How to make the perfect nasi lemak – recipe

Described by the Malay Mail as the nation’s “undisputed nationwide dish”, nasi lemak (which accurately interprets as “wealthy rice”) is so beloved in its homeland that one in two individuals questioned in a latest survey selected it as their all-time favorite breakfast, and it has impressed spin-offs from ice-cream to McDonald’s burgers.

Like many such consolation meals, its allure lies in its versatility; at its easiest, nasi lemak is only a pile of fluffy, fragrant rice with a spicy sambal and crunchy garnish, all served in a banana leaf, although lately it’s usually accompanied by extra substantial dishes, resembling rendang or fried rooster, and eaten at lunch and dinner, too.

Many on-line column inches have been dedicated to discovering the greatest nasi lemak in Kuala Lumpur or Penang, however if you happen to’re not lucky sufficient to have a Malaysian restaurant or a hawker centre across the nook, have a go at this recipe to see why it's, within the phrases of Kuantan-born fan and MasterChef contestant Zaleha Kadir Olpin, Malaysia’s “most iconic dish”.

The rice

Sharon Wee’s nasi lemak: the extra coconut, the higher. Thumbnail pictures by Felicity Cloake.

That is the spine of nasi lemak, and the recipes I attempt are divided between recommending basmati or jasmine for the aim, each of them being lengthy grains prized for his or her fragrant qualities. Sharon Wee, creator of Rising Up in a Nonya Kitchen, prefers to not use jasmine, as a result of “the perfume of the rice considerably undermines the total essence that stems from the pandan leaves and the coconut milk” that go into it. As an alternative, she calls for easy long-grain, which has the bonus of being cheaper, too. Nevertheless, if you happen to do have basmati or jasmine handy already, both will work positive; I barely desire the fluffier texture of the previous.

Relatively than simply water, the rice is normally cooked in a combination of coconut milk and water or, in Kadir Olpin’s case, simply coconut milk; Wee explains that the extra coconut you utilize, the extra “lemak” the completed dish, so although I’ve steered the identical half-and-half ratio as her, with a spoonful of coconut cream stirred in on the finish, if desired, be at liberty to regulate this to your style.

Wee and Kadir Olpin advocate utilizing a rice cooker – a quite common kitchen equipment in Malaysia, however much less so in cultures the place rice isn’t the staple carb – although additionally they give directions for the absorption technique, which leaves the grains pleasingly fluffy, notably as soon as the cooked rice has been steamed in a basket for a further 10 minutes, as Wee suggests, to provide it an particularly wealthy flavour and texture.

Norman Musa, chef, restaurateur and creator of Wonderful Malaysian, boils soaked rice for eight minutes, then leaves it to cook dinner in its personal steam for 15, whereas Ping Coombes – who, like Kadir Olpin, served her beloved nasi lemak to the MasterChef judges – brings it to a simmer after which leaves it lined for half an hour. A lot as I like Wee’s rice, specifically, Musa’s technique is best for the house cook dinner, as a result of there’s just one pan to clean up on the finish, so I’m going with that. In the event you’re fortunate sufficient to have a rice cooker, nonetheless, do after all use that as a substitute.

Bee Yinn Low’s nasi lemak: ‘Pandan leaves or screwpine leaves [are] the key ingredient’

Bee Yinn Low, creator of the favored Rasa Malaysia weblog, tells readers that “pandan leaves or screwpine leaves [are] the key ingredient” right here: “extremely aromatic with floral scent … a nasi lemak is not going to be genuine with out the leaves.” Recent and barely soapy, pandan is considered one of my favorite aromatics, however sadly it’s not one thing generally bought in British supermarkets. I discovered it within the freezer of a South-East Asian grocer, however when you've got no luck, attempt in search of kewra water in Indian specialists and add a touch of that on the finish as a substitute.

Musa and Kadir Olpin add cinnamon and, like Coombes, recent ginger, and Musa additionally pops in some star anise and lemongrass. The extra spices you add, the extra perfumed your rice will probably be; I like pandan a lot, nonetheless, that I’m going to depart it at that, however be at liberty to be bolder, if you happen to like.

The sambal

The opposite must-have here's a sambal, which Low describes as “the soul of the dish; it brings collectively all the varied toppings and full the enduring dish”. Kadir Olpin explains in her e-book, My Rendang isn’t Crispy (a nod to her expertise on MasterChef), that “in South-East Asia, sambal is the usual title for any spicy dish the place blended chillies are the principle ingredient”. Her model, she says, is a fundamental vegetarian one, lacking the belacan (fermented shrimp paste) or dried anchovies present in different recipes, however in any other case pretty related – a spice paste of chillies, shallots, onion, garlic and lemongrass, all fried in loads of oil and flavoured with brown sugar and tangy tamarind to provide a deep, mellow, sweet-and-sour accompaniment with a satisfying, however not overpowering heat.

One-pan meal: Norman Musa’s nasi lemak.

Musa notes that such a sambal historically takes “hours to make. The longer you simmer, the milder it turns into. The warmth will fade away, and all you possibly can style is the aftertaste.” Conscious of the constraints confronted by the common house cook dinner, he offers a model that takes simply seven minutes – quite than the 90 for which I hold anxiously over Kadir Olpin’s – and it yields a scrumptious, however markedly much less advanced compromise. The opposite recipes fall someplace in between, however all are very clear that one ought to fry the sambal till the oil separates out, which is one thing that can't be rushed.

