Malaysians Share Their Homecooked Comfort Meals That Cost Less Than RM10
For cheap foodie fixes at home!
By Laila Zain — 27 Feb 2024, 11:47 AM
1. "ABC soup"
"You can't go wrong with a hearty bowl of ABC soup, made with onions, potatoes, and carrots. Eat it with white rice or on its own.
"Actually, any kind of hot clear soup is my go-to. Chinese cabbage and carrots, old cucumber with mushrooms and jagung (corn), tofu with bok choy... So many different things you can do. All delicious, and all affordable!"
- Lau, 39
READ: 9 Comforting Soup Recipes To Try
2. "White rice with kicap and telur mata"
"I think this is the ultimate Malaysian comfort food doh. Do I need to explain? Haha.
"Masak nasi, goreng telur, letak kicap, siap (cook rice, fry an egg, add soy sauce, it's ready)."
- Amiruddin, 35
3. "Poor man's pasta"
"Ok, this might sound a bit disgusting but I SWEAR it's yummy. Probably incredibly unhealthy. But it's a sometimes food, not an everyday food.
"I put cooked pasta in a bowl, then just add some salt, a lil blob of butter, and a squirt of tomato ketchup. Mix it. Eat it. It tastes a bit salty, sweet, tangy, and buttery. Definitely a comfort meal and so inexpensive."
- Ayu, 33
4. "Garlic fried rice"
"Rice, egg, garlic, oyster sauce. Use five to six cloves of garlic, and remember, oyster sauce is the key."
- Jeremy, 30
5. "Chilli oil noodles"
"I saw the recipe online but I tweaked it based on the ingredients I had in my kitchen. Come, I write it out for you.
Ingredients:
- Noodles — any kind! But the best ones would be knife cut or udon.
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp lao gan ma chilli oil
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp vinegar (optional)
- For meat, shredded chicken, fish ball, pork balls, all also can. But shredded chicken will soak up the chilli oil hehe making it nicer.
- Chopped spring onions (optional)
Step 1: Boil noodles
Step 2: Mix your sauces in the bowl
Step 3: Add your noodles and add your meat and spring onions
Das itttt."
- Tim, 26
7. "Bread with tuna chilli"
"I like to stock up on canned tuna for 'end of the month meals', if you know what I mean. Just spread on bread or toast, done!"
- Mellie, 27
8. "One pot chicken rice"
"I found this recipe on TikTok and it's so easy and delicious. You only need chicken, garlic, ginger, and cili padi.
"In the rice cooker, add soy sauce, sweet soy sauce, oyster sauce, and rice vinegar to the water. Top with your chicken and condiments. Press a button and wait for a filling homey meal."
- Imelda, 27
9. "Pantry fritata"
"I take anything in the fridge and dump it into a baking tin with a bunch of beaten eggs. Put it in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on how big it is, and enjoy!"
- Ihsan, 29
10. "Dressed up silken tofu"
"Silken tofu is the easiest and most inexpensive dish you can make. You literally don't even need to cook it, just put it in the microwave for like 30 seconds.
"I dress it up by stir-frying minced chicken with soy sauce and chilli, or sometimes I do garlic chilli oil to drizzle on top. Pair with hot rice, done!"
- Donat, 31
11. "Sardines and rice"
"Sauté some garlic, onion, and cili padi, add canned sardines in tomato sauce, serve with hot rice. I always cook this on lazy days or when the wife and I are a little tight on cash. :)"
- Syafie, 40
12. "Scallion pancakes"
"Omg, my recipe is so simple, I'm shy to share. It's not like professional scallion pancake haha.
"I just add one cup of hot water to two cups of flour and a pinch of salt. Mix to make the dough. After the dough has rested, roll them into little balls. Add a bit of oil to the surface then put chopped green onion. Roll flat and fry."
- Chong, 44
