Nasi Lemak.... the classic!

I finally convinced my best friend to make nasi lemak with me (and I said "with me" loosely here) and be my guest blogger. About a month later now, the post has been received! Here goes... from Reena:

Growing up, I think I ate Nasi Lemak (literally means Fatty Rice) at least once a week. It used to cost 60 cents and came wrapped in a leaf. I’m sure once a week applies to the average Malaysian as well.

Anyways, Lily visited Chicago a couple of weeks ago, and of course, to complete the trip, we had to concoct this wonderful Malaysian dish. My mother told me very early in my life that too many cooks spoil the soup. She often used this to get me out of her kitchen and on to more important things, like studying. Anyways, I decided that we had to approach this dish very methodically. We first divided the labor – Lily with food processing and general preparation work. Me with the chicken curry. I am the curry and rice girl (link to hilarious video: http://urloid.com/youtube34). An invisible line separated the stove into 2 quadrants and we got working.

We started with the rice and pandan leaves, naturally. Within minutes of putting the rice to boil, we had several people emerge from their sleep after getting a whiff of the wonderful aroma. Lily proceeded with slicing shallots and mincing the shallots and prawns to make belacan. We then made the sambal and chicken curry side by side. After preparing the boiled eggs, roasted peanuts and another half bottle of wine, we finally sat down to enjoy this wonderful dish.

A few tips, though this is a very easy dish to prepare – there are a lot of small things to do and the more you focus on the preparation, the easier the final assembly will be. Always a good idea to get a ramekin or small bowl to compress the rice in, so you will have better plate presentation.

Nasi Lemak
2 cups of rice, preferably basmati rice
2 1/2 cups of water
2 pandan leaves, knotted
3 shallots, finely chopped
10 tsp of thick coconut milk
1 slice of ginger
salt and sugar to taste

Sambal Ikan Bilis
1 cup of dried ikan bilis (dried anchovies)
1 large red onion, sliced
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
3 tsp tamarind pulp and 1/2 cup of water to make tamarind paste
To be blended:
4 tbsp of chili paste (sambal olek)
6 shallots
1 tsp of belacan (dried shrimp paste)
4 cloves of garlic
1 large onion, sliced into rounds

Garnishing
4 hard boiled eggs, cut into quarters
1 cup of ikan bilis, fried until crispy
1 cup of peanuts, fried or roasted
1 seedless cucumber, peeled and sliced

Optional Addition: Chicken Curry

To prepare coconut rice:
Wash rice several time until water runs clear.
In a pot, add rice, coconut milk, and water.
Add shallots, ginger, and pandan leaves.
Bring to boil, lower heat, simmer 10 - 12 minutes uncovered until the water has been absorbed into the level of the rice.
Loosen rice grains with a wooden ladle.
Cover with a tight-fitting lid, steam rice on very low heat, about 10 - 12 minutes.
When rice is done, gently fluff rice with fork.

To prepare sambal ikan bilis:
Using a mortar & pestle or food processor, grind chili paste, shallots, belacan, and garlic into a paste.
To a wok or saucepan, add vegetable oil, heat on high, fry ikan bilis until crispy.
Remove and drain well on paper towels.
Remove all but 2 tbsp of oil, saute ground paste for 1 - 2 minutes.
Add red onions, tamarind paste, salt and sugar to taste.
Cook until gravy thickens, to a dark reddish brown.
Add ikan bilis, mix to combine. Remove from heat.

Dish a serving portion of coconut rice onto a place, a little of each garnishing, and some sambal ikan bilis. Serve hot or at room temperature.