Fried Nasi Lemak

When I was teaching in Selancar, I have always wondered how come the breakfast fried rice in the canteen, sometimes taste awesome, sometimes just so so. Until one day, I fried some leftover nasi lemak with egg. My brain went “tink”, the bulb lit up. The fried rice tasted superb because it’s made with leftover nasi lemak.

And today I had some extra coconut milk from making coconut agar-agar and I was busy doing the cake, so I better cook something simple for dinner. And fried nasi lemak shall be it! I purposely made the seasonings as close as possible to the accompanying sambal, except, there’s no tamarind.

When my brother in law took one spoon of the rice, I asked him, what does the fried rice taste like… hmmm.. he said…hmmm.. nasi lemak. LOL. Nasi lemak this is, but without the hassle of preparing a separate sambal, it’s like a mashed up version, with egg and sambal all in. Imagine you mixing your nasi lemak together, yeah, this is like that, except it’s drier.

Add some crispy anchovies on top for garnish if you like, but my hubby hates that, so I better not do it. But even if you add the crispy anchovies, do not skip the milled ones. It give the rice good flavor.

Fried Nasi Lemak

by WendyinKK
Serves: 4-6

2 cloves garlic, minced
3 shallots, minced
5 dried chillies, seeds removed and finely milled (dry), or use 1 tsp chilli powder
2 Tbsp dried anchovies, bones and head removed, washed and air dried, finely milled
4gm dried shrimp paste (belacan), about 1 tsp amount in block form, chopped finely if it's solid, or mill it together with dried anchovies.
Salt to taste
3 eggs
Cucumber slices to serve

Basic nasi lemak (coconut rice)
2 cups rice (500ml), raw
2 blades of pandan leaf, shredded and tied into a knot
1 lemon grass, bruised
1 tsp salt
125ml coconut milk

1. Cook nasi lemak. Put everything together in rice cooker, add in sufficient water and cook until done. Fluff the rice and let it cool down. Remove lemon grass and pandan leaf.
2. Heat wok and put in 3 Tbsp of oil. Saute minced garlic and shallots until almost golden. Turn off the heat. Add in powdered chilli, powdered anchovies and shrimp paste. Turn the heat back on high and cook until fragrant, taking care not to burn it.
3. Quickly put in the rice and toss it around, add some salt if needed.
4. When rice is all nicely coated with the seasonings, and well heated thoroughly,  push it aside and crack the eggs into the middle of the wok. Scramble the eggs and when the eggs are half cooked, push the rice back in and toss everything.
5. Cook until nice and fragrant.
6. Serve with sliced cucumbers.