Sambal Shiok: The Malaysian Cookbook

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Winner of 2014 MasterChef UK, Ping Coombes—along with fellow MasterChef winners, Adam Liaw and Diana Chan—are passionate about introducing the world to the complex and rich flavours of Malaysian and South-East Asian cuisine. As Yin explains, Malaysian food reflects the diversity of the Malaysian people and encompasses a glorious range of ingredients, flavours and techniques from the Malay, Chinese, Peranakan, South Indian and indigenous peoples (such as the tribal Iban) that make up the country’s population. In a nutshell, while we still use modern appliances, the essence is still there (based on recipes), we still cook food from scratch (without instant pastes),” she said.

Desserts range from the effortless (fresh mango, honey and coconut, tropical fruit salad) to the more elaborate (pandan custard and sticky rice layered sweet, sticky rice balls, soy panna cotta with passion fruit and crushed chocolate cookies. I think the next step is to organise a similar event and look for distributors to market our cookbooks across the globe,” she added. The recipes – such as her signature curry laksa, Penang assam laksa, Malaysian fried chicken, prawn fritters, spiral curry puffs, flaky roti canai, beef rendang, KL golden fragrant clams, sambal mapo tofu, and the perfect steamed rice – can be made for a weekday family meal, a dinner party or celebration. Like the many generations before her, Yin rejoices in bringing together the flavours and foods of her land of birth with the ingredients and ideas of the UK.

Whether you want to whip up a heartwarming family dinner, impress your overseas guests, or wow the crowd at a potluck, these Malaysian cookbooks should set you on the right path. The daughter of a Malay-Chinese couple, Hayati Ismail and Azman Wong Abdullah, Dayana said her love for food and culture was ingrained in her from young from her parents. Malaysian food results from the unique merger over centuries of Indigenous Malay ingredients with Indian spices and Chinese techniques.

In contrast, whilst the Malay Red Chicken is also a decent chicken curry dish, it has none of the complexity of flavours of the Kapitan.Fantastic recipes, easy to follow, authentic flavours, and supported by interesting stories to bring each recipe alive. As a solution, we recommend these cookbooks that provide easy recipes for beloved Malaysian snacks, dishes and desserts from all around the country. The photographs are works of art with credit due to the photographer Stuart Overden and the whole design team.