**Nasi Lemak Special: A Culinary Journey Through Malaysia's Beloved Dish**
Nasi lemak, Malaysia's national dish, is a fragrant and flavorful rice dish cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaves. It is typically served with an array of side dishes, including fried chicken, sambal, hard-boiled eggs, and cucumber slices. Nasi lemak is a popular breakfast and lunch dish, and it can also be enjoyed as a snack or dinner.
In this article, we will introduce you to the classic nasi lemak recipe, as well as some unique and creative variations. We'll also provide tips on how to make the perfect nasi lemak, and how to choose the best side dishes to complement this iconic Malaysian dish.
**Recipes Included:**
* **Classic Nasi Lemak:** This recipe will teach you how to make the traditional nasi lemak, using coconut milk, pandan leaves, and fragrant rice.
* **Nasi Lemak with Rendang:** This variation features tender and flavorful beef rendang, a spicy and aromatic Indonesian beef stew.
* **Nasi Lemak with Fried Chicken:** This classic combination of nasi lemak and fried chicken is a surefire hit. The crispy chicken adds a delightful contrast to the soft and fluffy rice.
* **Nasi Lemak with Sambal Sotong:** This recipe combines nasi lemak with sambal sotong, a spicy and savory squid dish. The sambal sotong adds a delicious depth of flavor to the nasi lemak.
* **Nasi Lemak with Sayur Lodeh:** This vegetarian nasi lemak recipe features sayur lodeh, a traditional Indonesian vegetable stew. The sayur lodeh is a healthy and flavorful addition to the nasi lemak.
Whether you're a seasoned nasi lemak lover or trying it for the first time, this article has something for everyone. So gather your ingredients, put on your apron, and let's embark on a culinary journey through Malaysia's beloved dish.
MALAYSIAN NASI LEMAK
Delicious Malaysian coconut rice, served with anchovy hot chile sauce, fried anchovies, fried peanut, sliced cucumber or tomato and hard-boiled egg. If you do not have tamarind juice, substitute with same amount of lemon juice.
Provided by Tuty Jek
Categories World Cuisine Recipes Asian Malaysian
Time 1h
Yield 8
Number Of Ingredients 21
Steps:
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together coconut milk, water, ground ginger, ginger root, salt, bay leaf, and rice. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until done.
- Place eggs in a saucepan, and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil, and immediately remove from heat. Cover, and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove eggs from hot water, cool, peel and slice in half. Slice cucumber.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet or wok, heat 1 cup vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Stir in peanuts and cook briefly, until lightly browned. Remove peanuts with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to soak up excess grease. Return skillet to stove. Stir in the contents of one package anchovies; cook briefly, turning, until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels. Discard oil. Wipe out skillet.
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in the skillet. Stir in the onion, garlic, and shallots; cook until fragrant, about 1 or 2 minutes. Mix in the chile paste, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the chile paste is too dry, add a small amount of water. Stir in remaining anchovies; cook for 5 minutes. Stir in salt, sugar, and tamarind juice; simmer until sauce is thick, about 5 minutes.
- Serve the onion and garlic sauce over the warm rice, and top with peanuts, fried anchovies, cucumbers, and eggs.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 578.3 calories, Carbohydrate 57.4 g, Cholesterol 127.5 mg, Fat 31.9 g, Fiber 3.4 g, Protein 19.5 g, SaturatedFat 14 g, Sodium 230.4 mg, Sugar 7.7 g
NASI LEMAK
It's way too easy to fall in love with the Malaysian dish Nasi Lemak, a coconutty rice bowl topped with crispy-crunchy crumbles of teeny little fried anchovies dressed in a sweet-spicy sambal.
Provided by Kopitiam, NYC
Categories Bon Appétit Dinner Malaysia Anchovy Chile Pepper Tamarind Peanut Rice Coconut Cucumber Pescatarian Dairy Free Tree Nut Free Egg
Yield 4 servings
Number Of Ingredients 18
Steps:
- Sambal Ikan Bilis:
- Chop paper lantern chiles into ½" pieces, discarding most of the seeds that fall out. Place in a small bowl and pour in boiling water to cover. Let sit 30 minutes to soften, then drain.
- Meanwhile, bring oil and peanuts to a gentle simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook, adjusting heat as needed, until peanuts are golden brown, 6-8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer nuts to paper towels to drain; set aside for serving. Immediately add anchovies to oil and cook until golden brown and crisp, about 2 minutes. Transfer to fresh paper towels; let cool. Set ¼ cup oil aside.
- Pulse shallots, garlic, and ¼ cup fried anchovies (save remaining anchovies for serving) in a food processor until a smooth paste forms. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add paper lantern and Holland chiles to food processor (no need to clean) and pulse until very smooth and no visible pieces of dried chile remain. Transfer chile purée to a small bowl.
- Heat reserved oil in a medium skillet over medium-high until shimmering. Add shallot mixture and cook, stirring, until slightly darkened in color and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Mix in chile purée and cook, stirring often, until it starts to stick to bottom of skillet, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add sugar, tamarind concentrate, and ¼ cup water and cook, stirring often, until sambal is much darker in color and thickened, 25-35 minutes.
- Do Ahead: Sambal ikan bilis can be made 1 week ahead. Let cool; cover and chill.
