Ingredients
What Malaysian ingredients actually are, how to judge quality at the market, and how to use them properly.
Marmite in Malaysia: why the shelves emptied, and what to use now
Nobody has stopped making it. It has stopped coming here, and what to use instead depends on whether it went on toast, into porridge or into the wok.
Limau kasturi, or calamansi: the lime that is not quite a lime
It comes halved on the side of the mee goreng, and most people call it lime. The difference is most of the reason it is there.
Pandan: fresh, frozen, paste or essence
Four forms of wildly differing quality, and the gap between best and worst is larger than for almost anything else.
Dried shrimp: grades, dye and what to look for
Three piles at three prices, and a colour problem that is easy to spot once you know the test.
Meat, fish or chicken: why curry powders differ
Three blends at the same price, and using the wrong one is the usual reason a fish curry tastes oddly heavy.
Asam: tamarind, asam keping and why they are not the same
One word covering several different ingredients, which is why substituting produces a dish that tastes almost right.
Candlenut: what it does, and what to use instead
Half fat, almost no flavour, and the ingredient most often dropped from recipes written for cooks abroad.
Gula Melaka: what it is, and what it is not
Palm sugar and gula Melaka get used interchangeably. The substitution quietly removes the flavour you were trying to add.
Kicap masin, pekat and manis: which soy sauce does what
Three bottles that are not interchangeable, and the label detail that separates a good one from a cheap one.
Santan: fresh, boxed, powder or canned
Four versions of the same ingredient, sitting metres apart in the supermarket, and they do not behave the same way.
Ikan bilis: grades, quality and how to choose
Four piles at the market, four prices, and no labels explaining any of it. Here is what you are actually looking at.
Belacan: how it is made, how to use it, how to store it
The ingredient that makes a kitchen smell like something has gone badly wrong, right up until the moment it makes everything taste right.
