A perfectly delicious chicken dish for those days when you really don’t have the energy to cook.

Make your own tempoyak with just durian flesh, salt, and time.

Revive dry, stale okra by deep-frying it until crunchy and supremely snack-able.

Salty and aromatic pantry ingredients marry in this savoury foil for plain starch.

A dry sambal that’s fragrantly delicious, perfect for eating endlessly with rice.

Cold smooth tofu topped with crunchy aromatics makes for a quick lunch when you don’t want to turn on the stove.

Make this singgang with extra soup to sip on slowly when you’re under the weather.

A classic party dish of many Malay families, this can be whipped up in more or less the time it takes to boil pasta.

A humble stew of meltingly tender meat using an underrated star of home cooking—canned stewed pork.

An immensely satisfying lunch for hungry folks on a budget.

This noodle dish is one of the most versatile to have in your back pocket.

When bambangan season rolls around, this braised fish is a delicious way to use up a glut of the fruit’s harvest.

There isn’t much that tempoyak can’t improve, and cooking it with mushrooms both complement and enhance the overall umami of both ingredients.

Sambals don’t need to be complicated. Just three ingredients can give you a soy sauce sambal so good, you’ll want for no other condiment.

This minimalist Lunbawang staple manages to be satiating and incredibly comforting without being heavy.

Adaptable for many different meals across many different cuisines, this onion-garlic oil is a condiment you’ll keep coming back to.

The onion-garlic oil provides a lightning-fast way to get flavourful vegetables on the table for dinner.

Low-stakes steamed fish to get you accustomed to making this favourite at home.

A Semai-style chicken braise full of flavour, suitable for your daily cooking repertoire.

Sometimes, all you need is some meat and ketchup. This slightly zhuzhed-up bachelor-esque dish is great for a quick meal.

A nourishing everyday soup doesn’t always need meat bones and long cooking.

If you’re tired of stir-frying, blanching or steaming bok choy, try braising it instead in coconut milk.

Using just a few pantry ingredients—aside from the fish head, of course—this speedy dish is quite simply what it says in its title.

A quick vegetable stir-fry with the classic savoury spices of an Indian kitchen.

A spicy and savoury vegetable side for the dinner table, with budu as the star.

A Hakka homestyle dish that became an instant classic in Zara’s home.

A herby sambal to accompany daily meals, especially when paired with fried meats and more ulam.

Cooking cucumbers isn’t a novel method. This excellent Nyonya recipe shows us a tangy application for weeknight meals.

Make this simple vegetable side dish without even turning on the stove.

A sweet introduction to the world of fruit curries, this mango curry is perfect for an Onam Sadhya lunch.

A peanut butter-noodle dish that can’t be beaten for convenience and flavour. Bulk it up for a full meal, or scale it down for a snack.

Turn a can of luncheon meat into a spicy dish, a perfect pantry meal to cook before grocery runs.

When you want ayam kunyit but can’t bear the oily cleanup, turn to this braise instead.

Fried pasta makes for a quick weekday lunch in between work calls. Prep a large batch to bring to a party, and watch it disappear like magic.

Wonder why sardine sambal isn’t up your alley? Try this pre-frying technique and let us change your mind.

Zhuzh up your everyday tomato soup with spices and raisins for a flavoursome lunch.

Fiery black pepper meets silky meehoon in this quick meal, perfect for when you want a homemade meal—fast.

A smoky eggplant salad to accompany a variety of meals, from rice to steaks, or as a part of an appetiser platter.

Quick, cheap, and filling, these tapioca chips are a fantastic treat for all ages.

These savoury fritters are crispy, crunchy, and perfect for a late afternoon pick-me-up. Best served with chilli sauce.

This sambal tumis is the perfect hearty breakfast to sustain you the whole morning.

Swap out the usual stir-fry aromatics for fragrant and crunchy almond flakes instead.

Chicken and coconut milk come together in a simple preparation of gulai kuning or masak lemak, perfect for a quick yet satisfying meal.

The kind of homestyle weeknight braise you probably won’t find in a restaurant.

Stale pieces of Gardenia to use up? Whip up this quick, customisable snack and enjoy with a cup of tea.

If you’re going to give yourself a sweet treat, go all out and bring some canned fruits to the party for a drink you can eat.

A subtly spiced and hearty side dish, unfussy enough for a weeknight. 

When fried like this, the cream crackers maintain their crunch while also absorbing the oil from the spice mix. Necessity really is the (grand)mother of invention.

Sayaka’s grandmother made this dish often for the family, serving it straight from the pot to save time on washing up.

Umbut sawit is the young shoot or heart of the oil palm tree. Plentiful in Borneo from the plantations, resourceful locals have found that it makes for a terrific ingredient.

Between the char of the crispy shallots, the umami of the soy sauce, and the sweetness of the prawns, one really doesn’t need anything else.

Hinava is a traditional native dish of the Kadazandusun people in the state of Sabah, which is a method of cooking saltwater or freshwater fish using lime juice.

Natasha learned how to make this dish from her mother (who she assumes learned it from her mother), and craves it on gloomy rainy days.