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Written by Shirley T
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Monday, 21 June 2010 00:00 |
The thought of Nasi Lemak is good enough to make me drooling. Worst still, processing the picture of Nasi Lemak flew my mind back to Malaysia almost in the speed of light. Nasi Lemak or nicknamed as Malaysia national dish is one of Malaysian's most favorite breakfast. Of Malays origin, Nasi Lemak is also popular in Brunei, Singapore and Southern Thailand. In Malays language, 'Nasi Lemak' literally means 'rice in cream' and this refers to the rice preparation method which is cooked with coconut milk. It is typically offered with anchovies sambal (chili paste that is spicy in nature), roasted peanuts, hard boiled egg and slices of cucumber. Traditionally, Nasi Lemak is wrapped with banana leaf which enhances the fragrance of the dish.
Getting Malaysian spices are truly challenging in Austin and MT Supermarket is the one and only grocery
store that we can source for screw pine (pandan) leaves, banana leaves and shrimp paste (belachan). Holding to the belief of 'Where there is a will, there is a way', I treat the challenge as an opportunity to improve my culinary skills.
The tips from my friend R suggested that anchovies sambal (or sambal ikan bilis) can be prepared with blended dried chilies and shallots. Firstly, heat up the wok and stir-fried garlic and onion until fragrance. Then, add belachan and blended paste. Continue stirring until aromatic. Dried anchovies and tamarind juice reach next into the wok and lastly season with salt and sugar. This preparation is the authentic version of anchovies sambal (sambal ikan bilis).
With limited kitchen tools and ingredients, I decided to make my simpler version of anchovies sambal from hot sauce and commercial chili paste. It turns out equally great. I am happy that the effort paid off to fulfill our yearning for a serving of delicious Nasi Lemak in Austin!
Read on...
Ingredients
To prepare coconut milk rice
2 cup rice
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cup coconut milk
2 thumb size ginger - sliced
4 screw pine (pandan) leaves - folded
1 tsp salt
To prepare anchovies sambal
1 cup dried anchovies
1 tbsp cooking oil
6 cloves garlic - minced
1/2 red onion - sliced thin strip
2 tbsp instant curry paste - I use commercially packed Hockey brand
1 tsp hot sauce (or depends on your spicy tolerance) - I use Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce
1 tsp lemon juice
salt and sugar to taste
Accompaniments:
1/2 cucumber - sliced
2 hard boiled egg - halved
1/2 cup raw peanuts - baked at 375 deg Fahrenheit for 10-15 minutes or until dark brown.
Method
A) Coconut milk rice
1. Using a stainless steel bowl, place rice, screw pine leaves and ginger. Pour in coconut milk and water.
Sprinkle salt. Stir the mixture.
2. Steam until rice is cooked.
Note: The same procedure can be applied for automatic rice cooker as well. I prefer steaming to avoid any chance of rice from crusting.
B) Anchovies sambal (Sambal ikan bilis)
1. Heat up cooking oil in a wok.
2. Add garlic and stir-fried until frangrance.
3. Add onions, instant curry paste and hot. Continue stirring until aromatic.
4. Then, place anchovies and stir to mix with the sambal.
5. Pour in a little water, simmer to allow it boiling and cook the anchovies.
6. Add lemon juice, then season with salt and sugar to taste.
7. Dish out and serve with coconut milk rice.
We love it much - the Austin version of Nasi Lemak!
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Home Kitchen Recipe | Nasi Lemak - Coconut Milk Rice with Anchovies Sambal
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