Cherry & Dennis Helper Habitat
Malaysian Nasi Lemak
馬來西亞椰漿飯
Recipe overview
Fragrant rice is cooked with coconut milk and pandan, then served with sambal, crisp anchovies, eggs, cucumber and peanuts.
01
Ingredients
Main ingredients
- 400 g jasmine rice
- 300 ml coconut milk
- 350 ml water
- 3 pandan leaves
- 4 eggs
- 250 g cucumber
- 100 g dried anchovies
- 80 g unsalted roasted peanuts
Sauce seasoning
- 150 g sambal tumis paste
- 2 tbsp tamarind water
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt (half for the rice and half added to the sambal to taste)
Frying oil
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
02
Tools
- rice cooker
- small saucepan
- frying pan
- sieve
- chef's knife
- cutting board
- rice paddle
- wooden spoon
03
Steps
Step 1
Rinse and drain rice
Rinse jasmine rice until the water is mostly clear, then drain in a sieve for 10 minutes.
Step 2
Prepare the pandan
Wash and dry pandan leaves, then tie them loosely for easy removal.
Step 3
Cook coconut rice
Put rice, coconut milk, 350 ml water, pandan and 0.5 tsp salt in the rice cooker; run the normal rice cycle.
Step 4
Boil the eggs
Cover eggs with cold water in a saucepan, bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat for 10 minutes until yolks are fully set.
Step 5
Cool the eggs
Transfer eggs to cold water for 5 minutes, peel and halve them.
Step 6
Slice the cucumber
Wash and dry cucumber, then cut into 5 mm diagonal slices.
Step 7
Rinse the anchovies
Quickly rinse dried anchovies, drain thoroughly and pat completely dry.
Step 8
Fry the anchovies
Heat oil over medium heat and fry anchovies in a single layer for 3 to 4 minutes until golden and crisp.
Step 9
Drain until crisp
Lift anchovies into a sieve and spread on absorbent paper to cool.
Step 10
Cook the sambal
Leave 1 tbsp oil in the pan; cook sambal paste, tamarind water and sugar over medium-low heat for 4 minutes until glossy, then taste before adding remaining salt.
Step 11
Fluff the rice
Rest cooked rice for 10 minutes, remove pandan and fluff gently, checking that grains are tender with no hard centre.
Step 12
Assemble the plates
Serve coconut rice with sambal, egg, cucumber, peanuts and crisp anchovies on each plate.
Common mistakes
- Poorly drained rice makes coconut rice too wet.
- Wet anchovies cause dangerous oil splatter.
- High heat makes sambal stick and turn bitter.
- Piling hot anchovies makes them soften from trapped steam.
Tips
Coconut-milk thickness and rice type affect absorption; if rice is still firm, add 1 to 2 tbsp hot water around the edge and rest 5 minutes. Dry anchovies completely before frying.