- Rice and assembly:
- Place rice in a medium saucepan and pour in cold water to cover; swirl with your hands to rinse away some of the starch. Drain and repeat process 2 more times. Water should be just slightly cloudy at this point. Place rinsed rice back into saucepan and cover with 2½ cups cold water; stir in salt. Gather pandan leaves (if using) together and tie into a knot; add to pan. Bring rice to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cover pan and reduce heat to low; cook 18 minutes. Remove lid and stir in coconut milk. Cover, remove from heat, and let sit 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Carefully lower eggs into water. Cook 10 minutes, then transfer to a bowl of ice water and let cool. Peel eggs and cut in half lengthwise.
- Combine sambal ikan bilis, reserved fried peanuts, and reserved fried anchovies in a medium bowl and toss to evenly coat. Scoop a generous ½ cup sambal mixture into a 12-oz. bowl. Top with 1½ cups rice and pack into bowl with a rubber spatula to compress. The bowl should be filled to the rim. Place a slightly larger bowl upside down over bowl of rice. Invert so larger bowl is now on the bottom; lift off smaller bowl. You should have a dome of rice and anchovy mixture nestled in the center of the larger bowl. Arrange 8 cucumber slices around rice dome, overlapping slightly to make a semicircle. Add 2 egg halves to side of rice with no cucumber slices; season yolks lightly with soy sauce. Repeat with remaining rice, sambal mixture, cucumbers, and eggs to make 3 more bowls.
NASI LEMAK
Enjoy Singaporean-style nasi lemak, with fragrant rice cooked in coconut milk, sambal (chilli sauce), a fried egg and a crunchy anchovy and peanut topping
Provided by Sandra Leong
Categories Dinner
Time 55m
Number Of Ingredients 17
Steps:
- First, to prepare the rice, wash thoroughly in a sieve until the water runs clear. If you're using a rice cooker, put all the ingredients for the coconut rice in along with 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar and 350ml water. When the rice is ready, leave the lid on for 10 mins before opening, then fluff the rice with a fork. If you're cooking rice on the hob, use a pan with a lid. Put all the ingredients for the rice in with 450ml water, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp sugar on a high heat, bring to the boil, then cover. Simmer on a low heat for 10 mins, or until the liquid has evaporated. Let the rice sit with the lid on for another 10 mins. You should be able to see the individual rice grains. If the rice looks a bit wet, spread it out on a tray or into a colander to dry out before serving.
- To make the sambal, tip all the ingredients, except the tamarind paste, with a big pinch of salt in a food processor, then blitz to a paste.
- Stir-fry the sambal paste over a medium-high heat for 10-15 mins. The colour of the paste will darken and the oil will separate. Stir in the tamarind paste, and season to taste with salt and sugar. Leave to cool.
- Heat enough oil in a pan to coat the base, then fry the peanuts until brown, and the dried anchovies until crisp. (You can also use roasted peanuts and skip frying them, if you like.) Remove the nuts and anchovies from the pan, then fry the eggs to your liking.
- Divide the rice between plates - you can simply spoon it on, or fill a small bowl with a portion, then turn it out onto each plate. Top with the anchovies, peanuts, sliced cucumber, fried eggs and sambal.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 915 calories, Fat 33 grams fat, SaturatedFat 11 grams saturated fat, Carbohydrate 113 grams carbohydrates, Sugar 9 grams sugar, Fiber 4 grams fiber, Protein 39 grams protein, Sodium 5.6 milligram of sodium
NASI LEMAK
Make and share this Nasi Lemak recipe from Food.com.
Provided by Vicky Bryant
Categories Rice
Yield 4 estimate
Number Of Ingredients 4
Steps:
- Clean the rice and drain Squeeze out 2 cups of thick coconut milk with screwpine leaves.
- Add in salt.
- If you desire, you can also add in some sliced shallots and ginger.
- Serve this rice with sliced hard-boiled eggs, cucumber and sambal ikan bilis.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 175.5, Fat 0.3, SaturatedFat 0.1, Sodium 0.5, Carbohydrate 38.7, Fiber 0.7, Protein 3.2
NASI LEMAK
Steps:
- In a medium saucepan, combine the rice with the coconut milk, ginger, salt, and cinnamon and add enough water (probably only 1/4 cup or so) to cover the rice with liquid. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then turn the heat to low and cover. Cook for 15 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender. Serve or keep warm over absolutely minimal heat for up to 15 minutes.
- Serve a pile of coconut rice in the center of each plate, flanked by wedges of hard-cooked eggs, sliced cucumber, and any or all of the other accompaniments.
Tips for Making Nasi Lemak Special:
- Use high-quality ingredients: The quality of your ingredients will greatly affect the taste of your nasi lemak. Use fragrant rice, fresh coconut milk, and premium shrimp paste.
- Cook the rice properly: The rice should be cooked until it is fluffy and separate. Do not overcook it, or it will become mushy.
- Make a flavorful coconut milk sauce: The coconut milk sauce is the key to a delicious nasi lemak. Use a good quality coconut milk and add plenty of spices and herbs.
- Choose the right side dishes: Nasi lemak is typically served with a variety of side dishes. Some popular choices include fried chicken, beef rendang, telur dadar, and sambal.
- Garnish your nasi lemak: A few simple garnishes can make your nasi lemak look and taste even better. Try adding some toasted peanuts, fried shallots, and cucumber slices.
Conclusion:
Nasi lemak is a delicious and versatile dish that can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. With its fragrant rice, flavorful coconut milk sauce, and variety of side dishes, it is sure to please everyone at your table. So next time you are looking for a special meal to make, give nasi lemak a try. You won't be disappointed!
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