Do you like curry? This simple egg curry recipe, popular among Malaysians, is just right for you.

There are different ways to prepare the curry, but the Malaysian version usually involves certain spices such as cloves, star anise, cinnamon, and cardamom. Malaysian Curry has its unique flavor since the spices mix differs from other versions, such as Indian curries. This egg curry recipe is also great for using leftover eggs.

Let’s get into the details of how to prepare this curry.

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🛒Ingredients needed for the easy Malaysian egg curry

The key ingredients needed for the egg curry recipe are as follows:

• Eggs. Before cooking the curry, we need to prepare some hard-boiled eggs. The cooking process starts with cooked eggs instead of raw ones. I have a separate recipe for how to prepare perfect hard-boiled eggs. You can refer to this simple recipe for the details.
• Ingredients for the curry paste (to blend). Blend the large onions, garlic, and red chilies into a paste with a food processor or an electric blender. You can include some red chili for a more spicy curry. At the same time, it also helps to improve the color. I suggest removing the seeds to reduce the spiciness if you can’t take the heat rather than reducing the number of red chilies.
• Potato. Cut a potato into wedges and cut one medium-sized tomato into slices.
• Tomato. This recipe also requires tomatoes. Roughly chop one fresh tomato or substitute it with tomato puree or tomato paste. The potato and tomatoes will thicken the curry base.
• Spices. The following dry spices are required: cinnamon stick, star anise, cardamom, and cloves. This set of spice combinations is commonly used in Malay cooking, fondly called Empat Sekawan, which means ‘friends of four.’ You can ignore these items if you do not have them on hand, but it is strongly suggested that you get them to enhance the flavor.
• Curry leaves. One common item in Malaysia is curry leaf. It is almost a must-have ingredient for most local curries and is also commonly used in southern Indian curries. Unfortunately, curry leaves are difficult to find outside of Asia. You may try to purchase them from an Indian or Asian grocery store, but you may have to omit them if unavailable. The difference in taste is subtle, but they will give you a hint of a distinctive flavor in the curry.
• Coconut cream. Coconut cream is a commonly used ingredient in Malaysian-style curries. We use freshly pressed coconut cream, widely available in local wet markets. An alternative is to use packaged coconut cream. When purchasing packaged coconut cream, please ensure it is labeled for cooking, not coconut milk for drinking. Coconut cream for cooking can be confused with coconut milk for drinking, which has been diluted and added with other components. The fat content of coconut cream for cooking is between 20% and 25%.
• Curry powder. If you want to achieve the authentic flavor of Malaysian curries, Malaysian curry powder is a must, as it is tailored to Malaysian taste preferences. Luckily, Malaysian curry powder is now available worldwide. If it is unavailable, you can use Indian curry powder as a close alternative, although it’s not exactly the same.

❓ What is Malaysian Curry Powder?

The Malaysian Curry powder is a mix of different spices. The main ingredients are coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, fennel powder, chili, cloves, and cinnamon. The combination of spices of different brands may be different.

👉 How to cook the easy Malaysian Egg curry?

1. Bring the water to a boil. Add the raw eggs, ensuring they are fully submerged. Reduce to low heat and boil for 15 minutes. Peel the eggs and set aside.

2. Blend the onions, chili, and garlic with water until it becomes a paste.

3. Heat 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil in the wok. Saute the minced ginger and garlic until aromatic. Alternatively, you can use ginger garlic paste as a substitute.

4. Throw in the cinnamon bark, star anise, cardamom, and cloves. Continue sauteing over low heat until aromatic.

5. Mix the curry powder and the blended onion paste. Then, combine with the dry spices in the pan.

6. Now include the potatoes, tomatoes, and a cup of water to cook over medium heat until the potatoes turn soft. The exact time required depends on the size of the potato wedges. You need to add more water if it is too dry.

7. Next, throw in some fresh curry leaves. Add the freshly pressed coconut milk to the curry.

8. Season with salt and some sugar to taste. Sugar helps to balance the acidity of the tomatoes.

9. Return the peeled eggs to the curry and cook for 2-3 minutes over low heat until the curry sauce thickens.

10. Lastly, garnish with some coriander leaves and fresh curry leaves. It is a perfect dish to serve with steamed rice and Indian bread.

💡Tips and notes for the best egg curry

• It is best to use freshly ground whole spices. However, it is too troublesome for daily cooking. Therefore, the ready-made curry powder comes in handy to speed up everyday cooking. Please refer to the expiration date on the packaging to get the freshest possible curry powder.
• Add some Kashmiri red chili powder if you want the curry to be bright red. I cooked the curry with a wok. Otherwise, you can use a pan to saute the spices and complete the remaining steps with an instant pot.
• Make a few shallow cuts on the hard-boiled eggs. This method will help the curry flavor absorb more quickly into the eggs.
• You can serve the egg curry immediately after cooking.  However, eggs taste even better after a few hours, when the curry flavor has fully absorbed into the eggs.

More about Malaysian Curry

The flavor of Malaysian Curry is different from other curries due to the following reasons:

1. The main spices for most Malaysian curry are cinnamon star anise, stick, cardamom, and clove. This is also why Malaysian Curry pastes differ from Indian Curry, which uses garam masala powder, cumin, coriander, kasuri methi, and others. You should be able to get all these ingredients from your grocery store. 
2. Malaysian Curry is also commonly prepared with curry and coriander leaves and does not include Kasuri methi. Tomatoes, potatoes, and red onions are some of the common ingredients. Also, red chilies are more commonly used than green chilies in Malaysian curry.

🍽️  Here are some other egg recipes for your busy schedule.

If you like this easy egg curry recipe, you will also enjoy the following recipes that use eggs as the main ingredient. Here are my picks.

• Tomato egg stir-fry is a home-cooked comfort food popular in Chinese families. It is a quick and easy dish you can get onto the dining table in 15 minutes.
• The egg drop soup recipe is the easiest Chinese soup recipe to prepare. A high-quality soup base is essential to produce the best egg drop soup.
• Chinese Steamed Eggs garnished with chopped spring onions and drizzled with a few drops of light soy sauce is irresistible when served with white rice. This article reveals the fine details of how to make the perfect Chinese steamed eggs.