Nasi lemak
Serves 4
Nasi lemak sambal
60 ml vegetable oil plus an additional 25ml for frying anchovies
15 dried long red chilies, rehydrated in warm water
2 garlic cloves, chopped
6 Asian shallots, peeled
½ red onion, peeled
1 tsp shrimp paste
40g tamarind puree
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
100g ikan bilis (dried anchovies)
Coconut rice
2 cups (400g) jasmine rice
1 cup (250ml) water
1 cup (250ml) coconut milk
pinch of salt
1 pandan leaf, knotted, added to the pot while rice is cooking
To assemble
banana leaves
1 boiled egg, halved
cucumber slices
roasted peanuts
extra fried ikan bilis and roasted peanuts to garnish
To make the coconut rice, rinse the rice until the water runs clear, then place in a bowl and add the water and coconut milk. Bring the coconut milk, water, salt and pandan leaf to a simmer then add the rice. Cover and cook 12-14 minutes on medium-low heat. Turn heat off and allow to stand for 5 minutes, then fluff and serve.
To make the sambal, add all of the ingredients, except the anchovies and peanuts, to a food processor and blitz to a fine paste.
Add to a frying pan with an extra 25ml of the oil, add the anchovies and fry for 10–20 seconds. Add the sambal paste and fry, stirring continuously until the sambal turns dark red. Set aside.
Arrange the banana leaves onto two plates. Divide the coconut rice between the two plates, and add some slices of cucumber, roasted peanuts, ikan bilis, an egg half and a generous serving of sambal to each plate. Eat immediately.