Coconut rice (nasi lemak)

Nasi lemak is known as the national dish of Malaysia and is served with ikan bilis, roasted peanuts, hard-boiled eggs and spicy sambals. Delicious and fragrant, nasi lemak is a perfect accompaniment to beef rendang. I never cook plain old rice any more after learning this recipe! You can cook this in a rice cooker if you have one.

Credit: Tammi Kwok

• serves

  6

• prep

  5 minutes

• cook

  25 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 3 cups long-grain rice 
• 250 ml coconut milk
• 250 ml water
• 2 cm piece of ginger, bruised
• 1 pandan leaf, split and tied in a knot
• ¾ tsp salt

Instructions

Rice cooker method

1. Place rice, coconut milk and water into a rice cooker.  Add ginger, knotted pandan leaf and salt and cook until done. 

Stovetop method

1. Rinse the rice twice and drain. Put in a saucepan with the remaining ingredients, cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Simmer gently until the liquid is absorbed (about 15 minutes). Remove from the heat and leave covered for another 5 minutes before serving.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.