Food from Sabah Malaysia: Ginger Beef

Posted on / 16 Comments by David Ways in » Sabahan food | - Updated on May 22nd, 2012.
Ginger Beef from Sabah
Ginger Beef from Sabah

Ginger Beef  with some more flowery plates

Only Ginger Beef served on yet more pink plastic plates will tell you this is a local eating establishment!

It may be a slight play on linguist notions, but Beef Ginger or Ginger Beef is still fabulous. Another Chinese import, it’s often found available in many of the little cafes or eateries you can find on Sabah’s streets.

Malaysians know how to cook ginger well!

Normally I am not a huge fan of ginger dishes. The thought of biting into a husk of spicy hot ginger is a memorable one. But here in Sabah the ginger is shredded to a tee.

The meat is tender, and the sauce is virtually drinkable.

Spring onions and lemon grass add to this great pick me up of a meal. I only wish the plates didn’t all have these lurid designs!!

This is an additional post and one of a series highlighting Food in Sabah Malaysia

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16 Replies to “Food from Sabah Malaysia: Ginger Beef”

  1. dave..u always like this. U will start with ‘i am not a fan, but..’
    i think u just enjoy eating everything in malaysia.. :p

      1. ouh sorry for the late reply..
        my favourite is ‘laksa johor’. very popular in the state of johor. (my hometown)

        the sauce is consist of fish (paste), coconut milk, spices and lots of vegetables. we eat that with spaghetti..yeah, not so traditional but this is the difference between laksa johor and other laksa from other states.

        btw, i think its hard to find a restaurant/ stall that sells good laksa johor, most johorean cook it themselves and of course one house produce slightly different laksa than the other houses.

        just so u know, laksa is not the only food that I enjoy very much. Plenty of food actually..hehe, come on, I’m Malaysian!!! :D

        1. I’m beginning to think there is a ‘laksa’ for every state!

          Everything sounds good their except your mention of “Fish paste”. Sorry, I gag on the mere thought of fish paste. Not my thing at all. If you ever want to see a guy pull twisted face, open a jar of fish paste under my nose :)

          1. hmm, if i’m not mistaken, there are only 3 states that has laksa.

            Penang (no fish, but more sour because they have tamarind in the sauce)

            laksa Sarawak (never tried..not yet :p)

            and Johore.

            nobody buy fish paste to make laksa johor. We make it. Boil fish, remove the bones, mash it, and cook…

            arrggh, i hate to explain this now coz I’m craving for it!! ( i hate u :p)

            i know,this long comment is still not convincing enough, n u will never eat that right? yes? no?

            ok lah..

          2. Nope, will never eat fish paste. I tried in The Philippines and really had a bad reaction. I’ve tried the fresh stuff too, same thing. Not really a big fan of fish generally!

  3. Re: ginger, I had the same experience. But my wife says the right way to do it is to either take out the crushed ginger before serving or grate it so that it blends and almost melts in the dish. It should really be just a hint. (Listen to me talking about food. I usually just gobble up everything.)

    And I know all about these plastic plates. They do use that a lot in the Philippines too.

    1. I bought a white plastic plate when I was in The Philippines as I knew there would be more of these colorful ones in SEA. I’ve managed to use it quite a bit. Looks better than some of these neon pink things!! But sometimes I get strange looks :)

  4. I love ginger-based gravy.. usually I order ginger fish or ginger chicken, seldom beef. The ginger gravy is apparently good for relieving your body from gas. :)

    1. Jealous? And there I was staring at frozen Pepperoni sausage in an expat type supermarket the other day and dreaming of real Italian food! Today, it is I who is jealous. Enjoy!

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