Sambal Shiok

Sambal Shiok is a brilliant collection of 75 Malaysian-inspired recipes that were handed down from Mandy Yin’s mother as well as those that she has developed for her cult London restaurant. The recipes – such as Malacca Nyonya curry laksa, Penang assam laksa, Malaysian fried chicken, prawn fritters, spiral curry puffs, flaky roti canai, beef rendang, KL golden fragrant clams, sambal mapo tofu, and the perfect steamed rice – can be made for a weekday family meal, a dinner party or celebration.

Malaysian food results from the unique merger over centuries of Indigenous Malay ingredients with Indian spices and Chinese techniques. Every dish delicately balances sweet, sour, salty with chilli heat and a hint of bitter. With Mandy’s evocative look at Malaysian food culture, her recipes, and the basics of a Malaysian pantry (shrimp paste, lemongrass, tamarind and coconut milk), you can easily enjoy the most delicious Malaysian meals at home.

About the Author

Mandy Yin is Malaysian-born Chinese of Peranakan Nyonya heritage. She moved from Kuala Lumpur to London at 11 and later studied and practised corporate law. She eventually gave this up for a career in food. Mandy watched her mother cook all the family dishes they'd eaten for years and meticulously wrote down every step. She combined this knowledge of the fundamentals of Malaysian cuisine - its mind-boggling array of snacks, sharing dishes, slow-cooked curries and stews, strong spices and deep flavours, famous spicy laksa noodle soup and the nation's beloved sambal chilli sauce - with her memories of boisterous, hot hawker centres in Kuala Lumpur. Now, she owns and runs cult restaurant Sambal Shiok Laksa Bar in London and is regularly featured in the national press.

Mandy's life goal is to showcase the exciting variety of Malaysian food. She hopes that this book will inspire many to cook Malaysian dishes, to seek out and eat Malaysian food wherever the reader is in the world and, finally, to travel to Malaysia to fully understand and experience the richness of its cuisine and culture. For fellow Malaysians, she hopes that you will find great comfort in these pages, as she did recreating nostalgic tastes whilst writing this book during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns.