Nasi Lemak with Fried Chicken

It’s here! It’s finally here. The big thing.

The thing I ate at school every day. Elementary and Primary. And every day before, in between and after.

The thing I’m holding on my about page.

The thing I wish I could talk about in every post.

The thing I’d eat on my first flight to Malaysia.. or as soon as I land in Malaysian soil.. or every day for the entire duration of my trip for that matter.

The thing that makes my 2 year old self’s temperament appear if I don’t get to eat it.

The thing I ask for.. for birthdays, anniversaries, or the answer to the non existent even in our 10 years of marriage question by Mr. V: “What would you like for dinner? I’m cooking”.

Nasi Lemak (pronounced nah see luh mak).

Fragrant coconut rice.. and I meant nothing tops this level of fragrance. It is served with an out of this world spicy sauce (sambal) and garnishes like hard boiled or fried eggs, fresh cucumber, crispy fried anchovies and fried peanuts.

A heartier version of nasi lemak would include a protein such as beef or chicken rendang, spicy tomato chicken (ayam masak merah), fried chicken or squid sambal.

Traditionally (and I only prefer to eat it this way), nasi lemak is packed in a banana leaf (that explains the package in the picture on the about page).

When you open a warm, freshly packed nasi lemak, the smell of the coconut rice and sambal will hit you first, then comes the smell of banana leaves and lastly a tinge of the smell of freshly cut cucumber.

Making Nasi Lemak at home is really easy… that is… if you have my parents’ kitchen. Since young, we always had sambal, fried anchovies and fried peanuts at home at any given time. So, when nasi lemak craving crept on us, there was only the rice to cook, eggs to boil and cucumbers to slice.

But if you’re like most people… then just replicate my parents’ kitchen. Ya?

Ok, fine. It can seem a little daunting. How about we start easy?

Skip the chicken. It doesn’t necessarily have to go with it.

Or

Just make the sambal. If you love spicy condiments, you’re 100% going to love this.

Or

Just make the coconut rice. Can you at least do this? The smell of coconut and screw pine leaves wafting in your kitchen when this rice cooks… that’s my childhood memories that you’re smelling. That’s the smell of South East Asia… of Malaysia… of my home.

And what are the chances that today also happens to be the first day of Ramadan. The best thing about Ramadan for non Muslims like me is the Ramadan food market. Here, the best variety of Malay food can be found all in one ‘roof’… like Nasi Lemak.

Also, if you haven’t already, check out my last post Soft Vadai. A South Indian savory fritter type snack filled with spices that’s deep fried to crispy on the outside, light and fluffy on the inside perfection.

Are you ready to be adventurous?

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Nasi Lemak with Fried Chicken               Serves 4

what you need:

Coconut Rice:
3 cups long grain rice (See notes)
1 13.5oz can coconut milk
Water (as needed)
4 screw pine leaves (See notes)
2 slices ginger, lightly bruised
1/2 tsp salt

Sambal (Makes 3 – 3 1/2 cups. You need 1-2 cups for this recipe)
2 lb peeled onions and/or shallots
3/4 lb fresh red Fresno or Holland chilies with seeds, stems removed (deseed half)
1/2 – 2/3 cup palm, brown or coconut sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
1/4 – 1/3 cup oil

Mamak Fried Chicken: Click here for the recipe

1-2 cups fried anchovies (see notes)
1-2 cups fried peanuts
8 Persian cucumbers, sliced
4 – 8 hard boiled eggs

directions:

Rice:

In a rice cooker or pot, add the uncooked rice and coconut milk. Top with enough water to cook according to how you cook regular rice. Add the screw pine leaves, ginger and salt. Stir and cook the rice.

Sambal:

1. In a blender, add 1/4 cup water, onions and chilies. Blend until fine.

2. Over medium heat, add the oil in a skillet and fry the blended onions and chili paste for 15 minutes. It will start bubbling.

3. Turn the heat to medium low and fry the paste for another 20 minutes. As you fry, the paste will absorb the oil and turn to a darker red. Here, the chilies are being cooked, the onions are being caramelized and excess liquid are being evaporated.In the beginning, you only need to give it a stir every once in a while, but towards the end, you’ll need to stir it more frequently.

If it looks too dry before the end of the 30 minute mark, add a little more water, just enough to keep the paste moist. If it looks too wet, increase the heat to medium and continue to stir. Sambal is a personal thing. The consistency of the paste is up to you.

4. Add 1/2 cup sugar and 1 1/2 tsp salt. Taste and increase seasoning to your taste. Turn the heat off, dish out and let the sambal cool. Refrigerate or freeze if not using within 2-3 weeks.

5. Optional: I fried some sliced onions and added into sambal.

Assembling:

Serve sambal over warm coconut rice along with fried chicken, fried anchovies, fried peanuts, cucumber and eggs. Best if served on bananas leaves (which can be found in the frozen section of most Asian markets).
Notes:

1. Rice – If using rice cooker, then it’s equivalent to 4 1/2 of the small plastic cup.

2. Screw pine leaves (or pandan leaves) can be found in most Asian markets. They’re usually sold frozen and already cut into 4″ length. If so, use 12 -16 pieces.

3. Read more in depth about sambal here.

4. Anchovies: These can be found in Chinese or Korean markets. To deep fry, simply add a bunch to hot oil. No hard fast rules on the temperature. As long as they’re bubbling, they’re frying. Once they start to stop bubbling, use a slotted spoon and remove from the oil. Drain on paper towel. I store them in a bottle in a cool, dark place. If not consuming fried anchovies within 2-3 weeks, keep them in the refrigerator. Because of the salt content, they last pretty long.