Malaysian Coconut Rice (Nasi Lemak) — Banana-Leaf Breakfast with Sambal Ikan Bilis

• 450 gjasmine rice (rinsed until the water runs nearly clear)
• 400 mlfull-fat coconut milk
• 350 mlwater
• 3 leafpandan leaves (knotted)
• 1 inchfresh ginger (lightly bruised)
• 1.25 tspfine sea salt
• 120 gdried anchovies (ikan bilis, heads and guts removed if needed)
• 150 graw skin-on peanuts
• 120 mlneutral cooking oil (for frying anchovies and peanuts)
• 6eggs
• 1cucumber (sliced into 18 rounds)
• 6banana leaves (wiped clean and softened briefly over heat)
• 35 gdried red chiles (stems removed and seeds shaken out for medium heat)
• 500 mlboiling water (for soaking chiles)
• 3fresh red chiles (roughly chopped)
• 8shallots (peeled and roughly chopped)
• 3 clovegarlic (peeled)
• 10 gbelacan (Malaysian fermented shrimp paste)
• 1yellow onion (thinly sliced)
• 2 tbsptamarind paste
• 35 gpalm sugar (finely chopped)

Instructions

1. 1

   Rinse the jasmine rice in several changes of water until the water is only faintly cloudy, then drain it for 10 minutes. Put the rice, coconut milk, 350 ml water, knotted pandan leaves, bruised ginger, and 1.25 tsp salt into a rice cooker or a heavy saucepan.

2. 2

   Cook the rice using the normal white-rice setting, or bring it to a boil in a covered saucepan and then reduce the heat to very low for 15 minutes. Let the rice stand off the heat, still covered, for 10 minutes before removing the pandan and ginger and fluffing the grains gently.

3. 3

   Place the eggs in a saucepan, cover them with 3 cm of cold water, and bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer for 9 minutes, then transfer the eggs to cold water for 5 minutes before peeling and halving them.

4. 4

   Pour 500 ml boiling water over the dried red chiles and soak them for 15 minutes, then drain them well. Toast the belacan in a dry small pan over medium heat for 1 minute on each side until aromatic, taking care not to let it scorch.

5. 5

   Blend the soaked dried chiles, fresh red chiles, shallots, garlic, toasted belacan, and 60 ml of the measured 180 ml water into a coarse paste. The texture should be slightly rough rather than perfectly smooth, because traditional sambal nasi lemak has body and visible chile pulp.

6. 6

   Heat 120 ml neutral oil in a wok or deep skillet over medium heat and fry the peanuts for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until deep golden. Lift them out with a slotted spoon, season with no additional salt, and drain them on a rack or paper towel.

7. 7

   In the same oil, fry the dried anchovies for 3 to 5 minutes until crisp and lightly browned, then remove and drain them well. Reserve 50 g of the crisp anchovies for the sambal and keep the remaining 70 g for serving as a crunchy topping.

8. 8

   Heat 70 ml fresh oil in a clean wok over medium-low heat, add the blended sambal paste, and fry it for 12 to 15 minutes until the oil separates and the raw chile smell disappears. Add the sliced onion, tamarind paste, the remaining 120 ml water, palm sugar, 0.75 tsp salt, and the reserved 50 g anchovies, then simmer for 10 minutes until glossy and thick.

9. 9

   Line each plate with a softened banana leaf and mound one-sixth of the coconut rice in the center. Serve with sambal ikan bilis, crisp anchovies, fried peanuts, half a boiled egg, and 3 cucumber slices, keeping the sambal slightly to one side so diners can mix it through the rice themselves.