Nasi Lemak is the national dish of Malaysia. It's eaten any time. If you are a citizen of Malaysia, you'll eat Nasi Lemak at breakfast, lunch, dinner...... Any time of the day!
It's cooked in coconut milk, with pandan leaves and even ginger or a stalk of lemon grass.
Nasi Lemak is available on almost every street corner and in almost every local-themed restaurant, served with everything from chicken to beef to cuttlefish.
INGREDIENTS:
Nasi Lemak:
1 cup rice
3 screwpine (or pandan) leaves
salt to taste
1 grated coconut
Preparation:
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.
Sambal Ikan Bilis:
1 bombay onion
1/2 cup dried ikan bilis ( anchovies )
1 clove garlic
2 tbsps tamarind juice
4 shallots
8 dried chillies
Prawn paste ( belacan) ( Optional )
Salt and sugar to taste
Preparation:
Sambal Ikan Bilis:
Fry the ikan bilis until crisp and put aside. Grind the prawn paste together with shallots, garlic, deseeded dried chillies. Slice the bombay onion into rings. Heat 2 tbsps oil in a pan and fry the ground ingredients until fragrant. Add in the onion rings. Add tamatind juice, salt, sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally until the gravy thickens. Add in the ikan bilis and mix well. Serve with steaming hot Nasi Lemak.
