South-east Asians unite to defend non-crispy chicken rendang, but differences remain over dish's origin

Rendang is traditionally made with chicken or beef that is slow cooked with Asian herbs and coconut milk.

KUALA LUMPUR: South-east Asians have united to defend hugely popular "chicken rendang" that was knocked out of a British cooking competition television show for not being crispy enough, but the longstanding debate on the origins of the dish rages on.

Malaysian-born chef Zaleha Kadir Olpin cooked nasi lemak, a beloved traditional Malaysian dish, served with chicken rendang in the quarter-final of the BBC show MasterChef UK, in which contestants were asked to prepare a meal that was important to them.