People 3 minutes 17 February 2025

3 Native Malaysian Ingredients You Should Know About According to Akar's Aidan Low

Chef-proprietor Aidan Low of MICHELIN-Selected restaurant Akar in Kuala Lumpur unearths a host of native Malaysian gems, inviting diners to marvel at uncommon ingredients of the country's indigenous culinary landscape.

Stepping onto hand-cut terracotta tiles and sliding open their iconic oversized oxidised steel door, Akar welcomes you to breeze through their flashback tunnel before entering the main dining hall where a harvest station awaits. Here, chef-proprietor Aidan Low and his team invite diners to engage hands-on with a selection of seasonal ingredients. A closer look at the shelves on either side of the open kitchen reveals jars of various sizes, each containing craft fermentations that speak of the restaurant’s dedication to discovering and uncovering the beauty of Malaysia's native ingredients.

“Our focus isn’t on centring cuisine around Malaysian staples, but rather on exploring the incredible array of local ingredients available to us, discovering and expressing their potential," muses Low. "This journey of discovery is what drives me and fuels my motivation to continue evolving."

“What keeps me passionate about my craft is realising how much there is still to learn about Malaysian ingredients, and how little we really know about each one.”

Dabai: Borneo's Hidden Gem


In the latest rendition of Akar's Mekar menu, which means "bloom" in Malay, one of the native ingredients Low includes is the dabai.

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Commonly referred to as the "Borneo Olive" due to its appearance, the dabai offers a flavour profile that’s surprisingly close to an avocado — creamy with subtle nutty notes. Traditionally, locals enjoy it blanched and served with sugar, salt, or soy sauce. Low and his team have conceived a renewed presentation, transforming dabai into a variety of iterations such as a vegan butter, where its aroma is enhanced through a gentle drying process, and even the seed of the fruit finds new life through roasting, offering a delightful almond-like crunch.

One of the dishes on Akar’s upcoming menu is the handmade dabai noodles, a tribute to Low’s time in Nagano, Japan, a city renowned for its soba. While their initial attempts used Japanese buckwheat flour, the team eventually switched to wheat flour for preferred results.

The noodles are paired with a dabai-based spicy chilli bean paste reminiscent of doubanjiang, a Chinese fermented broad bean and chili pepper paste, further enriched with local clams. The dish captures the essence of a tropical rainforest — warm, humid, and intensely savoury, offering diners a taste of Borneo's lush landscape.

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Asam Gelugur: A Taste of Malaysia


Asam gelugur is the bright yellow-orange fruit of the Garcinia atroviridis, a perennial rainforest tree native to Peninsular Malaysia.

While its sun-dried version of the fruit, known as asam keping, is widely available locally, the ripe asam gelugur fruit is a little more quaint and offers a wholly different experience. High in natural acidic compounds, asam gelugur adds a sharp tang to rich broths like traditional coconut milk-based stews such as gulais and masak lemaks.

"I was introduced to asam gelugur by an industry friend. When I first tasted it, its sharpness was almost cutting. I was intrigued!" Low recalls.

"We started using it quietly in our broths. It’s not the main star, but it adds a brightness that feels unmistakably Malaysian — a subtle yet impactful layer that invokes an inflection of our country's flavours."

Engkabang butter tastes similar to olive oil, but with a fragrance reminiscent of the dense Malaysian jungle.
Engkabang butter tastes similar to olive oil, but with a fragrance reminiscent of the dense Malaysian jungle.

Engkabang: An Unexpected Encounter


Low often comes across ingredients in the most unexpected ways, such as his source of engkabang butter.

"We were first introduced to this product in Sarawak by Roots Restaurant, and we were instantly fascinated," Low shares.

"This high-quality butter tastes similar to olive oil, but with a fragrance reminiscent of the dense Malaysian jungle." Due to the irregular flowering and fruiting of the engkabang tree that occurs more or less once every five years, the precious illipe nut is rare and highly valued. At Akar, the team takes advantage of its high melting point by incorporating it into pastry recipes.

Low’s supply of engkabang butter comes from an unlikely connection — a vendor named Siti, whom he met during a holiday in Miri. "I love exploring local markets during my travels. Siti was selling her own cincalok (fermented shrimp condiment) and tempoyak (fermented durian paste). We got along well, and I asked if she’d be willing to ship her products to Kuala Lumpur. Because of this, we became her first clients in the city."

Engkabang butter will be featured in Akar’s new menu in the form of a dessert — a version of dodol (Southeast Asian palm sugar-based toffee-like confection), part of the petit fours.

Akar's Harvest Station
Akar's Harvest Station

A Balance of Relatability and Intrigue


One of the challenges in introducing native ingredients is finding a way to resonate with diners while maintaining an element of fascination and curiosity.

"We offer relatability when introducing certain familiar flavours. For example, we describe buah kulim as jungle garlic, dabai as an avocado that looks like an olive... Although these comparisons may not be precisely accurate, they help bridge the gap for people to better understand and appreciate something altogether unfamiliar."

As vast and diverse as Malaysia's multicultural culinary landscape goes, for Low, there's a duality to this conundrum as it can pose as both its greatest strength and an imminent burden.

“From my perspective, this abundance presents a unique challenge in how to distill the essence of Malaysia into a cohesive and compelling narrative that's approachable to the global palate while maintaining clarity, balance and authenticity.”

A Journey Rooted in Growth


Akar represents my return to my roots and my ode to Malaysia,” Low reflects. “We aim to celebrate the interconnectedness of our culinary heritage and invite diners on a journey that deepens their understanding of what it means to be Malaysian. It’s about exploring our vast repertoire of ingredients and synthesising them with my own experiences and aspirations.”

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“Our team is cultivating a collective culture of excellence. Fostering the right mentality and values for the work has been the cornerstone of our journey. What makes this new chapter particularly thrilling is the energy, unity and drive of the team,” he beams with pride.

Ultimately, Low views this journey as an ongoing process. “I’m still learning how to navigate it,” he admits, “but what I know for sure is that a little fun and lightheartedness go a long way in stimulating creativity and passion.”

All images are from Akar.

Akar is located at 109 Jalan Aminuddin Baki, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur, 60000, Malaysia. Book your table here.

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