MALAYSIA TRADITIONAL FOOD

 Nasi Lemak

Ingredients:

Coconut Milk Steamed Rice

2 cups of rice
3 screwpine leaves (tie them into a knot as shown above)
Salt to taste
1 small can of coconut milk (5.6 oz size)
Some water

Tamarind Juice

1 cup of water
Tamarind pulp (size of a small ping pong ball)

Sambal Ikan Bilis (Dried anchovies sambal)

1/2 red onion
1 cup ikan bilis (dried anchovies)
1 clove garlic
4 shallots
10 dried chillies
1 teaspoon of belacan (prawn paste)
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of sugar

Other ingredients

2 hard boiled eggs (cut into half)
3 small fish (sardines or smelt fish)
1 small cucumber (cut into slices and then quartered)

Method:

• Just like making steamed rice, rinse your rice and drain. Add the coconut milk, a pinch of salt, and some water. Add the pandan leaves into the rice and cook your rice.
• Rinse the dried anchovies and drain the water. Fry the anchovies until they turn light brown and put aside.
• Pound the prawn paste together with shallots, garlic, and deseeded dried chilies with a mortar and pestle. You can also grind them with a food processor.
• Slice the red onion into rings.
• Soak the tamarind pulp in water for 15 minutes. Squeeze the tamarind constantly to extract the flavor into the water. Drain the pulp and save the tamarind juice.
• Heat some oil in a pan and fry the spice paste until fragrant.
• Add in the onion rings.
• Add in the ikan bilis and stir well.
• Add tamarind juice, salt, and sugar.
• Simmer on low heat until the gravy thickens. Set aside.
• Clean the small fish, cut them into half and season with salt. Deep fry.
• Cut the cucumber into slices and then quartered into four small pieces.
• Dish up the steamed coconut milk rice and pour some sambal ikan bilis on top of the rice.
• Serve with fried fish, cucumber slices, and hard-boiled eggs