Nasi Lemak - Malaysia Only

It may be Sunday but it is never a lazy day for me. Every day I wake up, the latest is at noon, I will look forward to start working. Twenty-fours a day is not enough for me. Most times I wish a day has 48 hours instead.

Maybe it used to be like that, when life isn’t revolving in such a maddening pace, a time when people take things much easier. Some people say it’s because the earth spins faster these days thus making the days shorter. I wonder if scientists would laugh if they were to read what I just said. Does the earth actually orbit faster as time goes by?

I will leave that thought aside for now. Five minutes to noon is still too early for me to think of serious matters ;) For now it’s just me and my coffee AND my favourite Nasi Lemak from the makcik (aunty) down the road.

 

A standard Nasi Lemak pack. Nothing great about it, right?

The same standard Nasi Lemak dish placed in a plate. Still nothing great, right?

As I was making my Nescafe drink, a thought crossed my mind. What do non-Malaysians think of our Nasi Lemak? If we were to place a plate of plain Nasi Lemak in front of a Westerner who has never been to Malaysia or understand our culture and food he or she must think what a non-nutritious breakfast!

Some Nasi Lemak sellers wrap the dish in banana leaves the traditional way. Boiled egg is sometimes replaced with fried egg instead.

A simple (basic) Nasi Lemak dish, which locals call Nasi Lemak Biasa contains one hard-boiled egg, a small bowl of rice cooked in coconut milk and daun pandan (pandanus leaf) for fragrance, a ladleful of sambal cili (spicy chilli dish), which to the unfamiliar eyes looks just like a miserable blob of ground chilli AND those brown, curled-up fried ikan bilis (anchovies). Sow what’s so delicious about the dish?

The secret my friend, is in the rice and the sambal.

If cooked right, the rice will have the most flavourful taste due to the correct amount and thickness of the coconut milk used. The amount of salt thrown in for flavour also makes a big difference to the overall taste of the rice. The next important thing is the texture of the rice. The rice, when cooked, must be loose and fluffy.

Nur's (a friend) Nasi Lemak Rendang Ayam, which is simply fabulous!

The sambal on the other hand is THE complementing dish that is a must-have for many Malaysians. Even if the Nasi Lemak is served with several other side dishes such as Sambal Ayam, Kerang, Sotong (the three different spicy chilli dishes that accompany a Nasi Lemak dish) and Rendang Daging (meat cooked with spices and coconut milk), the basic sambal cili is what matters most to a Malaysian.

Some cooks use a lot of onions and very little anchovies, making the dish a tad too sweat if not balanced off with the correct amount of chilli. Some do not use anchovies at all.

Traditional home-cooked Nasi Lemak Ikan Bilis as taught by my mother to me. Guaranteed delicious.

Traditionally the sambal cili in a Nasi Lemak dish is actually the Sambal Ikan Bilis, which is anchovies cooked in onions, tamarind extracts and ground dried chillies. Cooks these days, especially those who sell Nasi Lemak for a living do not make the traditional Sambal Ikan Bilis dish anymore due to cost cutting as a good quality ikan bilis (anchovies) can easily cost about RM28 a kilo. So customers have to be satisfied with sambal that’s below the average quality or cook their own Nasi Lemak Sambal Ikan Bilis.

I have only one or two favourite Nasi Lemak stalls nearby to where I live but whenever I feel like indulging, I will settle for nothing less than my own home-cooked Nasi Lemak Sambal Ikan Bilis.

Maybe in another post I will be able to share my recipe or how to cook Nasi Lemak with its complementing dishes.

Till then enjoy the rest of your Sunday as tomorrow office life starts again. Cheerio.