This simple meal can be found almost everywhere in Malaysia. It is a favourite amongst Malaysian and there are some who eat it at least once everyday!

The ingredients and the cooking process involved in creating this tasty meal is simple. Nasi lemak is rice cooked in coconut milk. Screwpine leaves, locally known as pandan leaves, are first washed and later added into the cooking pot to give the rice its signature fragrance. The rice is usually eaten together with anchovies fried till golden brown, crispy cucumber slices, roasted peanuts, half boiled egg and chilli paste known as sambal.

Here’s a classic nasi lemak recipe you’ll enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 servings:

Nasi Lemak
1/ 1/2 cups long grain rice
3/4 cups coconut milk
1 tsp cooking oil (to prevent the rice from sticking together)
3/4 cup water
1 in ginger, sliced thinly
1 red onion, sliced thinly
2 pc/knot screwpine leaves(pandan leaves)
1 stick lemongrass, smashed
1/2 tsp fenugreek
Salt to taste

Condiments
5 boiled eggs (cut into half)
1 cucumber, sliced round
75g medium-sized anchovies (ikan bilis), deep-fried till golden brown and crunchy
75g peanuts (roasted)
5 salted fish (optional)
banana leaf

Chili Paste (Sambal)
20g of dried chillies, soaked in water, boiled and blended (less if too spicy, more if you like it really HOT!)
20g shallots, blended
20g garlic, blended
20g dried shrimp paste (belachan), baked or roasted about 15 minutes
25ml tamarind juice (mixed with water)
50g medium-sized ikan bilis, peeled
50g red onions, sliced
Salt and sugar to taste

Method

Nasi Lemak

Wash rice in cold water and drain. Soak in coconut milk for 10 minutes.

Pour 1 tsp of oil in the rice cooker, add the rice and let the oil coat the rice.

Now add water.

Add sliced ginger and red onions. Then add screwpine leaves(pandan leaves) and lemongrass.

Cook rice in rice cooker until soft for about 30 minutes.

Chili Paste (Sambal)

Take out all seeds from the dried chillies so that the paste will not be too hot.

Then boil and blend the chillies.

Then add chillies, shallots, garlic and shrimp paste (belacan) in some water (just enough to cover the ingredients) into the blender and grind till fine.

Put some oil into a stock pot, add the chilli mixture and stir well till it changes colour.

Add tamarind juice. Cook until the chilli mixture turns a little dark red. Do not overcook as the mixture will turn darker and darker. Then add anchovies (ikan bilis) and red onions.

Lastly, add salt and sugar to taste.