Nasi Lemak recipe with anchovy sambal

Nasi lemak is the most popular favorite dish of Malaysians. Everyone has a version of nasi lemak that they like , maybe a family recipe or from a nasi lemak outlet of their choice. There are various nasi lemak recipes that vary according to the way the rice is cooked, some are cooked as usual in a rice cooker and some are steamed.

Nasi lemak is also now matched with a variety of unique side dishes such as lobster or wagyu meat. Usually nasi lemak is served with sambal, boiled eggs, fried peanut, fried anchovies and cucumbers. This is known as nasi lemak ‘classical’ and this is the recipe I learned from my mother-in-law.

One of the secrets of delicious nasi lemak is the sambal. A good sambal should be cooked long enough so that the onions and chillies are crispy enough so that there is no raw onion and chilli taste. Properly cooked sambal will be dark red in color.

Ingredients for Nasi lemak

Nasi lemak

4 measuring cup rice cooker ( 4 x 180ml) basmati rice

3 cloves garlic ( sliced)

3 shallots ( sliced)

1 inches ginger ( sliced)

1 lemongrass stalks ( bruised)

½ a teaspoon of fenugreek

 2 strands of pandan leaves (tied)

1 cups (250ml) fresh concentrated coconut milk or 1 small box of coconut milk soon

4 ½ cups ( 1125ml) air

1 teaspoon of salt or to taste

Spicy anchovies

50g anchovies

Ingredients for grinding

3 large onion

6 cloves garlic

1 inches ginger

10g belacan / shrimp paste

230g ground dried chillies

3 tablespoons of sugar

1 teaspoon of salt or to taste

½ sliced ​​onion seeds

1 teaspoon of Asam Jawa Xtra Adabi or your favorite asam Jawa

½ teaspoon of seasoning powder ( If you want )

Method

1. Wash the rice so that the water becomes clear. When the rice is washed, we remove the starch layer on the surface of the rice, This starch will become like glue when cooked. This is why the rice is sticky and not flaky.
2. Soak rice for 10-20 minutes. Basmati rice has a special flavor that is not present in other types of rice, but these flavors are sensitive to heat. When soaked in rice, it will absorb water and cook faster. This short cooking time will reduce the effect of heat on the rice and add flavor to the nasi lemak.
3. Add the shallots, garlic, ginger, fenugreek , lemongrass and pandan leaves ked alam rice cooker and add 250ml ( 1 cups ) fresh thick coconut milk ( if not, you can replace it with boxed coconut milk ).
4. Then add 4 1/2 cup of water, 1 spoons of salt, if you like more salty rice, you can add it 1/2 teaspoons of salt.
5. Stir until smooth and cook in the rice cooker as usual.
6. While the nasi lemak is cooked, we prepare anchovy sauce. Heat oil and fry 50g of anchovies. When it is dry like this, lift it and set it aside to be served with nasi lemak. Save the anchovy frying oil to sauté the sambal.
7. Heat 100ml of anchovy frying oil in a pan. Saute the ground ingredients ( Red onion, garlic, ginger, belacan)
8. When it is dry, add a little dried chilli, grind and mix well.
9. While we are waiting for the dry stir fry ingredients, we soak 30g of anchovies in water. Anchovies will absorb water and will become soft. When we cook anchovies that have been soaked for a long time in sambal, it will be crushed and mixed with sambal gravy. This is what gives a special flavor to the sambal.
10. The secret to cooking sambal is that we have to make sure our onions and chillies are crispy enough. If not cook enough, the taste of raw onions and chillies will ruin the taste of our sambal. Use a medium flame and stir constantly to avoid scorching. Properly cooked sambal will be dark red in color.
11. Add 3 tablespoons of sugar ,salt to taste, approximately 1 small spoon. Be careful because anchovies are already salty!
12. Add 1/2 sliced ​​onion seeds and 1 teaspoon of Asam Jawa Xtra Adabi or your favorite Asam java. Mix until smooth and well blended
13. If the sauce looks dry, add a little water to avoid scorched sambal. Wanting to cook a delicious sambal will take time, and need to be patient.
14. To add flavor, you can add Knorr, which is delicious and a little more sugar if the sambal is not sweet enough. Each recipe is just a guide because our ingredients will not be the same every time we cook, Onions are not as sweet, chili is not as spicy. It is therefore important that we always taste what we are cooking in a salty balance, sweet, sour and spicy.
15. When the sambal is thick , it's dark like this and the oil has gone up, Our anchovy sauce is ready.
16. Serve nasi lemak, sambal and garnish with fried anchovies, fried peanut, boiled egg and cucumber slices.