Meet Auria Abraham

We were lucky to catch up with Auria Abraham recently and have shared our conversation below.

Auria, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

I believe resilience comes from a strong belief, a faith shall we say, that everything always works out.

What is it that I have faith in? I was raised Catholic but no longer subscribe to that doctrine. Instead, I choose to reach back in time to the belief systems held by my ancestors before they were forced to adopt Catholicism. My ancestors were most likely Hindu on one side and Buddhist on the other.

I firmly believe that we are all one. I firmly believe in the goodness of humankind. In the goodness of life itself. I believe we are here to seek the divinity within ourselves.

Yes, I know that we see current events as disturbing and troubling. I still believe in the goodness of humankind and of life. And from that believe, that faith, comes resilience.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I was born and raised in Malaysia. I came to the US in 1992 to study film-scoring at Berklee College of Music in Boston. A couple of years later, I moved to NYC, landed a job at a prestigious jingle house, met my husband and settled down in Brooklyn.
In the winter of 2012, on the coldest day of the year, I was missing Malaysia and my family tremendously. At the time, we had a young child and couldn’t afford the trip back home. I called my Mum, and as Mums do, she encouraged me to cook something familiar, knowing that would make me feel better. Over the phone she told me how to make the Sambal that she’s made for us for years. It’s the most popular condiment in Malaysia, with every family having their own version of it.
I made a large 12oz jar of Mum’s Sambal. It tasted SO GOOD. It was spicy and full of flavor. She was right, it did relieve the pain of missing home and I planned to put it on everything, and make it last as long as possible. I was sure it would last at least a month. Unfortunately (or fortunately), my husband discovered the jar and without understanding what it meant to me, devoured it in three days. I was beside myself! I quickly realized that I was going to have to make a LOT MORE Sambal.
Mum’s sambal is flavored with fermented shrimp paste – the ingredient that’s responsible for that delicious Southeast Asian funk bursting with umami. It’s probably the stinkiest food product ever made in the world. Historically, Malaysians have thought that it’s not well tolerated by Western palates. I was completely surprised by how much my husband LOVED it. I thought that if he loved it, maybe other adventurous eaters in the US would love it too. I started making jars of Sambal and giving them to friends to see how they would respond to it. That’s how I, quite literally, became The Sambal Lady.
In 2013, when I founded this brand, Malaysian cuisine was not a thing in the US. Practically no one had heard of it. Imagine starting a brand that sells something that’s completely unknown. It was either very bold or very foolish of me. Either way, we were the first Malaysian food brand founded and manufacturing here in the US. Being a pioneer for the cuisine of an entire nation to an entire nation is an honor I do not take lightly.
Fast forward to 2024, we now manufacture a line of eight products – small-batch, all-natural ingredients, made just the way my Mum would cook for you if you were in her kitchen. We proudly manufacture in NYC and upstate NY.
Our most-recent product launch was for our Vegan Hot Chilli Sambal. Our OG Hot Chilli Sambal is flavored with fermented shrimp paste – an incredibly flavorful sambal, but not for vegans or anyone with dietary restrictions or shellfish allergies. Our Vegan Hot Chilli Sambal is flavored with premium shiitake mushroom powder – tons of plant-based umami for everyone!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

The willingness to ask questions. Switching from a career in music production to food manufacturing was a complete 180°. Aside from the ins and outs of running a business, the two paths held nothing in common. My learning curve was (is) steep. I was in my 40s when I founded Auria’s Malaysian Kitchen, yet I was a baby in the food business, I had to learn the walk and the talk of food production. I remember, as a young person, feeling shy or embarrassed to ask questions. Not wanting to seem ignorant. That was my ego at work. As a forty-something entrepreneur, I ask everyone everything. There’s so much to learn from those around you. And there’s always Google.

Flexibility. This is something that doesn’t come naturally to me. I have cultivated inner flexibility over the years. There are so many ways that things don’t go to plan in business and in food manufacturing. I used to let it bring me to a standstill. I’m happy to report that I no longer let it do that. In fact, when things go awry, I take it as a sign to take action in another direction. In fact, I’ve learned to appreciate the re-direction – sometimes, most times, the new direction takes you places the original plan never could have.

This third one goes against “Flexibility”, but they kind of work together in a weird Jenga-type way. Consistency. I’m a creature of habit to the infinite degree. It has served me so well through my entire life. Once I do something a certain way, I’m going to do it that exact same way every single time. Let me tell you, when it comes to food manufacturing, this is HUGE! Yes, when one cooks at home, it’s fun to change up how you make a dish – it’s a creative moment and you can make all the changes you want. But in a commercial kitchen, consistency means processes are always carried out the same way, every time – this means that there are less chances for errors. Outside the commercial kitchen, in business, consistency leads to efficiency which then frees me up for creativity and finding joy in the work that I do.

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

This has to be my husband whom I refer to as The Husband on social media.

When it comes to me and my business, he is Tough Love all the way. He is my strongest champion and pushes me to be my best. On occasion, the pushing can feel a bit rough – he does not allow me to wallow (I’m a wallow-er sometimes.) But at the end of the day, I love how he lights up when he talks about me.

Ideas? He’s the idea guy. When I began selling Malaysian food at street fairs in 2012, it was his idea to put Beef Rendang and Chili Crab in sliders. I was going to serve those two dishes in little deli trays over rice as is the tradition in Malaysia. But think about it, a slider is a one-handed thing that you can walk around the street fair and enjoy without too much fuss. Brilliant. We sold thousands of Beef Rendang sliders at Bryant Park in 2012!

Consulting? He lays out the deepest, 360° view of any issue I bring to him from a position just far-removed enough to be the most objective. That’s pure magic! Absolutely invaluable.

And most of all, he gives me the stability and foundation upon which I can be myself and do my thing. Every day.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://auriasmalaysiankitchen.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesamballady/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuriasMalaysianKitchen/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/auriasmalaysiankitchen/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@thesamballady