Malaysian. Rice. Served at Daun Pisang (#4).

Nasi lemak

Coconut rice

Nasi lemak is coconut rice served with sambal, crispy anchovies, peanuts, cucumber, and egg. This version cooks the rice with pandan, lemongrass, and ginger.

Makes
Serves 12, one 5-cup cooker batch
Do ahead
No. Cook it 60 to 90 minutes before you eat. Coconut rice dries out overnight.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 5 cupsjasmine rice
  • 2.5 cans (~1000 ml)full-fat coconut milk
  • 2.5 cups (~600 ml)water
  • 2.5 tspsalt
  • 4–5pandan leaves, knotted
  • 2lemongrass stalks, bruised
  • 4–5 slicesfresh ginger

Method

  1. Rinse the rice once or twice until the water runs mostly clear. A little starch keeps it creamy.
  2. Put the rice in the cooker, then add the coconut milk, water, salt, pandan, lemongrass, and ginger.
  3. Cook on the normal white rice setting. Do not open the lid.
  4. Remove the aromatics, fluff with a paddle, and hold on warm.
  5. Mound it onto a banana leaf or a plate.

Notes

  • This uses more liquid than plain rice, about 1.4 parts liquid to 1 part rice. If the rice comes out wet or mushy, cook 5 cups rice with 5 cups water, then fold in 1 can of warmed coconut cream with the pandan and salt while it's hot, and cover for 10 minutes.
  • 5 cups dry gives about 10 cups cooked. Don't try more than 5 cups in a 5-cup cooker.