Malaysia: Recipes from a Family Kitchen

by Ping Coombes

Malaysian food has long been the hidden jewel of South-east Asian cookery - it's a fusion of the Chinese, Malay and Indian cultures that make up Malaysia itself. In her debut book Malaysia Ping Coombes shares all the secrets and delights of this extraordinary cuisine. Drawing inspiration from her mother and from the late-night stalls and street markets in her hometown of Ipoh, Ping has put together over 100 delicious recipes that serve as a perfect introduction to the tastes and textures of Malaysian cooking. Chilli crab and caramel pork, spicy laksas and rendangs, satays and tangy sambals: these classic dishes are intensely satisfying to make, share and devour! Welcome to Ping's family table - and as Ping's mother would say, 'sek fan la!': come and eat!

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Asian Literature

256 pages, Hardcover

Published May 5, 2016

Reviews

[Riegs · Rating 4 out of 5]

The recipe photography and cover design of this book is good... but I wish they would have included better pictures in certain sections. Many of the ingredients are specialty/culturally specific, and not including pictures of them is bad for the reader. I'll say it again: Cookbooks are reference books! If you're publishing a cookbook these days, you have the ability to include glossy color pictures like never before! I flipped through the first 46 pages trying to find pictures of ingredients and techniques. Instead, I found fluffy memoir writing (an indulgent trend which honestly needs to go away from cookbooks) and random pictures of Malaysian markets. These features detracted from a great cookbook with solid recipes.

[Chris Hinks · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful book!

I grew up in "Malaya" (as it was then), and revisited in 1989. This book brings back the flavours and smells which i still love. The best food in the world.

[Mia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant!

I've read through the book and have bookmarked a ton of recipes to try. The cooking directions are straight forward and the story telling of the author and her family delightful.

[axegrinder · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fabulous cookbook. I made numerous Malay meals out of that one. Among others I particularly liked:

- Gado-Gado
- Rendang
- Egg fried rice
- Laksa*

Great sets of pictures, nice stories. The only drawback is that Ping relies on stock powders in the book, which are not as good as the real equivalents, and that there is no recipe on making tofu puffs, so they have to be store bought ones.


*- if I remember correctly that it was a recipe from this cookbook.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please See My Full Review at:
https://bibliothecaeclecticus.wordpre...

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

to keep for my future cook-book club

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really lovely cookbook. I got this not too long ago and have made 4 recipes so far. All 5 star for flavour and easy to make !

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read Harder 2023 #11: Read a cookbook cover to cover.

I wanted to make almost everything in this book. I hope I actually get around to trying some of these recipes!