The last and most important piece to the Malaysian feast is Nasi Lemak - coconut rice. We use basmati rice, and add coconut milk to the cooking liquid. We also threw in a few pandan leaves for added fragrance.
The center of the dish is the nasi lemak. On the right is the sambal ikan bilis. Then comes the dhal and finally the rendang chicken. Other condiments served on the side include sliced cucumber, pan-fried peanuts, and hard boiled egg.
You can eat it with fork and spoon but some say if you use your hands, it tastes better. You gather up a little of this and a little of that, making a small pile on the plate. Then you scoop it up with your hand and use your thumb to push it into your mouth. It takes some practice, but soon you'll be eating nasi lemak like a native!
Aloha.
2 Comments:
nasi lemak and dhal? hmmm...that's a combination i have NEVER heard of. nasi lemak is eaten with a variety of condiments (anything that can be cooked in sambal/chilli paste is eaten with nasi lemak) ranging from rendang, to fried eggs, cockles and even squid. but dhal..?? don't think i'll try that :) i am a malaysian and an avid lover of nasi lemak.
hanis--I agree that dhal is not common in nasi lemak. I was in a cooking mood and I made the dhal to go with some roti and then I made nasi lemak with the sambal and rendang. Since I had leftover dhal, I added it to my nasi lemak. And you know what, it was good. So don't knock it till you try it. In case you didn't check, I'm also a Malaysian (and I cooked this up when I was overseas--hey, you eat whatever you make and you enjoy every bite of it).
Anyway, thank you for visiting. If you look at the date, this was a long time ago when we weren't really putting up recipes and just documenting what we ate for that day. If I was putting up a recipe for nasi lemak, I'm quite sure I wouldn't include dhal. Does that make you feel better?
Post a Comment