Nasi Lemak (Malaysia)
As Malaysia’s national dish, this one truly lives up to its reputation! Nasi lemak features fragrant coconut and pandan rice, paired with sambal—a sweet and spicy tomato-based sauce—fried anchovies, peanuts, cucumber, and a boiled egg. I’m confident you’ll fall in love with it just as I did.
A big thanks to KS and Malaysian Food Catering for their help with this recipe!
The dish mainly revolves around two components: the rice and the sambal. The rest is optional, but I particularly enjoyed the crispy anchovies and refreshing cucumber with mine. Traditionally, nasi lemak is often served with fried chicken, which I haven’t tried yet, but I’ll be sure to share a recipe when I do!
P.S. Don’t shy away from the anchovies—they’re not overly fishy and add a delightful crunch to the dish!
Rice
- 1.5 cups jasmine rice
- 400ml coconut milk
- 100ml water
- 2 pandan leaves
- 1 tsp salt
Sambal
- 2 onions (200g)
- 6 shallots (120g)
- 1 stalk of lemon grass (20g)
- 1.5″ ginger (30g)
- 5-6 red chilli (80g)
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 inch piece galangal (optional)
- 15g belacan (cubed shrimp paste – can substitute with fish sauce)
- 1 can of chopped tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 200ml oil
Fried peanuts
- 200ml vegetable oil
- 50g red skinned peanuts
- Crispy anchovies
- 100g dried frozen anchovies
To serve
- Boiled eggs
- Cucumber, sliced
Step 1
Rinse the rice in cold water multiple times until the water runs clear—this usually takes about 6 to 8 washes. This step is crucial to ensure the rice cooks perfectly.
Step 2
Bring the coconut milk, water, pandan leaves, and salt to a simmer. You can tear the pandan leaves to fit them into the pot. Add the rinsed rice, reduce the heat, cover, and let it simmer for 20 minutes.
Step 3
After 20 minutes, turn off the heat and let the rice sit with the lid on for an additional 10 minutes. Then, remove the lid and use a fork to gently fluff the rice—the liquid should be fully absorbed.
Step 4
Roughly chop the red chili and blend it with 1/2 cup of water in a food processor until smooth. Set aside.
Next, roughly chop the onion, shallots, lemongrass, ginger, galangal, and belacan, then blend until smooth, adding 1/2 cup of water if needed for a smoother consistency.
Blend the chopped tomatoes separately and set them aside.
Step 5
In a heavy-based pot, cook the red chilli paste over medium heat for a few minutes until most of the water has evaporated.
Step 6
Once the water has evaporated, add 200 ml of oil and cook over medium heat for 10–15 minutes until the oil turns a deep red colour, stirring constantly.
Next, add the blended onion mixture and chilli flakes, and continue cooking and stirring for another 10–15 minutes until the mixture deepens to a rich, dark red.
Step 7
Add the blended tomatoes, tomato purée, and sugar, and cook for another 10 minutes on medium heat until the colour deepens and the oil separates.
Season with salt and adjust the flavour with additional belacan or fish sauce to taste.
Step 8
Serve with the coconut rice, fried peanuts, cucumber, and crispy anchovies. It can also be enjoyed alongside fried chicken!
Step 9 - Fried Peanuts and anchovies
Wearing gloves, remove the heads from the anchovies and split them in half along the middle to create two fillets.
Remove the gills and optionally the spine—though the bones are very small and not noticeable in taste.
Rinse the anchovies under cold water a few times to remove any debris, then pat them dry with paper towels.
Step 10
Heat 200 ml of oil over medium heat and add the peanuts.
Fry gently until golden brown, then remove them and drain on paper towels. I fried the peanuts first to infuse the oil with a fishy flavour, as I will be using the same oil for the anchovies.
Next, add the anchovies to the oil and fry until they are golden brown and crispy. Drain them on paper towels.
