Nasi lemak
Rice cooked in coconut milk and pandan, with sambal, crisp anchovies, peanuts, cucumber and egg.
What makes it nasi lemak
- Rice cooked in coconut milk, with pandan and often ginger.
- Sambal of dried chilli, shallot and belacan, fried slowly, sweet and hot.
- Ikan bilis and peanuts, fried crisp.
- Cucumber and a boiled or fried egg.
Where it comes from
Lemak means rich or creamy — here, from coconut milk. Nasi lemak began as a Malay breakfast and is now often called Malaysia's national dish, eaten at any hour: from a small pyramid wrapped in banana leaf and newspaper to a full plate with fried chicken or rendang.
The sambal decides whether it's good. Every stall's is a little different — sweeter, hotter, darker — and people choose where to eat by it.
How it varies
- Nasi lemak bungkus
- The small wrapped parcel, sold from stalls first thing in the morning.
- Nasi lemak ayam goreng
- With spiced fried chicken.
- Nasi lemak with rendang
- Beef or chicken rendang alongside — a festive plate.
Be the first here
Start your own nasi lemakNo one here has made nasi lemak yet. Start it as v1, and every version after is an experiment the next cook can learn from.
Near it
MinangkabauRendangBeef simmered in coconut milk and spice paste for hours, until the liquid is gone and the meat fries in what's left.2 versions hereMalaysianRoti canaiA flaky, chewy flatbread of dough spun paper-thin, folded and griddled with ghee, torn and dipped in dal and curry.No one here has made it yetMalaysianNasi kerabuRice dyed blue with butterfly pea flowers, eaten with finely shredded herbs, kerisik, fish or chicken, budu and sambal.No one here has made it yet