Recipe: Easy, Beginners Nasi Lemak (With Step By Step Photos)

"Nasi lemak", which literally translates to Fat Rice in English, is a popular and signature dish in Malaysia, typically served for breakfast. You can find different versions of this within almost 5 km radius anywhere in KL on a normal weekday. Traditionally, it was eaten by our ancestors as breakfast due to the labour-intensive work they had to do during the day, such as rubber tapping, agriculture, carpentry etc - and nasi lemak fuelled their daily activity. 

Usually, nasi lemak's main focus is the rice, cooked in coconut milk, along with its' other condiments, mainly the sambal (spicy dried chilli sauce), boiled egg, fried anchovies, cucumber, and peanuts. Sometimes it is also served with other protein such as fried chicken (which you can see above), rendang, gulai and other dishes. I tend to get breakouts when I eat ground peanuts, so I usually never include it when I prepare nasi lemak at home. As it is a rather tedious cooking method, I cook this maybe once or twice a month. This is the most fuss free recipe to satisfy your nasi lemak craving.

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Recipe: Cili Kisar/ Homemade Dried Chilli Paste

Cili Kisar (Cili Giling in the supermarkets), or Homemade Dried Chilli Paste is a staple in Malaysian recipes. This is the base for many sambal (Chilli) dishes in Malaysia. It's a relatively easy item to make, except for the fact that your hands will be "heaty" for a while, so you can't rub your eyes, touch your skin or take a shower for a good while. When I was younger, I hated making cili kisar because my mom would make me cut the chillies and I would sweat profusely and rub my eyes afterwards.

You can use it for rendang, masak hitam, sambal dishes and many other Malaysian dishes. It keeps in the fridge for one week and freezes well too (freeze in portions!). I always only make one portion because I dislike cutting so much of the chillies and deseeding them. Some people don't cut them, some people don't boil them (they just soak them in hot water) but I prefer cooking it to be safe and to reduce the spice level.

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Recipe: Siakap Stim (Steamed Seabass)

I love ikan siakap (seabass), whether fried or steamed. Usually at home, I'll steam it because it's really easy to do. Frying requires old and turmeric and is generally messy, so I'm lazy to clean the aftermath haha. It's really easy and healthy, and you only need a few ingredients.

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Recipe: Rendang Ayam (Chicken Rendang)

Rendang is a traditional recipe, very famous in Malaysia and Indonesia. The origins of the dish varies (depending on which country/ nationality you ask!) but one thing is certain: rendang is very delicious. It is a little time-consuming to cook, and requires a certain labour of love. I know there are chefs out there who have claimed to create "time saving rendang" where they omit certain ingredients or reduce the cooking time; to each its' own, but generally rendang is known to take at least 2 hours to cook.

Depending from which state you are in Malaysia, the ingredients might very slightly, but the main ingredients should include meat, coconut milk, and kerisik (grated and toasted coconut - it's different from dessicated coconut). Some people tend to omit the kerisik as it provides a nutty depth to the rendang. 

During Hari Raya Aidilfitri (eid al-Fitr), rendang is traditionally served with "nasi himpit" (compact rice cubes) or "lemang" (glutinous rice + coconut milk cooked in bamboo hollows), but it's also a famous dish eaten with one of our top national breakfast, "nasi lemak" (literally means fat rice). You may eat this with bread as a snack. Rendang is really flexible, and you may opt to use beef instead of chicken. My grandma makes duck rendang every eid. 

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Recipe: Daging Masak Hitam (Beef in Black Sauce)

Generally, I don't cook beef much as it's pricey, and most Malaysian recipes require at least 1 kg of fresh beef block. My parents are most gracious to give us beef and bones (especially for Imaan to place in her porridge), so I have a little stock of it at home.

I came home without defrosting anything or buying anything from the market, so I was glad to have some frozen beef. The fastest way to thaw beef is by placing it in a plastic bag and leaving it in a small container of running water.

This recipe was taken and adapted from the awesome Azie Kitchen. Azie calls it Daging Masak Hitam but some may call it Daging Masak Kicap. I have digressed. Try this simple recipe, it's quite easy to make!

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Recipe: Spicy Ginger Chicken Asian Style

Spicy Ginger Chicken Asian Style served with Panfried Brussel Sprouts in Oyster Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1x Whole Garlic Bulb (Roughly 8 Pieces) (Bawang Putih 8 Biji)
• Ginger, julienned (5 inches) (Halia Muda, Hiris Nipis)
• 4x Red Bird's Eye Chili less if prefer non-spicy (4 Biji Cili Api)
• 2x Red Chilli (2 Btg Lada Hidup)
• 1x Cinnamon Stick (1 Btg Kayu Hidup)
• 2x Star Anise (2 Biji Bunga Lawang)
• 2x Cardamon Seeds (2 Biji Pelaga)
• 1 stick Carrots, Julienned (1 batang karot, dihiris)
• 1 tomato, quartered (1 biji tomato, dibelah empat)
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 3 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon corn starch (tepung jagung) [optional]
• Coriander leaves (daun sup) / can be subbed with chives (daun kucai)

Steps:

1. Brown your chicken in a pan (low-medium heat, no oil, no water)
2. Saute items 1 - 4 in some oil over medium heat until it browns slightly.
3. Add in items 5 - 7
4. Add in the black pepper
5. Add in the browned chicken
6. Stir in the oyster sauce and the chicken stock
7. Cover with a lid until chicken cooks
8. Add in corn starch if you wish to thicken the sauce (optional)
9. Add in the carrots, leave for two minutes
10. Add in the tomato
11. Add in the coriander leaves. Season with salt

Step 1: Browning the chicken.

Step 2 - 3: Saute-ing some items with the spices.

Step 6: Adding in the browned chicken

Step 11: Adding in the chives and salt.