellow onion, minced
2 large ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
3 tablespoons Sambel Ulek
3 tablespoons kicap manis or sweet soy sauce (whisk together 2 tablespoons of soy sauce with 1 tablespoon of brown sugar/molasses/honey)
1/8 teaspoon salt
Garnish: 2 green onions, thinly sliced
Instructions
Fried cubes of tofu
1) Heat 2 tablespoons of oil on medium heat in a large frying pan. Spread tofu cubes in a single layer on the frying pan. Cook for 3-5 minutes, until the side of the cube facing the burner has browned. Turn the cubes to a fresh side and cook until browned. Repeat until all sides of the tofu cubes have browned. Set aside.
2) Heat a wok or deep skillet on medium heat until hot (30-60 seconds). Add the oil and heat until the surface starts to shimmer. Then add the onion, tomatoes, and sambal ulek. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the oils separate and come to the surface - about 15 minutes.
3) Add the tofu, kicap manis, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the oils separate again and the flavours are well blended (roughly 10 minutes).
4) Serve with green onions as a garnish.
Potato Sambal Casserole [4]
This dish goes well with the Malaccon-style eggplant sambal, grilled meats, fish, and bread.
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
1 & 1/2 lbs red potatoes, washed and cubed
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 large ripe tomato, chopped
1 cup Sambal Ulek
1/3 cup peanut oil
1/2 cup coconut cream
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon soy sauce
*I like to use Kikkoman’s gluten free soy sauce
1/4 cup coconut sugar (use brown sugar if you can’t find coconut sugar)
Instructions
1) Cover the potatoes with water in a pot and cook on medium-high heat until fork tender, about 20 minutes.
2) While the potatoes are cooking, combine the onion, tomato, and sambal ulek in a food processor or blendor. Blend until smooth.
3) Heat the oil in a wok on medium heat. Add the sambal mixture and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the oil separates on the surface.
4) Add the coconut cream, water, soy sauce, and palm sugar. Cook for another 10 minutes, until the oil separates onto the surface again and the sauce has started to thicken.
5) Drain the potatoes and add them to the wok. Reduce to medium-low heat and simmer until the sauce is very thick and clings to the potatoes (15 - 20 minutes).
6) Adjust the flavour with soy sauce and/or coconut sugar, if needed, then serve.
A fried dried anchovy
Fried Rice with Anchovies, Shrimp, and Greens [5]
You can use any greens you’d like in this recipe: spinach, cabbage, broccoli, etc. To add a savory component to this dish, add fried dried anchovies. You can find dried anchovies at your local Asian market. Fry them on medium heat in a deep frying pan or a pot with a generous amount of oil, until crispy. Place them on some paper towels on a plate afterwards to drain the excess oil. Fried anchovies can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 months. Add them to soups, salads, stir fries, and rice dishes.
Yield: 3 - 4 servings
Ingredients
1/4 cup peanut oil
I placed my fried dried anchovies on some paper towel to drain the excess oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons Sambal Ulek
1/3 cup fried anchovies (optional)
approx 20 raw shrimp (1 package), thawed & peeled
3 eggs
2 & 1/2 cups cooked jasmine or basmati rice
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 large handfuls of greens (I used a blend of spinach, collard greens, and baby bok choy)
Instructions
1) Heat a wok or deep skillet on medium heat until hot (30-60 seconds). Add the oil by pouring it around the perimeter of the wok, to coat the sides as well as the bottom. When the oil starts to shimmer, add the garlic, onion, and sambal.
2) Cook for about 5 minutes; until the oils separate onto the surface.
3) Add the anchovies and shrimp and cook until the shrimp turns pink, about 4 minutes.
4) Break the eggs into the wok and mix well with the shrimp mixture. Then add the rice, salt, and sugar. Cook for about 5 minutes, mixing the ingredients well and breaking up any clumps of rice.
5) Add the greens and continue to cook until the eggs are well incorporated and the greens are wilted. Serve immediately.
To bring things to a close, I have a question for you:
What cuisine have you always wanted to try?
Lately I’ve been lamenting how little I know about the cuisines of Africa. Keep an eye out - a blog post on that very topic might be coming your way ;)
References
[1] Arokiasamy, Christina. “The Malaysian Kitchen: 150 Recipes for Simple Home Cooking.” Sambal Ulek. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017. 44. Print.
[2] Arokiasamy, Christina. “The Malaysian Kitchen: 150 Recipes for Simple Home Cooking.” Malaccon-Style Eggplant Sambal. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017. 125. Print.
[3] Arokiasamy, Christina. “The Malaysian Kitchen: 150 Recipes for Simple Home Cooking.” Fried Tofu and Tomatoes in Sweet Soy Sambal. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017. 139. Print.
[4] Arokiasamy, Christina. “The Malaysian Kitchen: 150 Recipes for Simple Home Cooking.” Potato Sambal Casserole. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017. 142. Print.
[5] Arokiasamy, Christina. “The Malaysian Kitchen: 150 Recipes for Simple Home Cooking.” Fried Rice with Anchovies, Shrimp, and Cabbage. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017. 168. Print.