Nasi Lemak Bungkus (Coconut Flavored Rice with Spicy Anchovies Wrapped in Banana Leaves)
The ever popular Nasi Lemak Bungkus served with spicy anchovies, peanuts, hardboiled eggs, and cucumber slices wrapped in banana leaves.
Keyword : nasi lemak, nasi lemak bungkus
Ingredients
- 2 cups long grain rice (equivalent to 2¾ cup rice cooker cup) (400g)
- 2 pandan leaves (knotted)
- 1 inch ginger (crushed) (30g)
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2½ cups coconut milk (600ml)
- ½ cucumber (thinly sliced)
- 4 hard cooked eggs (sliced)
- ½ cup Spanish peanuts or roasted peanuts (85g)
- 8 pieces banana leaves measuring 10-inch x 8-inch each (optional)
- 8 pieces newsprint measuring 12-in x 7-inch each (optional)
Sambal Ikan Bilis
- 4 oz ikan bilis / dried anchovies, trimmed and peeled (100g)
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp tamarind concentrate
- ¼ cup water (60ml)
- 1 tsp sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
Spice Paste
- 6 dried chilies
- 4 red chilies
- 1 lemongrass (white part only, sliced)
- 1 onion or 6 shallots
- ½ inch cube belacan
Instructions
Cooking rice using rice cooker
- Wash and drain rice 4 to 5 times in rice cooker insert. Dry exterior of rice cooker insert. Add knotted pandan leaves, ginger, and salt. Pour in coconut milk. It should come up to about the 2¾ cups level.
- Place insert into rice cooker and press the start button. When rice is cooked, unplug the rice cooker and allow rice to sit for 10 minutes. Fluff rice with a pair of chopsticks or a fork before serving.
Cooking rice on the stove
- Wash and drain rice 4 to 5 times in rice cooker insert. Add knotted pandan leaves, ginger, and salt. Pour in coconut milk. Place pot on the stove over medium heat. When coconut milk comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium low and allow rice to cook until all coconut milk is absorbed. This will take about 10 minutes. Turn heat down to the lowest possible setting and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Turn off heat. Let rice sit for 10 minutes before fluffing rice with a pair of chopsticks or a fork before serving.
Sambal Ikan Bilis
- Break dried chilies in half and shake off seeds. Soak in warm water for 15 minutes. Wash and soak ikan bilis separately for 15 minutes. Drain and blot dry with paper towels.
- Blend all spice paste ingredients until fine, adding a tablespoon of water if needed. Remove and set aside.
- Heat oil in a medium sized pan. Add ikan bilis and fry till golden brown, about 7 to 8 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- Add remaining tablespoon of oil and spice paste in the same pan. Fry spice paste until fragrant, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Mix tamarind paste and water in a small bowl. Pour into pan and stir to get spices and tamarind juice well mixed. When it comes to a boil, add sugar and salt.
- Finally, return fried ikan bilis** to the pan and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes. Remove.
To Serve
- Place a bowl of rice on plate with half and egg, a few slices of cucumber, some peanuts, and sambal ikan bilis pile on top of rice.
- Alternatively, place warm nasi lemak portion on a piece of newsprint lined with banana leaf. Banana leaf should be slightly longer but narrower than newsprint. Bring both long edges of banana leaf and newsprint to meet in the center with the one edge overlapping slightly on one end. Criss-cross the flaps in the center by placing bottom flap on the top on the opposite end. Fold both ends under to form a pyramid shape package.
- Let package of rice sit for 10 minutes before serving so that rice will absorb some of the banana leaf fragrance.
Notes
**Alternatively, fried ikan bilis can be separate from the sambal.
Nutrition
Calories: 560kcal
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