Malaysian Street Food
Before making the move to Houston, I lived in Malaysia for 13 years. My business and home were located in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. This is a bustling city that rarely sleeps. You can find many places open 24 hours. There are open air markets year round due to it’s tropical rainforest climate. It’s warm, humid and sunny. The distance to the beach is approximately the same distance as the beach is to Houston. It was nice to be able to get out of the busy city and see the ocean.
Malaysia has many similarities to Houston, which is probably one of the reasons Houston immediately felt like home when I moved here 6 years ago. You can find fresh fruits and vegetables of all kinds so it’s easy to whip up a quick, fresh meal at home. Many people, including myself, who are busy with work find it easy to pop into one of the many restaurants and get a quick, inexpensive meal on the go. This is where I discovered many delicious dishes.
One of my favorite meals is Malaysian-Style Stir-Fried Noodles (Mee Goreng). I lived in Malaysia for 13 years and would eat this 2 or 3 times per week!
This is one of the most popular dishes there and is both widely available and widely popular. It is most commonly found in local Malaysian restaurants, especially those open 24 hours, such as the famous Nasi Kandar Pelita. (@nasikandarpelita on Instagram)
This dish is very versatile and can be made with tofu or chicken (I sometimes even add an egg with the tofu for extra flavor and protein), any vegetable you have in hand can be substituted and it can be made as spicy as you like.
This dish has quickly become a family favorite and I am transported back to Malaysia every time I make it.
Houston’s large ethnic population offers our community a wide variety of ethnic dishes to experience. When you don’t have the time to make this dish yourself, you’re in luck! You can try out several variations at the following locations right here in West Houston:
Phat Eatery -23119 Colonial Pkwy Suite B-2, Katy - dishing up a diverse selection of Malaysian street food specialties. phateatery.com (@phateatery on Instagram)
PappaRich - 9393 Bellaire Blvd Suite A-1, Houston- blending the finest seasonal and locally sourced ingredients to create Malaysian eats uniting Malay, Chinese and Indian flavors with diverse cooking methodologies. papparichusa.com (@papparich.usa on Instagram)
Sign up for our newsletter and never miss a recipe.
