| English | Scientific | Malaysian Term (mostly Malay, but some in local Chinese/Indian dialect) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| anchovy, scaly hairfin | Setipinna taty | ikan bilis | Very small fish, often salted and dried. |
| aniseed | Pimpinella anisum | jintan manis | |
| Asam fruit | Garcinia atroviridis | asam gelugor | Bright orange yellow fruit. Sundried slices are known as asam keping and are used in curries and soups, or stewed in sugar. Dried rinds of underripe fruit are used in curries in place of tamarind and used for dressing fish. |
| banana | Musa acuminata × Musa balbisiana | pisang | |
| bean paste, fermented | taucheo | 豆醬/豆酱 (dòu jiàng, "bean paste") or 黃豆醬/黄豆酱 (huáng dòu jiàng, "soybean paste", "yellow bean paste") in Chinese. Sometimes written as towcheong. Paste made from salted and fermented soy beans. | |
| bean sprouts | taugeh | ||
| candlenut | Aleurites moluccana | buah keras | |
| chilli, bird's eye | Capsicum frutescens | chili padi | |
| chives, garlic | Allium tuberosum | kuchai | |
| choy sum | Brassica rapa, subspecies chinensis | sawi | |
| coconut butter | Cocos nucifera | kerisik | Toasted coconut paste, used in dishes such as laksa and beef rendang. |
| coconut milk | Cocos nucifera | santan | |
| cumin | Cuminum cyminum | jintan putih | |
| fenugreek | Trigonella foenum-graecum | halba | |
| fern, vegetable | Diplazium esculentum | pucuk paku | |
| galangal | Alpinia galanga | lengkuas | a.k.a. blue ginger |
| ginger flower | Etlingera elatior | bunga kantan | Showy pink flowers are used as decoration, while flower buds are an important ingredient in laksa |
| grouper | Epinephelinae subfamily | ikan kerapu | |
| Indian borage | Plectranthus amboinicus | lemuju | Similar to oregano in flavour and odour. |
| jícama / yam bean | Pachyrhizus erosus | sengkuang | Commonly refers to the edible tuberous root of the plant. The rest of the plant is very poisonous. |
| lemongrass | Cymbopogon citratus | serai | |
| lime, Calamansi | ×Citrofortunella microcarpa | limau kasturi | |
| mackerel, chub or Indian | Scomber japonicus, Rastrelliger kanagurta | ikan kembong | |
| mackerel, Spanish | Scombridae family | ikan tengiri | |
| mackerel, narrow-barred Spanish | Scomberomorus commerson | ikan tengiri batang | |
| noodle, flat rice | kuay teow | 河粉 (hé fěn) in Chinese. Flat noodles made from rice flour. | |
| noodle, laksa | laifun | 瀨粉/濑粉 (lài fěn) in Chinese. Round noodles made from rice flour and/or tapioca starch. | |
| pandan / screwpine leaves | Pandanus amaryllifolius | daun pandan | |
| pomfret, black | Parastromateus niger | ikan bawal hitam | |
| pomfret, silver or white | Pampus argenteus | ikan bawal putih | |
| radish, Chinese white | Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus | chye tow / chai tow | Used to make savoury "carrot cake", or chai tow kway (菜頭粿/菜头粿). |
| radish, preserved, salted | Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus | chye poh / chai poh | |
| rice, glutinous | Oryza glutinosa | pulut | |
| sambal | sambal | Chilli based sauce normally used as a condiment. | |
| scad, torpedo or hardtail | Megalaspis cordyla | ikan cencaru | |
| scad, yellow- or gold-banded | Selarios leptolepis | ikan selar kuning | Small fish often served fried in nasi lemak. |
| shrimp, dried | hae bee | 蝦米/虾米 (xiā mǐ) in Chinese. | |
| shrimp paste | belachan | ||
| snapper, red | Lutjanus roseus | ikan merah | "red fish" |
| sugar, palm | gula melaka | ||
| threadfin | Polynemidae family | ikan senangin | Silvery grey tropical fish. |
| tofu | tauhu | ||
| tofu, firm | tawkwa / tahu kuning | ||
| tofu puff | taupok / tow pok | Fried bean curd cube, spongy inside, great for soaking up laksa flavours. | |
| vermicelli, mung bean / glass noodles | tunghoon | 粉絲/粉丝 (fěn sī) or 冬粉 (dōng fěn) in Chinese. Thin noodles made from mung bean starch. Transparent when cooked. | |
| vermicelli, rice | meehoon / bee hoon | 米粉 (mǐ fěn) in Chinese. Thin noodles made from rice flour. White when cooked. | |
| Vietnamese mint | Persicaria odorata | daun kesum | a.k.a. daun laksa ("laksa leaf") a.k.a. Vietnamese coriander |
| water spinach | Ipomoea aquatica | kangkong | a.k.a. morning glory, water convolvulus |
Other Cooking Terms
| English | Malay |
|---|---|
| oil separates (stage in cooking) | pecah minyak |
| spice paste | rempah |
| wok | kwali |
Units of Measurement
| English | Malay | Measures | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| catty | kati | mass | Equivalent to around 1 1/3 pound avoirdupois, formalised as 604.79 g in Malaysia |
| tael | tahil | mass | Equivalent to around 1 1/3 ounce avoirdupois, approximately 37.7994 g. |