Coconut Rice with Spicy Anchovies/Nasi Lemak

Nasi Lemak is a traditional dish in Malaysia. It is rice cooked in coconut milk and served with spicy anchovies, hard boiled egg, and cucumber on a banana leaf. I remembered saving my weekly lunch money to buy this from a hawker in front of my school. He would wrap the rice neatly in a banana leaf. Thinking about it bring back sweet memories. Tonight, I shall have this with some of my rendang beef. Yummy!

Ingredients:

1¾ cups jasmine rice, washed and drained well
1 cup coconut milk, diluted with 1 1/2 cups water
2 pieces pandan leaves (frozen from Asian supermarket)

2 cups dried anchovies (guts and heads removed, washed and drained)

1 red onion, sliced

1 Tbsp. chilli paste (per taste)

1 Tbsp. tamarind paste
4 Tbsp. coconut milk

salt and sugar to taste

cucumber for garnishing

boiled egg for garnishing

1 Tbsp. oil

Method:

1. Steam rice with pandan leaves, a pinch of salt, and enough coconut milk to cover the rice. While rice is cooking, heat a pan with oil and fry onions till fragrant.

2. Add chilli paste and fry unitl oil turns red in color, add half of the anchovies and fry until the anchovies is soft. Add tamarind paste, coconut milk and season to taste with sugar. The taste should be spicy with a hint of sweet and sour to it.
3. Heat a small pan with some oil and fry the rest of the anchovies till crispy and brown, drain with paper towel.

3. Assemble rice on plate or banana leaf, with anchovies, hard boiled egg, and cucumber.

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