Appetizers

The word ‘Rojak’ (pronounced ‘Ro-jah-k’) is a word held very close to the heart of every Malaysian. In its literal sense, it is a melange of crunchy fruits and vegetables, coated in a sticky sauce made of fermented shrimp. It is sweet, salty, sour, crunchy…

If you go to a local market in Malaysia, the tropical fruits are there as much as the omnipresent apples and oranges. No offense to apples and oranges, they’re fantastic and we grow up on them. But we grow up singing ‘A is for Apple’…

I’ve had a good long thought and have come to the realization that I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love Indian food. I have met some who can’t take spiciness all too well, but the flavours of Indian food itself seem to be a general…

One of my favourite Dim Sum dishes growing up was ‘Lo Mai Gai’, which is steamed glutinous rice with chicken. It is traditionally cooked in lotus leaf, but my fond memories of it always involved a dish made of foil. You’d turn the dish upside…

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Tempeh is a vegan godsend. I love how nutritional and versatile it is, and ridiculously cheap and available in Malaysia too. I think it’s almost criminal to be a vegan here and NOT eat it. I…

Meatballs remind me of sickness – not in a bad way! Whenever any of the siblings got ill, Mummy would be in the kitchen rolling up balls of minced pork, which she would serve with rice porridge. While developing this recipe, rolling the balls, I…

As a budding vegetarian, as most budding vegetarians do, I started out making salads. It was simple, fast, nutritious, and didn’t require cooking. The only drawback is that salads are light. And as an athlete now, light meals can be bothersome to eat a dozen…

The last thing off my meat list before making my plant-based transition was seafood. I loved everything that had fish in it, fish cake included. Thai fish cakes were a staple order whenever I ate Thai. It’s not like I miss it now, but when…

Before turning vegetarian in 2010, I was still eating seafood. And I LOVED Japanese food. In a cruel twist of fate, the first restaurant I visited after making the transition… was a Japanese restaurant. (Not my own decision of course. Unless it was a subconsious…