Nasi Lemak

This is one of the most popular Malaysian Cuisine which served in every occasions, buffet dinners & restaurants as A'la Cartes and Meals. Specially on Breakfasts. If you want to try, can try making this at your home....

Secret Ingredients of Nasi Lemak

Pandan leaves or screwpine leaves in the secret ingredient. The leaves are highly fragrant with floral smell. They are used in many Malaysian recipes. A nasi lemak will not be authentic without the leaves and coconut milk. The other main ingredient of nasi lemak is sambal. Sambal is the soul of the dish; it brings together all the various toppings and complete the iconic dish.

Side dishes for Nasi Lemak

There are a variety of side dishes served on top of the nasi lemak: fried anchovies, fried fish, hard-boiled egg, cucumber, sambal udang (shrimp) or sambal sotong (squid). Assemble the side dishes on top of the rice and served in on top of banana leaf for the best and most authentic nasi lemak. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Coconut Milk Steamed Rice:

=> 2 cups of rice

=> 3 screwpine leaves (tie them into a knot as shown above)

=> Salt to taste

=> 1 small can of coconut milk (5.6 oz size)

=> Some water

Tamarind Juice

=> 1 cup of water

=> Tamarind pulp (size of a small ping pong ball)

Sambal Ikan Bilis (Dried Anchovies Sambal)

=> 1/2 red onion

=> 1 cup ikan bilis (dried anchovies)

=> 1 clove garlic

=> 4 shallots

=> 10 dried chillies

=> 1 teaspoon of belacan (prawn paste)

=> 1/4 teaspoon of salt

=> 1 tablespoon of sugar

Other ingredients

=> 2 hard boiled eggs (cut into half)

=> 3 small fish (sardines or smelt fish)

=> 1 small cucumber (cut into slices and then quartered)

Preparation:

= Just like making steamed rice, rinse your rice and drain. Add the coconut milk, a pinch of salt, and some water. Add the pandan leaves into the rice and cook your rice.

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

= Pound the prawn paste together with shallots, garlic, and deseeded dried chilies with a mortar and pestle. You can also grind them with a food processor. Slice the red onion into rings. Soak the tamarind pulp in water for 15 minutes. Squeeze the tamarind constantly to extract the flavor into the water. Drain the pulp and save the tamarind juice.

= Heat some oil in a pan and fry the spice paste until fragrant. Add in the onion rings. Add in the ikan bilis and stir well. Add tamarind juice, salt, and sugar. Simmer on low heat until the gravy thickens. Set aside.

= Clean the small fish, cut them into half and season with salt. Deep fry. Cut the cucumber into slices and then quartered into four small pieces. Dish up the steamed coconut milk rice and pour some sambal ikan bilis on top of the rice.

= Serve with fried fish, cucumber slices, and hard-boiled eggs.