Quick and easy

” Malay fragrant rice dish cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaf. It is commonly found in Malaysia, where it is considered the national dish, and also popular in neighbouring countries such as Singapore; Indonesia especially in Eastern Sumatra; Brunei and Southern Thailand. It is considered one of the most famous dishes for Malay-type breakfast. However, because of nasi lemak’s versatility in being able to be served in a variety of manners, it is now served and eaten any time of the day. Nasi lemak was also recently voted the top 10 healthy breakfast by TIME magazine.”

I grew up eating two versions of nasi lemak, one that is served with salmon and/or fried chicken served with acar and/or cooked spinach. While in school in Brunei when I  was 10, the canteen ladies would always serve nasi lemak wrapped in banana leaves. Without fail, that would be my breakfast for only $1. For full video tutorial visit my Youtube channel.

You will need:

Rice:
350g basmati rice
350ml coconut milk
50-60ml water
Pinch of salt
2 pandan leaf
1 peeled piece of ginger

Sambal:
1 onion
2 garlic
20 dried chillies
2-3 tablespoon of water from the dried chillies
1 tablespoon belacan
3 fresh chilli
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon tamarind juice
1 tablespoon of sugar

Anchovies/ikan bilis:
Handful of dried anchovies
Drizzled sunflower oil

Chicken (optiona):
5-6 chicken drumsticks or 650g fillets
2 eggs
2 pieces of bread that will be blitz
1 cup flour
2 tablespoon oregano powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon paprika

Salmon (option):
4 salmon fillets
Coat tumeric powder
Season with salt and pepper

Peanuts:
Handful of lightly roasted peanuts

Garnished with:
Sliced cucumber
Boiled egg
Acar (optional)
Pan fried spinach (optional)

Start by rinsing the rice till the water is clear then drain. Add the coconut milk into the rice along with a pinch of salt, water and pandan leaf; cook the rice into the rice cooker. Making the chillie paste, soak the dried chillies in hot water for 10minutes (deseed if you’d like the sambal to be milder). Add the onion and garlic into your blender along the dried and fresh chilli, tamarind juice and belacan. Blitz till it becomes a smooth paste, add a tablespoon or two of the water that you used to drain the dried chillies if you’re finding it hard to blend. Pre-heat your pan to medium to high heat and start frying the sambal, add the sugar with a pinch of salt, mix well. The excess water from the sambal needs to evaporate and darken in colour, once aromatic in fragrant transfer the paste into a bowl. Coat the chicken with beaten egg, drain any excess before mixing it well into the herby-spiced flour mixed in breadcrumbs. Remove any excess breadcrumbs before pan frying it in oil on medium to high heat. With the salmon option, rub tumeric powder with salt and pepper before pan frying it on medium to high heat in oil. With the anchovies, put into a bowl and coat some oil, use your fingers to mix them well then microwave it for 2 minutes till it’s crispy. (If you’d like your anchovies to be less salty, wash them under the tap, drain then drizzle in oil and microwave). Boil some eggs and slice cucumber, drain the excess oil from the chicken/salmon with napkins then plate and serve immediately the nasi lemak with acar and/or pan fried spinach.