The chillies, after all, are crucial ingredient of any sambal: everybody makes use of dried, normally soaked or boiled first (I discover boiling a extra environment friendly solution to soften them earlier than blitzing them to a paste), and Kadir Olpin and Coombes each use recent chillies, too, which, although not important, do convey a fruitier flavour, in addition to some further color. Alliums are additionally very important; shallots are extra frequent, although you should use a purple and even yellow onion, at a pinch (shallots are sweeter and milder than onions, so I’d advocate going with purple, if wants should). Garlic can be frequent, however not obligatory. Aromatics resembling ginger and lemongrass fall into the identical class, although the heat of the ginger pairs so properly with the peppers that I can’t go away it out.

Recent chillies solely: Ping Coombes’ nasi lemak.

The sweetness usually comes from sugar, usually brown, generally coconut, and the tanginess from tamarind. Some recipes name for making your individual tamarind water by soaking the pulp and squeezing it out, whereas others go for tamarind paste. Although the latter cuts down on work for the cook dinner, my one piece of recommendation is to style yours earlier than use; it may be nearly as brown and skinny because the selfmade stuff, or as thick and black as treacle, so begin off small and alter to style.

The savoury ingredient usually comes from the aforementioned belacan, which is bought in blocks for grating – you possibly can substitute fish sauce or a vegan equal, if you happen to like, however the blocks hold for ages, so are properly well worth the funding. (Vegetarians may be to know that Coombes additionally provides a touch of soy sauce to hers.) Low, Coombes and Wee add tiny dried anchovies to their sambals, which provides them extra physique, in addition to flavour, however I’d desire to serve them individually.

Notice that the sambal may be made a number of days upfront to chop down on prep time – it retains very properly within the fridge. (You might also have an interest to know which you could purchase glorious sambal in jars: Lucullus and Makan Malaysia are essentially the most broadly really useful manufacturers in a fast on-line ballot.)

The extras

A bit of every: Felicity’s hybrid nasi lemak.

The opposite conventional accompaniments to nasi lemak are all types of good, crunchy issues resembling peanuts, cucumber and, most worthwhile of all in my view, the tiny dried anchovies bought by the bagful. Unprepossessing as they may seem, as soon as fried to a crisp, they’re as moreish as bacon, and distinctly Malaysian. A peeled and halved boiled egg usually rounds off the dish, although fried eggs are more and more common.

In the event you’d like to show this from breakfast to feast, Coombes consists of recipes for turmeric fried rooster coated in salted crisps, and a gentle, creamy tiger prawn sambal, whereas Wee goes for a gentle, fruity shrimp sambal, otak-otak (a spicy, grilled fish paste) and a chilli and shallot omelette; Low opts for squid sambal, Kadir Olpin suggests considered one of her rendangs, whereas Musa’s mom used to promote nasi lemak with anchovy sambal and lengthy beans in a curry sauce. If it’s your first time, nonetheless, I’d advocate sticking with the beneath. It’s laborious to beat.

Good nasi lemak

Prep 35 min
Soak 20 min
Prepare dinner 1 hr 45 min
Serves 4(and simply multiplied or divided)

For the sambal
20 largish dried purple chillies
5 recent purple chillies
7 small spherical shallots
2 plump garlic cloves
30g piece recent ginger
75ml impartial oil, resembling vegetable or sunflower
2 tsp belacan (fermented shrimp paste)
Tamarind paste or tamarind water, to style (see introduction) – I used 1 tbsp
Sugar, to style – I used 1 tbsp
Salt, to style

For the rice
375g long-grain rice
1 x 400ml tin coconut milk
1 tsp salt
2 pandan leaves
2 tbsp coconut cream (non-compulsory, or use the cream on prime of the milk)

For the accompaniments
50g peanuts
50ml oil
50g dried anchovies
4 eggs
½ cucumber

Begin with the sambal. Take away and discard the stalks from the dried chillies, then roughly break them up and put in a small pan of boiling water.

Simmer for quarter-hour, then drain, reserving somewhat of the cooking water (a teaspoon or so). In the meantime, trim and deseed the recent chillies and peel and roughly chop the shallots, garlic and ginger.

Whizz or pound the soaked dried chillies with their reserved soaking liquid to make a paste, then add the recent chillies, shallots, garlic and ginger, break down right into a puree, then crumble within the belacan.

Warmth the oil in a wok or small pan over a medium warmth, add the paste and fry, stirring usually so it doesn’t burn, till the oil separates out; add somewhat water if it begins to stay.

Stir in a teaspoon of tamarind, a teaspoon of sugar and a superb pinch of salt, alter to style, then flip down the warmth and fry, nonetheless stirring frequently, till the oil separates once more.

Rinse the rice, then soak it in chilly water for 20 minutes. Drain and put in a medium saucepan with the coconut milk – if there’s a giant lump of cream on prime, save this for later. Add salt and sufficient water to come back as much as the primary joint of a finger poked in to the highest of the rice. Tie the pandan leaves in a knot, in order that they match the pot higher, then nestle into the rice.

Stir properly, convey to a simmer, then cowl, flip down the warmth barely and go away to cook dinner for 10 minutes. Shortly add the coconut cream, put a clear tea towel on prime, cowl once more and go away for quarter-hour.

Fry the peanuts in a dry pan till you possibly can scent them toasting, then put aside. Warmth the oil in the identical pan, fry the anchovies till crisp and golden, then tip them on to a chunk of kitchen paper to empty.

Boil the eggs for seven to 9 minutes, relying on how hard-boiled you want them, then cool beneath working water, peel and halve. Lower the cucumber into thick slices.

To serve, put a mound of rice on every plate, add a spoonful of sambal to the aspect, then add the peanuts, anchovies, eggs and cucumber alongside. Serve the remainder of the sambal on the desk for individuals to assist themselves.

• Is the standard nasi lemak worthy of the title of nationwide icon, and why does it have such a particular place within the coronary heart of so many Malaysians? The place and the way do you wish to eat yours, and which different regional variations would you advocate?

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