Nasi Lemak

Nasi lemak is a fragrant rice dish cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaf and served with tasty sambal. Commonly found in Malaysia, it is considered the national dish. This traditional Malaysian favourite comes with ikan bilis (anchovies), peanuts and boiled egg. Stalls in Malaysia serve Nasi Lemak with fried egg, fried chicken, beef rendang, curry chicken, squid or fish. Many people consume Nasi Lemak for breakfast, brunch, lunch, tea, dinner and even supper.

Table of Contents

For the steamed coconut rice

Ingredients

1 cup of rice
1 cup of coconut milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 inch of ginger, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 small onion, chopped

Note: nasi lemak coconut rice is cooked with pandan leaves or screwpine leaves tied in knots. I didn’t have any, so I did not include them. However, if you do, use two in the above recipe.

Method

Rinse the rice twice and drain. Put in a saucepan with the coconut milk, water, ginger, garlic and onion (and pandanus leaves), cover with a lid and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the liquid is absorbed (about 15 minutes). Remove from the heat and leave covered until serving.

For the sambal

Ingredients

1/2 red onion, finely sliced
1/2 cup ikan bilis (dried anchovies)
1 clove garlic
4 shallots, chopped
10 dried chillies (deseeded)
1 teaspoon of belacan*
2 Tbs Tamarind pulp
1 cup of water
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of sugar

*fermented ground shrimp (use dried shrimp as a substitute if you can’t get it.)

Instructions

Rinse the dried anchovies and drain the water. Fry the anchovies until they turn light brown and put them aside.

Make a spice paste by pounding the belacan, shallots, garlic, and dried chillies with a mortar and pestle.

Soak the tamarind pulp in the water for 15 minutes. Mush the pulp with your hands as it soaks. Drain the pulp and save the tamarind juice.

Heat a little oil in a pan and fry the spice paste until fragrant. Add the onion rings and saute for a minute. Add the ikan bilis, tamarind juice, salt, and sugar to taste. Reduce the heat and simmer until it thickens.