Nasi Lemak
Fragrant coconut rice served with sambal, peanuts, anchovies, cucumber, and egg. A beloved Southeast Asian dish.
Prep: 15 minutes. Cook: 30 minutes. Difficulty: Medium. Serves 4.
Ingredients
- 2 cups jasmine rice
- 200ml coconut milk
- 2 pandan leaves (or 1 tsp pandan extract)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 eggs
- 1 cucumber, sliced
- 100g roasted peanuts
- 50g dried anchovies (ikan bilis)
- 2 tablespoons sambal chilli paste
- Cooking oil for frying
Instructions
- Wash rice and drain.
- Cook rice with coconut milk, pandan leaves, and salt. Use slightly less water than normal since the coconut milk adds liquid.
- Hard boil the eggs: place in cold water, bring to boil, cook for 10 minutes. Cool and peel.
- Fry dried anchovies in a little oil until crispy — about 3 minutes. Drain on paper towel.
- Halve the boiled eggs.
- Slice the cucumber.
- Serve coconut rice on a plate with sambal, anchovies, peanuts, egg, and cucumber arranged around it.
Tips for Helpers
- Pandan leaves give the rice its fragrance — tie them in a knot before adding to rice.
- Sambal can be bought ready-made to save time.
- Toast peanuts in a dry pan for 2 minutes for extra flavour.
Ingredient Substitutions
- If no pandan leaves, use a drop of pandan extract or omit.
- Use store-bought sambal if making from scratch is too complex.