This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Malaysia Kitchen for the World. All opinions are 100% mine.
I love food. I love experimenting with different cuisines, pushing the limits of our routine and introducing my taste buds to new and exciting flavors – like Malaysian cuisine! While I’ve never been to Malaysia, I love bringing a little bit of the South China Sea food scene to Miami by trying my hand at recipes with a Malaysian flair.
Did you know that Malaysian cuisine is the ultimate in fusion cooking? This fascinating cuisine blends the flavors and food traditions of Malay, Chinese and Indian while bringing in influences from Indonesia, Thailand, Portuguese and the Middle East. All of those influences create complex flavors with a few kitchen staples you’re probably already using in your cooking: curry, turmeric, cardamom, lemongrass, ginger and tamarind.
When combined, these flavors create the ultimate experience for your palate! The tastes of Malaysian cuisine have been rated the number three top-trending flavors by the National Restaurant Association, they’re that good!
I just recently tried to create a Malaysian dish at home, and the results were amazing! I started with a recipe by Chef Dale Talde, and added my own twists. While I do love having an easy-to-follow recipe at hand, cooking is always more fun when you add your own personal flair to a dish!
I recreated Chef Dale Talde’s Nasi Lemak-Style Grits, Poached Egg, Fried Anchovy, Curry Chicken Recipe, with a few changes. Some may like Anchovies, but in my house…not so much. To each their own!
Nasi Lemak-Style Grits and Curry Chicken Recipe
- Grits
- 4 c. white corn grits
- 3 c. coconut milk
- 1 c. water
- 1 T. salt
- 1 T. fish sauce
- Curry chicken*
- 2 T. vegetable oil
- 2 lb. chicken thighs
- 2 T. Lemongrass Coconut Curry Sauce
- 1 small onion, cut medium dice
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 T. ginger, minced
- 3 T. Tamarind juice
- 2 c. coconut milk
- 1 c. water
- 1 T. Fish sauce
- 2 T. sugar
- 1 large potato, cut medium dice
- Grits Method: In a pot add coconut milk, waters salt and fish sauce, bring to a boil.
- Slowly whisk in grits and bring to a low heat, constantly stirring.
- Add liquid as grits get thick; the mixture is to be a very thick stew, not mashed potatoes.
- Curry Chicken Method: In a medium pot add oil. Season chicken and brown skin side down for 5-8 minutes at a medium-high heat.
- Then add curry sauce and bring down to a medium heat and cook until aromatic.
- Add onion, garlic and ginger to pot and sauté until aromatic, 5-6 minutes.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and cover and braise until tender, 45 minutes to an hour.
Sounds pretty simple, right?
You can also substitute Tamarind seasoning mixed with water for the Tamarind sauce in this recipe; that is what the owner of the small Asian market advised me to do when she told me that no one in Miami would have this sauce. That is how her family makes her own Tamarind sauce!
While you may not have access to some ingredients that are common in Malaysian cuisine, you can find quite a few at Whole Foods, Cost Plus and on Amazon.com! These sauces make cooking Malaysian cuisine so much easier, and if you keep a few of them on hand, you’ll always be ready to whip up a new Malaysian Kitchen recipe when the mood strikes!
Malaysian Black Pepper Sauce Mix
Lemongrass Coconut Curry Sauce
Visit Malaysia Kitchen for the World for more information about the exotic flavors of Malaysian cuisine!
Don’t forget to follow @MalaysiaKitchenUSA on Instagram, @MKPUSA on Twitter and like Malaysia Kitchen on Facebook for a daily dose of recipe inspiration!
Wow what a different way to enjoy some good old grits, the flavor looks so awesome. Love the presentation.
I was thinking as I was reading this, I have never had chicken with grits but its not a bad idea. Thanks for this recipe.
This looks like an interesting dish. I have not tried anything like it before but it looks good.
This looks like a very different recipe that I am used to trying and I think it is delicious and want to try it! I like the Lemongrass coconut curry sauce in this recipe. Thanks for sharing!
I’ve never had Malaysian food. It looks good and seems to have foods I’ve never heard of. It’s very interesting and i’l love to try.
This looks really good. I love chicken and its always nice to find new recipes to try! I haven’t had this combo before so I am looking forward to testing it out.
Wow that looks good. It’s been a long time since I’ve had curry. Those pictures look great and my mouth starts watering as I read through the list of ingredients.
That is some serious fusion going on there. I love grits and really have to start considering them in different ways like you have done here. Brilliant!
When I traveled in Malaysia I LOVED the food. I even had this curry chicken. Don’t quite remember grits on their menu but I do remember having rainforest fern leaves for my veggies. That is definitely an acquired taste!
Your curry looks really tasty, we’re big curry fans in this house and had a beef curry earlier in the week 🙂
Looks really good – interesting ingredients! Thanks so much for linking up at Best of the Weekend!
Super yummy recipe! This looks so amazing. Pinned and tweeted. We love to party with you, so I hope to see you tonight at 7 pm.. Have an amazing day! Lou Lou Girls
What a great combination of flavor, this looks awesome! Hope you are having a great week and thanks so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Real Soon!
Miz Helen
My husband is all about the curry, I bet he’d love this recipe! Great ingredients!
I’ve never had Malaysian food but that looks delicious. I wonder how it would turn out without fish sauce? Deathly allergic
That looks delicious! You don’t really see a lot of grits in Rhode Island, but now that I’ve moved to Florida, I’m hearing about them more. I think I’ll make this!
That looks amazing! I really thought that grits were an exclusively southern USA thing. I can’t wait to try this.
I really love the taste of grits. I like that they are becoming easier to find in restaurants, too.
Oh that looks so good. I never would have thought to mix the 2 tastes