As you may know, Malaysians are made of many ethnic groups, including Malays, Chinese, Indians,Ibans, Kadazans, etc.
Amongst the Malay ethnic group, vegetarian food is not common. It is easier to find vegetarian restaurants among the Malaysian Chinese and Malaysian Indian groups.
Malay dishes tend not to be pure vegetarian. Even something like Nasi Ulam, or Herb Rice, which you would think would be vegetarian, tends to have belacan (shrimp paste), shredded salted fish or dried prawns. Even vegetables which are stir-fried tend to have chicken stock or those little dried prawns.
Pecal or Gado-Gado is an Indo-Malay dish of blanched vegetables served with peanut sauce but again it may contain prawn crackers and the belacan.
A similar dish called Rojak or Pasembur may contain prawn fritters.
Ditto Lontong, which is basically rice cakes in yellow coconut milk infused soup and blanched vegetables, tempe and tofu it also tends to have those dried shrimps in there somewhere.
Nasi Lemak, which is basically fragrant rice cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaves, is usually served with a spicy sambal sauce, cucumbers, roasted peanuts, a hard boiled egg and ikan bilis (anchovies). If you can tell them to hold the ikan bilis, you may be able to eat it. Or go to one of those Pappa Rich chain restaurants, they have a vegetarian Nasi Lemak.
There a lot of vegetarian options in Malaysia, just not if you want 100% vegetarian ethnic Malay food. -ck
