Steamed Nasi Lemak with Spiced Fried Chicken

Ingredients

• Basmati rice (Soak before cooking; no quantity is specified in the source material.)
• Pandan leaves (For flavoring the oil and rice.)
• Lemongrass (For flavoring the oil and rice.)
• Ginger (For flavoring the oil and rice.)
• Coconut cream (Thick coconut milk or coconut cream.)
• Water (For the rice and marinade; quantities are not specified.)
• Salt (For seasoning the rice.)
• Oil (For flavoring and later for frying; quantity is not specified.)
• Dried chilies (For the sambal; soften by boiling beforehand.)
• Shallots or onion (For the sambal; the author mentions shallots and additionally refers to onion in the text.)
• Garlic (For the sambal and chicken marinade.)
• Candlenuts (For the sambal.)
• Sugar (For the sambal's mildly sweet flavor.)
• Coriander seeds (As a spice for the chicken.)
• Cumin seeds (For extra flavor in the chicken marinade.)
• Galangal (For the marinade.)
• Turmeric (For the marinade.)
• Curry powder (For the chicken's golden color.)
• Rice flour (For coating the chicken.)
• Boneless chicken thighs (For a juicy result.)
• Curry leaves (Add shortly before the end of frying.)
• Peanuts (Fry slowly at a low oil temperature.)
• Anchovies (Rinse briefly before frying.)
• Chicken breast (Tested in the video as an alternative using the same method; the author notes that a wet batter might produce a juicier result.)

Steps

1. 1

   Soak the basmati rice in advance. The exact soaking time is not legible in the available material.

2. 2

   Infuse the oil with pandan leaves, lemongrass, and ginger.

3. 3

   Add water and season with salt.

4. 4

   Stir in the coconut cream so that the rice gradually absorbs the flavors as it cooks.

5. 5

   Steam the rice rather than boiling it in plenty of water. Cook over medium heat; the exact cooking time is not legible in the OCR.

6. 6

   After steaming, turn off the heat and let the rice rest briefly so the steam and oils can settle. Then allow it to cool slightly and serve while still warm.

7. 7

   For the sambal, boil the dried chilies until softened.

8. 8

   Process the chilies, onion or shallots, garlic, and candlenuts into a sambal paste. Add the sugar.

9. 9

   Fry the sambal paste in oil and cook it down completely until the ingredients appear dry and have developed their aroma. It does not need to be fried until the oil visibly separates; more oil makes the sambal glossier but also heavier.

10. 10

    For the chicken marinade, combine the galangal, turmeric, garlic, water, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and curry powder.

11. 11

    Combine the boneless chicken thighs with the marinade and leave them to marinate. No marinating time is specified.

12. 12

    Coat the marinated chicken with rice flour to help it retain more moisture during frying.

13. 13

    Deep-fry the chicken in hot oil, observing the size of the bubbles and the browning of the meat. Fry until golden brown and cooked through; the temperature and exact cooking time are not specified.

14. 14

    Shortly before the end of frying, add the curry leaves and allow their aroma to infuse the oil.

15. 15

    Add the spiced remnants left after squeezing out the marinade to the oil and fry slowly until their moisture has evaporated and crispy spiced pieces form.

16. 16

    Fry the peanuts slowly at a low oil temperature until fully cooked and crisp.

17. 17

    Rinse the anchovies briefly, then fry them. Once the bubbles disappear, they are crispy.

18. 18

    Serve the nasi lemak with sambal, ayam goreng berempah, crispy spiced remnants, peanuts, and anchovies.

Notes

The source material contains no reliably legible quantities, so no amounts have been added. The exact soaking, steaming, and frying times, as well as the oil temperature, are also not specified. Chicken breast was mentioned as a trial in the video, but was judged to have possibly been fried too long and to be drier; the author suggests using a wet batter for it in the future.

Nutrition per serving

• Main course
• Southeast Asian
• Malaysian
• Nasi Lemak
• steamed
• fried
• spicy
• chicken