Nasi Lemak

Don't Make These Mistakes

Thirty minutes on the sambal. It should be dark and jammy, not red and wet.

Rest the rice off the heat for ten minutes before fluffing.

Toast the belacan first — it changes the whole aroma.

Making Nasi Lemak

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1. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear, then drain well.

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2. Put it in a rice cooker or heavy pot with the coconut milk, water, pandan, ginger and salt. Cook as normal, or bring to a boil then cover and cook on the lowest heat for 12 minutes and rest 10 minutes off the heat.

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3. Fluff the rice with a fork, taking out the pandan and ginger.

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4. For the sambal, blend the soaked chillies, shallots, garlic and belacan to a paste.

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5. Fry the paste in the oil over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, stirring often, until it darkens considerably and the oil separates.

   Mark done Start 15 min timer

6. Add the tamarind water, palm sugar and salt and cook another 15 minutes until thick, dark and jammy.

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7. Stir in the onion rings and cook 5 minutes more, then take off the heat.

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8. Fry the dried anchovies in shallow oil for 2 minutes until crisp, and drain.

   Mark done Start 2 min timer

9. Serve a mound of coconut rice with a spoonful of sambal, the anchovies and peanuts, cucumber slices and an egg.

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10. Traditionally it is wrapped in banana leaf and eaten with the hands.

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Related guide: Choosing rice.

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Why the Method Works

The rice is steamed rather than boiled in coconut milk, because coconut fat scorches easily and a boiled pot catches at the base. The sambal is cooked far longer than seems necessary — thirty minutes at least — until it darkens and thickens into a jam, which is what makes it taste of Malaysia rather than of raw chilli.

After You've Cooked It

The sambal keeps 2 weeks refrigerated and freezes 3 months. Rice is best the same day.

If You're Missing Something

• If coconut is a problem, a cooking cream (dairy or plant-based) can stand in for the coconut milk in a sauce; the dish will lose the coconut flavour and taste noticeably different.
• Dried chilli flakes can stand in for the red chillies. Heat varies a great deal between chillies and between jars, so start with a small pinch and add more to taste.
• If you only have ground ginger, a quarter-teaspoon for each tablespoon of fresh is the ratio usually given; it tastes warmer and less bright than the fresh root.

What to Serve Alongside

• Fried chicken or rendang
• Teh tarik
• Extra sambal

Nasi Lemak Nutrition Facts

No nutrition figures are given for this recipe: they cannot be worked out reliably from its ingredient list (some ingredient lines cannot be read). Why some recipes have none.

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