My favourite breakfast isnasi lemak. Nasi lemak is a popular dish in Malaysia. In fact, it has been called the unofficial national dish of Malaysia.
With roots in Malay culture, its name is a Malay word that literally means 'rice with fat'. The name is derived from the cooking process whereby rice is soaked in rich coconut cream and then, the mixture is steamed. Sometimes, knotted screw pine (pandan) leaves are thrown into the rice while steaming to give it more fragrance. Occasionally, other herbs such as ginger and lemon grass may also be added for additional fragrance.
Traditionally, this comes in a platter with cucumber slices, small fried anchovies (ikan bilis), roasted peanuts, fried water spinach (kangkong), hard boiled egg, pickled vegetables (achar) and hot spicy sauce (sambal). Nasi lemak can also come with any other accompaniments such as chicken, cuttlefish, cockle, beef curry (beef stewed in coconut milk and spices) or paru (beef lungs). Traditionally most of these ingredients are spicy in nature
Nasi lemak is traditionally a breakfast dish, and it is sold early in the morning at roadside stalls in Malaysia, where it is often sold packed in newspaper, brown paper or banana leaf. However, restaurants also serve it on a plate as noon or evening meals, making it possible for the dish to be treated as a delicacy.
Mr. Saifuddin Nawawi