The Nasi Lemak Saga Begins

To be honest, I’m not sure when my fixation for “nasi lemak” began. Throughout my childhood, I was always indifferent towards this delicious meal. I grew up in Terengganu, where the lure of “nasi dagang”, a mouthwatering mixture of rice and glutinous rice cooked to perfection in herbs and then mixed with coconut milk, served with a spicy fish gravy,  has always been more overwhelming to the locals compared to “nasi lemak”. Those days, I always preferred the eye popping sweetness of the “pulut cawan” for breakfast, the sweet glutinous rice balls rolled around in salted desiccated coconut, savored with either dried fish or my favorite fish crackers, the “keropok”.

For the uninitiated, “nasi lemak” is originally a breakfast meal (Well that was the case when I was growing up. Nowadays it can be eaten at any time of the day). The rice mixed with some onions and ginger, is cooked in coconut milk. In most cases, it is served with “sambal ikan bilis”, dried anchovies cooked in chilli gravy hot enough to light a fire in your belly and accompanied by the usual condiments such as boiled eggs, some peanuts and sliced cucumber. I suppose this was the original combination. However, in Terengganu, instead of the dried anchovies in our “sambal” we used to have pieces of “ïkan aya” or more commonly known as “ikan tongkol” or tuna fish.

Over the years, my favorite dish has evolved. The choice of condiments has increased and so have the accompaniments. Nowadays you can get virtually anything with your “Nasi Lemak”. You can have it with fried chicken or chicken “rendang”, instead of “sambal ikan bilis”, you can have it with either “sambal udang”, “sambal telur” or even “sambal sotong”. Whatever catches your fancy.

Anyway, this blog is about my experience with “nasi lemak”, starting off with my own home cooked version containing secret ingredients that very few people know about, to the ones cooked by my friends and ones that I eat at the stalls and restaurants. I’m not really looking for the perfect “nasi lemak” as I have this belief that my version is the best. I just want to share my experience of having other people’s version of what I believe to be Malaysia’s favorite dish.