Nasi Lemak (Malaysia Style)

Nasi Lemak- Malaysian or Singaporean all time favorite. In the Malaysia language; Nasi means Rice; Lemak means Fat. These fat is from the coconut milk. The Nasi Lemak was classified a national dish for Malaysia. It is well loved by almost everyone includes the tourists, be it Japanese, Korean..etc. The Nasi Lemak is usually served with sambal (spicy condiments), crispy ikan bilis (anchovies), fried peanuts, cucumber, curry chicken or spice fried chicken (for those who can't take spicy food). I love Nasi Lemak for breakfast with spicy condiments.But, I can only eat once a week due to its "lemak" is making me fat.

Today I am going to show you how to cook the Nasi Lemak- the "Nasi" or "Rice" only. I will share with you the recipes on others sides dishes in the next post.

Don't worry. It is super easy to cook the Nasi Lemak.

Ingredients (3 servings):
2 cup of white rice (use the cup that come with the rice cooker)
2 cup of coconut milk* (use the cup that come with the rice cooker)
2 slices of ginger (slightly smash it)
2ea of Pandan leaves (tie to a knot)
1 stalk of lemongrass (slightly smash it)- i forgot to put this in.

How to extract coconut milk- The traditional way:
- Buy 1ea of young fresh grated coconut from the wet market, then, add 1 cup/150ml of hot boiling water.
- Let it sit for a while, it is too hot to handle it at this point of time
- Use a clean cloth to wrap up a portion the coconut mixture & squeeze all the liquid out.
- After a round of squeezing, pls check if you have enough of the coconut milk.
- You can add extra hot water to repeat the above steps again to squeeze extra coconut milk.

The modern way:
- Store bought coconut milk in packet. This is easily available in any supermarket.
- It saves time & avoid messy clean up.

Method:
1) Wash the rice & rinse it clean for 3 times.
2) Put all the ingredients in.
3) Let the rice cooker do the work.
4) After half an hour, you will have fluffy Nasi Lemak.

In South East Asia-Nasi Lemak usually serve with Sambal Ikan Bilis (spicy chili paste cooked with anchovies) & Curry Chicken. Enjoy~

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Simple Lady Finger (Okra) Salad

Super simple easy salad for a busy weekday nights. Okra or ladies fingers are surprising one of the super food that have a lots of health benefits. Okra is packed with dietary fibre that helps stabilisation of blood sugar levels by regulation of the rate of absorption of sugar from the digestive tract. The anti-diabetic property of okra is also attributed to its ability of inhibition of enzymes metabolizing carbohydrates, enhancement of production of insulin, regeneration of beta cell of the pancreas and increased secretion of insulin. In short, we shall include okra or lady fingers into our vegetables list. It is a very common vegetables in this Asia Pacific region.

Salads for 2-3 servings:

6-9ea lady fingers or okra (washed & cleaned)

2 tsps Seaweed sauces* (usually made in Taiwan, made in Korea or Japan)

1/2 tsp shallots oil or garlic oil (fried some vegetable oil with slices of shallots or garlic)

Some toasted sesame 

* If  you can't get the seaweed sauce, just replace it with light soya sauces will do.

Method:

1) Boil a pot of boiling hot water & cook the okra for 4-5 mins.

2) Drain & cool with running tap water. Put aside & slice it.

3) Mix the sliced okra with shallot/garlic oil.

4) Season well with the seaweed sauces or light soya sauces.

5) Sprinkles some toasted sesame on top.

6) Serve immediately.

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Happy New Year 2015

Thank you for following this blog. We would like to wish you a very Happy New Year 2015.

We will continue sharing new recipes & master chef tips for cooking /baking. Stay tune.

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