Indonesian & Malaysian · Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner
Nasi Lemak
Fragrant pandan and ginger coconut rice served with a rich, tangy chilli sambal, a halved boiled egg, cool cucumber, crunchy roasted peanuts and toasted anchovies. This lighter version uses light coconut milk, a single spoon of oil in the sambal and dry-toasted ikan bilis instead of deep-fried.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Total
- 55 min
- Serves
- 4
Calories come from: Carbs 57% · Fat 29% · Protein 14%
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Ingredients
For 4 servings- 1 1/2 cups300 gjasmine rice
- 3/4 cup200 glight coconut milk
- 1 1/4 cups300 gwater for rice
- 3 leaves6 gpandan leaves, knotted
- 1 thumb-sized piece10 gfresh ginger, sliced
- 1/4 tspsalt
- 15 chillies15 gdried red chillies, deseeded
- 1 cup240 gboiling water for soaking chillies
- 4 medium100 gshallots
- 3 cloves12 ggarlic
- 1 tsp5 gshrimp paste (belacan)
- 1 tbsp14 gvegetable oil
- 1 tbsp15 gtamarind paste
- 1 tbsp12 gpalm sugar or brown sugar
- 1/2 cup120 gwater for sambal
- 1/3 cup30 gdried anchovies (ikan bilis), rinsed and dried
- 4 large200 geggs
- 1 medium200 gcucumber
- 1/4 cup40 groasted unsalted peanuts
Steps
- 1
Cover the dried chillies with the boiling water and soak for 15 minutes, then drain.
- 2
Rinse the rice in cold water until it runs almost clear, then drain well.
- 3
Put the rice, light coconut milk, water for rice, salt, ginger and knotted pandan leaves in a rice cooker or heavy pot.
- 4
Bring to a boil, then cover and cook on the lowest heat for 15 minutes until the liquid is absorbed.
- 5
Turn off the heat and let the rice rest, covered, for 10 minutes, then remove the pandan and ginger and fluff.
- 6
While the rice cooks, blend the soaked chillies, shallots, garlic and shrimp paste to a smooth paste.
- 7
Heat the oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat and fry the paste, stirring, for 5 minutes until fragrant.
- 8
Add the tamarind paste, sugar and water for sambal, then simmer, stirring often, for 12–15 minutes until thick and darker red.
- 9
Toast the anchovies in a dry pan over medium-low heat for 5–7 minutes, stirring, until crisp and golden.
- 10
Lower the eggs into boiling water and cook for 9 minutes for firm yolks, then cool in cold water and peel.
- 11
Slice the cucumber and halve the eggs.
- 12
Serve the coconut rice with sambal, an egg, cucumber slices, peanuts and toasted anchovies on the side.
Swaps, storage and make-ahead
Swaps
- For a vegetarian plate, leave out the anchovies and shrimp paste and add a pinch of extra salt and a little more tamarind to the sambal.
- Use full-fat coconut milk instead of light for richer, more traditional rice.
- If you can't find pandan leaves, cook the rice with just the ginger plus a lemongrass stalk, bruised, for fragrance.
- Swap the dried red chillies for 2 tbsp mild chilli flakes or a few fresh red chillies if you prefer less heat.
Storage
Cool the rice quickly and refrigerate it, the sambal and the peeled eggs in separate airtight containers within 1 hour. Eat the rice within 24 hours and reheat it only once, until steaming hot. Eat the eggs within 3 to 4 days and the sambal within 4 days, and don't freeze the eggs or cucumber. Keep the toasted anchovies and peanuts in a sealed jar at room temperature so they stay crisp.
Make ahead
Make the sambal up to 4 days ahead and keep it in the fridge, and toast the anchovies a few days in advance and store them airtight. Boil and peel the eggs the day before, then cook the rice and slice the cucumber just before serving.
Nutrition values are for the recipe as written.
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Allergens and nutrition
Contains: CrustaceansEggsFishPeanuts
Check the labels of packaged ingredients for allergens and suitability for your diet.
Full nutrition
| Per serving (455 g) | Per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 547 kcal | 120 kcal |
| Protein | 19.4 g | 4.3 g |
| Carbohydrates | 78.7 g | 17.3 g |
| of which sugars | 9.7 g | 2.1 g |
| Fiber | 4.2 g | 0.9 g |
| Fat | 17.6 g | 3.9 g |
| of which saturated | 5.9 g | 1.3 g |
| Sodium | 555 mg | 122 mg |
Nutrition is calculated from USDA FoodData Central data and may differ from what you cook.
