Nasi Lemak

Today is the first time I cooked nasi lemak. It was eaten with sambal ikan bilis, asam prawns, hard boiled eggs and cucumber. Not bad for a first attempt but not good enough as compared to those sold at the stalls. I am stuffed. I have not felt so full for a long time. The nasi lemak can also be eaten with sambal prawns, fried sardines, sambal belacan and pineapple wedges.

Nasi Lemak

Ingredients:
2 cups rice

1 cup santan
1 1/2 cup water

3 slices ginger, finely shredded
3 pandan leaves, knotted
1 tsp salt

Wash the rice several times until the water is clear. Drain. Put the rice into an automatic rice cooker together with santan, water, ginger, pandan leaves and salt, and cook. When rice is cooked, fluff it with a pair of chopsticks. Keep warm in the cooker until ready to serve.

Asam Prawns

Ingredients:
6 medium sized prawns

Marinate:
60g tamarind
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp thick soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt

3 tbsp cooking oil

Devein prawns without removing the shell. Mix all the marinate ingredients. Add prawns and mix well. Leave to marinate for 1 hour. When ready, heat oil and fry prawns till cooked. Remove from oil and serve.

Sambal Ikan Bilis

Ingredients:
80g ikan bilis, washed
3 tbsp cooking oil

12 dried red chillies, seeds removed and soaked in water
10 shallots
5 cloves garlic
2 stalks lemon grass, finely sliced

3 tbsp cooking oil

30g tamarind pulp
5 tbsp water

1 tsp sugar

2 kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced

Heat oil and fry the ikan bilis until fragrant, drain and set aside. Soak tamarind pulp in water for half an hour. Grind dried red chillies, shallots, garlic and lemon grass into a paste. Heat oil and fry paste together with sugar, kaffir lime leaves and 2 tablespoons of tamarind juice until fragrant. Add ikan bilis and stir fry for another 2 minutes. Remove and serve.

Author: Peter Tan

Peter Gabriel Tan. Penangite residing in the Klang Valley. Blissfully married to Wuan. A LaSallian through and through. Slave to three cats. Wheelchair user since 1984. End-stage renal disease since 2017. Principal Facilitator at Peter Tan Training specialising in Disability Equality Training. Former columnist of Breaking Barriers with The Borneo Post. This blog chronicles my life, thoughts and opinions. Connect with me on Twitter and Facebook.

6 thoughts on “Nasi Lemak”

  1. i love nasi lemak. sunday morning if i don’t go to church, i will always eat nasi lemak from the market.

    nasi lemak though is said to be very unhealthy but who cares… as in dr liew’s words “eat first, die later”. 🙂

  2. Lucia,
    Knowing the unhealthiness of nasi lemak, I eat it only a few times a year. It is not a matter of “eat first, die later” but whether how you die. If one gets stricken by a major stroke and survives many years severely disabled and bedridden, where is the quality of life? It is always good to eat in moderation.

  3. eh! eat first die later is meant as a joke lah! don’t lah be so serious!

    of course i (and i’m sure everybody) knows their limit.

  4. hai..may i know the rice brand that u use to make nasi lemak..because i’m doing my final year research about the best rice brand in making nasi lemak..so i really want to get some informatiuon from u whether the rice that u use give effect to the taste of your nasi lemak..can u please send your respons to my emel..thanx

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