NASI LEMAK

Nasi lemak, the breakfast of kings! This national dish of Malaysia is a spicy coconut rice eaten for breakfast, served with a fiery hot sambal to accompany it. If it feels a little too early in the day, it makes a great brunch dish for later. There might be a few ingredients here that are new to you. Some of them are available from larger supermarkets, or you should be able to find them online. The flavour of the finished dish will be worth going the extra mile.

Unbalanced

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Start by putting the coconut milk, ginger, lemongrass, rice and sea salt in a large saucepan. Add the water, mix well and cook over a medium heat for 15–20 minutes. When it’s cooked, all the liquid will have been absorbed into the rice.

Step 2

For the sambal, heat a frying pan (skillet) over a medium heat and add the oil. Once hot, add the shallots and garlic to the pan and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, or until soft.

Step 3

Add the shrimp paste and gochujang and almost all the soaked anchovies (reserve some for the garnish) and stir. Add the sugar and the tamarind and simmer for 1–2 minutes. Using a stick blender, whizz the sambal to a coarse relish-like consistency, and loosen with 60–150ml (2–5fl oz) water if it’s too thick. Stir in the lime juice off the heat and set aside.

Step 4

To make the garnish, heat a 2cm (¾in) layer of vegetable oil in a heavy-based pan. When the oil is hot enough to brown a small cube of bread in 40–50 seconds, add the dried anchovies to the pan and cook for 2 minutes, or until crisp and golden brown. Remove using a slotted spoon and drain on a plate lined with paper towels.

Step 5

To serve, divide the rice evenly between four serving bowls (discard the lemongrass) and press the rice down until it is compacted. Upturn the rice bowls in the middle of the banana leaves. Arrange the halved eggs, toasted peanuts, cucumber and remaining anchovies around the rice and sprinkle with the crispy fried anchovies.