Babe_KL organised a virtual celebration of Malaysia’s 50th Independence Day called “Merdeka Open House 2007: Muhibbah” where we need to post an article on our favourite food from a different ethnic; either we cook it or do a review on a particular establishment where the dish is avaialble. I decided to submit my entry on one of my local favourite dish, the Nasi Lemak.
I went back home few weeks back and asked my mom to show me how to prepare the dish. I wanted to go to culinary school but she insisted I
study to be a pharmacy technician. Anyway, Mom has been cooking nasi lemak since we’re still a kid occasionally and it has become our favourite. From what I observed, it’s not difficult to prepare it.
Ingredients:
Ikan bilis (anchovies) deboned, cleaned and halved.
Raw peanuts, washed.
Few pips of garlic, chopped.
Some shallots, chopped.
Cili boh (chilli paste).
Belacan (dried, fermented shrimp paste).
Asam koh (dried tamarind), soaked in water.
Eggs.
Cucumber, cleaned, peeled and sliced.
Rice.
Daun pandan (screwpine leaves).
Coconut milk.
Firstly, shallow fry the anchovies with medium heat till turned golden brown. Dish out (without the oil) and put aside.
Then stir fry the garlic and shallots. When the garlic turn slightly brownish and shallots turn translucent, add in chilli paste and belacan. Mix well. Lower the heat and pour in the assam koh juice. Mix again and let it come to a soft boil.
Throw in the fried anchovies into the sambal mixture and stir lightly to mix. Make sure the anchovies are completely covered in the gravy. The sambal ikan bilis is now ready.
Next, fry the peanuts till they turn brownish with medium heat. Remember to constantly stir it to avoid burnt.
To prepare the coconut rice, wash the rice few times with water till the water turns clear. Put into rice cooker. Dilute the coconut milk to a desired thickness and add into the cooker. Throw in a few strands of screwpine leaves (knotted) for extra aroma. Cover and let it cook. When it comes to a boil, stir it with a chopstick or spatula to avoid the base of the rice from burnt.
Soak the eggs in boiled hot water for about 10 minutes. Then, transfer them to a basin of cold water to cool off and easier to peel.
Serve the coconut rice with the anchovies sambal, hard boiled egg, sliced cucumber and peanuts. I usually will go for second helping, one whole hard boiled egg for myself, plenty of sambal with the gravy all over the rice and plenty of peanuts. Hohoho…
Merdeka Open House 2007
