Nasi Lemak
A beloved coconut rice plate shared across Malaysia and Indonesia: fragrant pandan rice with spicy sambal, crispy anchovies, peanuts, egg, and cucumber.
Seafood
⚠ Contains: Shellfish, Fish, Egg, Peanut. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
How this varies: Many stalls add a side of fried chicken (ayam goreng) or rendang to the plate — this keeps to the classic core: rice, sambal, anchovies, peanuts, egg, and cucumber.
Ingredients
- 2 cups jasmine rice
- 1 cup coconut milk, 1 cup water (for rice)
- 2 pandan leaves, tied in a knot (or a few drops vanilla extract)
- 1 knob ginger, sliced, 1 shallot, sliced (for rice)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup dried anchovies (ikan bilis), rinsed
- 1/4 cup roasted peanuts
- 4 eggs, hard-boiled, halved
- 1/2 cucumber, sliced
- 8 dried red chilies, soaked, or 3 tbsp chili paste
- 4 shallots, 3 cloves garlic (for sambal)
- 1 tsp belacan (shrimp paste)
- 1 tbsp tamarind pulp, soaked in 1/4 cup water
- 1 tbsp sugar, salt to taste
- Oil, for frying and sambal
Steps
- Cook rice with coconut milk, water, pandan leaves, ginger, shallot, and salt until tender; discard the pandan, ginger, and shallot before serving.
- Fry dried anchovies in oil until crisp and golden; drain. Fry peanuts separately until golden; drain.
- Blend soaked chilies, shallots, garlic, and belacan into a smooth paste.
- Fry the paste in oil until fragrant and the oil separates, about 8-10 minutes.
- Strain the tamarind pulp for its juice, stir it into the sambal with the sugar, and simmer until thick and glossy. Season with salt.
- Plate the coconut rice with sambal, fried anchovies, peanuts, hard-boiled egg, and cucumber slices.