It's all about Nasi Lemak - once a farmer's meal, now Malaysian's favourite

Nasi Lemak is a Malay fragrant rice that is made from coconut milk and pandan leaf. Not only that, it basically consists of sambal ikan bilis (anchovy paste), slices of cucumber, roasted groundnuts and hard-boiled egg and then this dish will be wrapped in banana leaf. Many nasi lemak has been included with various accompaniments such as fried chicken, fried prawn, fried squid or even beef to make it more tastier.

According to heritage historian Ahmad Najib, "In an agrarian society, the villagers would consume a healthy serving of nasi lemak for breakfast before heading out to the fields. Farmers needed a hearty meal in the morning, so eating nasi lemak kept them full because you have all then food groups covered - carbohydrates from the rice, oils from the sambal and the protein from the anchovies."

However, one misconception that people have with nasi lemak is translating it as "fatty rice". In the olden days, coconut milk was not considered was 'fat' but it was a fortifying ingredient that gave a smoother taste and richness the rice dish.

Here's the steps on how to make 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

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)

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